Above the Law

Robin's ( Something in Common ) tepid novel pairs a stale plot about family conflict, ethnic prejudices and shady business dealings with stock characters. Samuel ``Two-Syllables'' Yones is on the run. What makes this Sammy run is the ``high gorum'' (his term for top-drawer gentiles) life he has sought since his youth, planning a brilliant future with his friends Gordy Wiser and Mike Anker, later marrying a WASP and making deals in timber. A heartless, conniving boor who thinks he can buy anyone, Sam dismisses his older son Billy because he could ``never achieve parity'' with attractive, socially acceptable younger son Matt, who is killed on a rainy Florida highway in a hit meant for Sam. The federal operation Angel Fish seeks Sam's hidden Grand Cayman Islands accounts, putting the squeeze on everyone, including Mike and Gordy. A convincing look at grand-jury proceedings cannot redeem the story as its protagonists ruminate in lumbering passages, while the author works out an obvious plot. (June)