Black Diamond

Dobbyn’s pleasant if lightweight third thriller featuring attorney Michael Knight (after Frame-Up) zips back and forth between Boston and Dublin. When a friend of Knight’s, jockey Danny Ryan, takes a fatal spill during a race at Suffolk Downs, Knight and his crafty mentor, Lex Devlin, wind up involved in a case of horse race fixing and international gang warfare. The local Irish mob is bad enough, but a remnant of the brutal, hardcore Irish Republican Army now wants to expand into the States. The IRA thugs have had decades of experience in kidnapping, torture, and murder, and they’re willing to corrupt or kill anyone in their way. Fortunately, Knight has a sharp wit and a gift of gab that he uses to exploit the enmity between and within the rival gangs. The book’s tension may suffer from Knight’s gift, for it’s difficult to believe that anything terrible could happen to a clever lad flashing so much good old Irish blarney. (Oct.)