The Booster

In his fourth blockbuster novel, Izzi shows again that he has few peers as a writer about mob-ravaged Chicago. The switch here is a stunner: cops and robbers in cahoots instead of competing, though two of them don't know it for a long time. The booster (thief), Vincent Martin, is persuaded to aid his fatherly mentor, Bolo, in a million-dollar scam, stealing evidence against ``men of respect.'' For their part, the capos secretly hire hit men to kill their competitors, each unaware of the plots against themselves. They all agree, though, that someone must murder nerd gunman Teddy King when he finishes his assignment. Detective Sean Kent also plans that fate for Teddy after the hitman kills Kent's partner and best friend, Bigum Barnes. Raising the reader's blood pressure with scenes of pure terror, the author also provides a big, wild cast of characters with antics to laugh out loud at. There is no letup until Vince and Kent meet at the mystery's unguessable end. (Feb.)