Bino

Capturing the reader from the very first line, this is a thriller from a new writer to watch. Congressman Richard Bigelow was a crusader who disturbed the cozy relationship between the underworld of Texas politics and the overlords of big-time crime. Fearing that Bigelow would expose the nexus between the sleaziest conservative politics and organized crime, the mob and the politicians have him killed. Unfortunately for the plotters, in an effort to cover their tracks they also kill Sonny Starr, a small-time hood who was a witness to the murder. Sonny's lawyer, Bino (""it's short for albino,'' he curtly explains) Phillips, a toughened criminal lawyer of the old school and, moreover, a close friend of the murdered congressman, is now involved. This first novel is literate and tough-talking entertainment in the mode of Elmore Leonard. It makes a lightning-quick read, full of surprises based on solid character portrayal. (February 1)