The Only Game: A Novel of Suspense

Nimble characterization, shrewd psychological insight, dark-edged humor and labyrinthine procedural detailing distinguish this masterful thriller by the pseudonymous Ruell ( Dream of Darkness ), who is Reginald Hill, author of the Dalziel/Pascoe series. Detective Inspector Dog Cicero's love of poker and his partially paralyzed face (he was burned in an IRA car bombing) stand him in good stead in this case that begins with a child's abduction. Jane Maguire, the child's mother, is the widow of an IRA bagman whose disappearance left 3 million unaccounted for. Dog, quickly running afoul of Special Branch operative and longtime nemesis Toby Tench, is drawn to stalwart Jane, whose harsh history he gradually learns. Ruell lets real motives slip into the narrative insidiously: the child's captors want the money; Tench is revealed as brutally ambitious; and Dog, who finds love and loyalty dragging him beyond the demands of duty, forfeits the safety of the force to proceed on his own. Coincidences that would trip up a lesser writer are used flawlessly here as Ruell explores emotions to a depth well beyond the range of most crime writers. (May)