Cape Diamond

Corbett follows up his series debut, Ragged Lake, with an equally gritty and tough tangle of cases set in Det. Frank Yakabuski’s home city near Ontario’s Northern Divide watershed. Yakabuski investigates the gruesome murder of the region’s most feared gang leader, who was found strung up on a fence with his eyes cut out and a huge raw diamond placed in his mouth. His gang, the Shiners, retaliate, warring against their secretive and elusive rivals, the Travellers. Yakabuski has a lot on his plate with a revenge killing of a prominent Traveller and a kidnapping, a town gripped in fear, and a paid Mexican assassin headed north to kill him and leaving a path of dead bodies in his wake. Setting Yakabuski on home ground reveals more layers of his character, depicted by his relationships with his ex-cop dad and his sister, whose husband has strong Shiner ties. Like the first book, the writing in this one is sparse and lean, echoing the harshness and isolation of the land, but with literally less ground to cover within the city’s borders, this entry is even tighter. The protagonist evolves, and Corbett lays a strong foundation for what promises to be a truly captivating series. [em]Agent: Robert Lecker, Robert Lecker Agency (Canada). (Oct.) [/em]