The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton
I love the Alex McKnight series by Steve Hamilton, so was intrigued to hear he had written a non-Alex book.
Chicagoan Nick Mason is basically a good guy and loyal friend, who has taken a few wrong turns in life. He started out stealing cars then moved on to robbery. But he gave it all up when he got married and had a daughter. Then one of his friends hears about a job that will net them a lot of money, which Nick wants to use to support his family. His gut tells him to run from the job, once he meets the guy behind it, Jimmy McManus. But his friends Eddie and Finn are tempted by the cash, so he reluctantly gives in--which turns out to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. Finn and a federal agent end up dead, Nick ends up in federal prison for 20 years, and McManus gets off scot free because to implicate him would mean implicating Eddie.
While in prison, Nick makes the second biggest mistake of his life--once again ignoring a gut feeling --and goes along with a plan concocted by powerful gang leader Darius Cole. Cole manages to get Nick released from prison early but in exchange he has to promise to do Cole's bidding--whatever it may be. And so begins the second life of Nick Mason.
It's an interesting premise. Nick desperately wants to get out of his deal with Cole so he can have some kind of normal life. But that seems increasingly unlikely. And on top of that, he has a determined cop on his tail, a cop who is furious that Nick got out of prison early. And then there's Jimmy McManus, who realizes that Nick is all that stands between him and a long prison sentence. Quite the page-turner.
Chicagoan Nick Mason is basically a good guy and loyal friend, who has taken a few wrong turns in life. He started out stealing cars then moved on to robbery. But he gave it all up when he got married and had a daughter. Then one of his friends hears about a job that will net them a lot of money, which Nick wants to use to support his family. His gut tells him to run from the job, once he meets the guy behind it, Jimmy McManus. But his friends Eddie and Finn are tempted by the cash, so he reluctantly gives in--which turns out to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. Finn and a federal agent end up dead, Nick ends up in federal prison for 20 years, and McManus gets off scot free because to implicate him would mean implicating Eddie.
While in prison, Nick makes the second biggest mistake of his life--once again ignoring a gut feeling --and goes along with a plan concocted by powerful gang leader Darius Cole. Cole manages to get Nick released from prison early but in exchange he has to promise to do Cole's bidding--whatever it may be. And so begins the second life of Nick Mason.
It's an interesting premise. Nick desperately wants to get out of his deal with Cole so he can have some kind of normal life. But that seems increasingly unlikely. And on top of that, he has a determined cop on his tail, a cop who is furious that Nick got out of prison early. And then there's Jimmy McManus, who realizes that Nick is all that stands between him and a long prison sentence. Quite the page-turner.
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