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"Gliding on his pension and reflecting on his life, Mario Balzic wishes he could start all over. He's about to get his wish." "Balzic is haunting his home, driving his wife, Ruth, crazy. She wants him out of the house, but she doesn't want him back in law enforcement. Balzic's haunting Muscotti's, driving Vinnie the bartender crazy. He's at the tavern, a man whose single greatest asset is time on his hands, when Deputy Attorney General Warren Livingood, the well-dressed refugee from show more Philadelphia's Main Line, walks in - and makes his case to western Pennsylvania's crankiest and canniest ex-cop." "Seventeen years before, a drug deal went sour in a mountain log cabin, yielding two corpses and an ensuing history of mistrials, appeals, and verdict reversals. Now a variety of cons from a variety of prisons are spilling several variations on this single sorry tale. The stench of police misconduct and coerced perjury is in the air. High political reputations are on the line. As a former professional with no debts to settle, Balzic is the man for the job. Livingood gives him the title of special investigator, state credentials, and thirty-five dollars an hour." "It seems like the answer to everyone's prayers. Then Balzic's jailhouse interviews lead him into a jurisdiction that could be the devil's own. There he confronts his counterpart, but hardly his brother: a small-town police chief, now paralyzed by stroke, who in his prime ruled his borough by blood and terror. In uncovering the history of one monster in human form, Balzic will enter his personal heart of darkness - and shoulder a staggering debt that will be hell to pay."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Another in and out Balzic mystery. OK to sometimes poorly written. But every time Balzic becomes sympathetic. Another non-action detective story that I enjoy reading. Really don't know why but I do. One awkward point is that Balzic's accent changed. Once articulate he continually dropped the g's unless he was speaking to Livingood. Still an ok read
Competent detective story.
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Lists
Stephen King's 'On Writing' reading list
95 works; 4 members
Author Information
22+ Works 1,227 Members
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Family Values
- Original publication date
- 1997
- People/Characters
- Mario Balzic; Ruth Balzic; Warren Livingood
- Important places
- Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, USA
- First words
- Balzic sat stiffly in the first row of straight-backed wooded chairs in the Conemaugh County Courthouse Annex chambers of District Justice Ralph Parma, except Parma wasn't sitting in his chair.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Course, she tries to run this number on me every day I'm here, we're gonna have to have a little conversation….
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 67
- Popularity
- 464,560
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.38)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
