Publisher's Weekly
The fourth in Bruno's Bad series ( Bad Guys ) is the best yet: fast, intricate and funny. We know from the start that the villain is Tom Augustine, WASP assistant U.S. attorney who's made a deal with mob drug dealers--he'll shield them in exchange for the $14 million he needs to run for mayor of New York City. He establishes his bona fides by coldly strangling a Sicilian prosecutor and proceeds to cut a murderous swath that climaxes in a mad car chase in Little Italy. His nemeses are two FBI partners, crusty middle-aged Gibbons and 30-something hothead Tozzi. Foulmouthed, rash and constantly bickering, the agents are understandably unpopular with FBI brass. After Tozzi shoots his mouth off in front of a reporter, is suspended, nearly killed by thugs and harried by the kidnapping of his girlfriend's young daughter, the duo must prove their case against Augustine without official cooperation. The plot careens terrifically, like a combination of Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake, and the characters are vivid, notably the increasingly crazed Augustine and a wily Sicilian capo who's almost charming.