Wolf point

At the start of bestseller Smith's entertaining sequel to 2020's The Unspoken, the two grown children of late Chicago politician Walter Griffin, "one of the South Side's biggest supporters," ask PI Ashe Cayne, a wealthy, suave, athletic, well-read, and straight-shooting ex-cop who picks his own cases, to investigate the death of their father. Two years earlier, Griffin's body was found on a deserted strip of land by the Chicago River. Griffin apparently shot himself, and the authorities so ruled, but his children are sure it's a case of murder made to look like suicide. Despite suffering romantic angst from a lost love and an urge to work on lowering his golf handicap, Cayne dives into the case. Unraveling the complicated crime takes him all over Chicago and into many levels of the city's social and political structure, though he discovers that the whole affair boils down to a few simple, universal motivations: "jealousy, hatred, money, and sex." On the side, Cayne supervises a bit of vigilante justice. This is smart, smooth escapism. Readers will hope Cayne will be back soon. Agent: Mitch Hoffman, Aaron Priest Literary. (Oct.)

In Smith's sequel to The Unspoken, the adult children of Black Chicago politico Walter Griffin ask P.I. Ashe Cayne to look into their father's mysterious death, two years after it was ruled a suicide. Neither Griffin's family nor the residents of Chicago's South Side believe he killed himself; Griffin's wife is convinced someone in the mayor's office ordered a hit on him. Golf lover Ashe has the time to invest in the case, since leaving the Chicago police force with a several million dollar settlement. As he digs into Griffin's past, he finds that lots of people might have wanted him dead, including Russians who lost money on a land deal and wealthy mobsters who were owed money. Even the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools was an enemy. Ashe knows that murders can be connected to jealousy, hatred, money, or sex--with Walter Griffin, any of those could be the cause. Ashe's dogged determination and dislike of political game-playing lead him to a surprising solution. VERDICT An intriguing sequel, though it could do without some of the details of Chicago and golf; fans of Stephen Mack Jones's "August Snow" mysteries will enjoy.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

A slick Chicago private eye probes the city's sleazy political scene to uncover the truth surrounding a suspicious suicide. It takes a lot to get smooth shamus Ashe Cayne off the golf course, but the intriguing case of Walter Griffin fills the bill. Two years after the death of the influential populist politician was ruled a suicide, unkind gossip still swirls around the event. Griffin's widow, Viola, is convinced that someone in the mayor's office "ordered the hit," and his children, Katrina and Walter Jr., press Cayne to investigate. Suspicions that "the Russians" were behind his death prompt Cayne's trip to the Ukrainian Village on the Near West Side. While she adored her husband and admired his hardscrabble rise from poor beginnings, Viola also knows he may have been involved in something less than legal. Cayne's second case unfolds like a traditional whodunit, with a series of colorful suspects interviewed before the laid-back Cayne begins to put the pieces together with the help of Mechanic, his rugged sidekick. The supporting cast ranges all the way from police commander Rory Burke, retired alderman Delroy Thomas, and teachers union chief Shawna Simpson to shady car wash owner Cephus Redmond, thuggish Antoine Nelson, his flashy girlfriend Brittany Farrington, and prolific petty criminal Pernell Watson. Smith's love of Chicago is palpable in his rich depictions of its diversity, vitality, and unique pockets. (He also displays a rare talent for variegated character names.) The discovery of pampered mistress Sophia Caballé and her connection with mayoral aide Amy Donnegan gives traction to the investigation. A brisk and twisty whodunit with a motley cast that includes the city of big shoulders. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.