Detective Wyatt McKnight, a lieutenant in the narcotics division of the LAPD, is called in to investigate the murder of Sergeant Verneau B. LeCoultre, a fellow officer and McKnight's personal nemesis. LeCoultre is also a worthless alcoholic, possibly a drug addict, who was found shot to death in a car with a gift-wrapped package of pure uncut heroin. McKnight wonders why a black narcotics detective is asked to investigate the murder of a man who had shown racist disdain toward black officers. But his captain's threats and the carrot of a preretirement promotion for McKnight give him ample incentive. He also meets Lady Leslie Van Horn, who called police after LeCoultre's car spun off the road. McKnight learns that her involvement is anything but coincidental. Despite their divergent personalities and backgrounds, they share souls tortured by heroin trading and addiction. This is a compelling novel with a lead character who is more three-dimensional than the typical black hero often presented to counter negative images of black men.
Vernon Ford