In Danger of Judgment

By: David Rabin

Narrated by: Ryan Horn

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

When a covert operation during the Vietnam War ends in tragedy, one of its members resolves to kill the man who betrayed it to the enemy. Now, 15 years later, he'll finally get his chance.

Chicago, 1987. Home of mediocre baseball teams, gangs that rule the streets, and a Mexican drug cartel that supplies the city with heroin. Chicago Police Detective Marcelle DeSantis and her partner, Bernie Bernardelli, are working a series of heroin-related murders, and their job just got more complicated. The man who sabotaged the Vietnam operation, Robert Thornton, is now the chief enforcer for a Southeast Asian heroin cartel, and after 15 years overseas he's arrived in Chicago to eliminate the reigning cartel and seize control of the city's heroin trade.

Racing to stop a drug war, Marcelle and Bernie don't realize they're about to be caught in a deadly crossfire: Another man is circling in the wings, one of Thornton's soldiers from Vietnam, who's preparing to exact his long-sought revenge against his former mentor. He's the last person anyone would ever suspect, and when he finally makes his move, the paths of these four people will explosively converge.

©2022 Black Rose Writing (P)2022 Beacon Audiobooks

Great debut! This one pays off in the end!

This debut from Rabin features complex characters, fast paced action and a well woven story line. I can't wait for the next book. Highly recommended.

Intriguing characters

Excellent story with great attention to details. I could not stop listening and enjoyed every minute.

Assassins, Drugs, Gangs and War....And Humor

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I listened to it on 1.2 speed and it was perfect.

The story involves Robert Thornton, an army operative who reveals the location of his unit to the enemy during the Vietnam War. Several soldiers die as a result, but the army buries the incident and Thornton is never tried for his crime. Unrepentant, he returns to the U.S. and becomes a drug lord in 1980s Chicago.

A federal agent is assigned to assist the Chicago Police Department with its investigation into Thornton's drug trade, but two officers, Marcelle and Bernie, are wary of the agent and begin their own search into Thornton's past. Their investigation takes a dangerous turn, and Marcelle and Bernie become pawns in a game that they don't know exists.

This book is a serious tale about assassins, drugs, gangs and war, but the author's sense of humor prevents it from becoming too dark. I actually laughed out loud hearing about Marcelle's creative strategies for combating misogyny in the workplace. I also grew fond of some of the characters, in spite of or perhaps even because of their many flaws.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paced thriller combined with an ample dose of humor. Maybe, with luck, it's the first of a series featuring Marcelle and Bernie as our intrepid CPD crimefighters.