Risk

Attorney George Young has a good job, a nice wife and a daughter in college. He lives in an apartment on the Upper West Side. He has a good life. He comes home to his wife at night, watches the Yankees on TV with a bottle of red wine. But his life is going to be put to the test. The dying wife of his law firms founding partner asks him for a favor and he can't refuse. Her son Roger was run over by a truck as he left a bar and she wants to know if it really was an accident. She also wants George to find out why her son had been in that bar, drinking alone for so long. During his investigation George finds out that Roger was kind of a loser. He'd made a bundle on Wall Street, but lost it. He lost his wife to divorce and was living in a cheapo apartment. George is warned off the investigation by both a P.I. who had given up the case and by the bartender who'd served Roger those drinks on his last night alive. But does George quit the investigation? What do you think? And there you have the setup of this short, only a hundred and seventy-six pages long, thrilling mystery that had me glued to my chair. I read it in one sitting. Colin Harrison writes about New York, the good and the seamy sides of the city and he does it in a way that keeps you wanting more.

Colin Harrison for my money is one helluva' writer. And, money is the root of all evil and this novel indulges in money- who has it, how they got it and how it flows. This 200 page book was one of the better reads. It is a mystery wound around an every day man trying to be a decent man. As the New York Times says, "This is one of those novels that outdoes Garrison Keillor's 'Guy Noir'." George Young, a simple name for a man all of us would like to know. He is a lawyer in a firm that practices insurance law. He has lived an exemplary life in NYC- worked hard as a young student, got decent grades at a private school, was a good son to his parents, mom and step-dad, went to law school and now has a successful job in his firm. It has afforded him the nice apartment on the West Side, a wife who is smarter than he is, works hard and loves him, and a daughter who went to the best schools. And, here is his, involved in one hell of a mess. The wife of the founding father of the law firm, Wilson Corbett, has called him to her home. She wants a favor, she needs someone to investigate the reason for her son, Roger Corbett's death. The death was an accident, that she is sure of. But, before Roger was killed in the accident, he spent four hours in a bar. What was he doing there, she wants to know. George is indebted to Wilson Corbett, he gave him his this wonderful opportunity at the firm. So, he takes on this job, much to his wife's chagrin. And, he steps into the mess I have talked about. He meets the ex-girlfriend, a Czech hand model, the ex-wife, several unsavory people associated with Roger only by '6 degrees of separation', and several old friends of Wilson Corbett. This, George Young, is an intelligent detective and has street smarts. He is able to uncover that which he might wish he had left undone. On the way to this discovery, he raises questions about himself and what he is all about. Sounds like an interesting read, does it not? This novel brings us to many places in NYC, to the Old Print Shop on Lexington, the American Legion fields near J.F.K., an Elizabeth Street bar, the diamond district and the apartments of the rich and the not so well off. It brings us questions we might ask ourselves, and we find some answers we might not have known. It is an extraordinary simple novel that opens our world and our minds. It is a Risk we might not have taken if not for Colin Harrison. Highly Recommended. prisrob 10-19-09 The Finder: A Novel Break and Enter: A Novel

I very much enjoyed Risk, first because it presents an intriguing mystery with a satisfying ending and second because, unlike so many mysteries these days, Risk has no psycho serial killers, excessive gore or sadistic sex scenes that give me the creeps when I turn the lights out at night. Author Colin Harrison provides a straight up, well-plotted puzzler that is peopled by interesting characters doing odd things that in the end make perfect sense, once you know the reasons behind their behaviors. Risk's protagonist, George Young, is middle aged without being pathetic. He's bumping up against the disconcerting facts of his mid-life situation: he's moderately successful but not rich, in decent shape but not athletic, good-looking without being handsome. But he's satisfied with his life, his family and his place in the world and is even able to joke about his decidedly middle-of-the-road accomplishments. For instance, on career success, George tells the reader: "Few of us are [top-drawer]. I myself long ago realized that I was, at best, on my good days, clinging to the underside of the second drawer." And then there is New York City, the setting for this elegant little mystery. Harrison writes about New York in ways that reveal he both understands and loves this metropolis, and because I feel the same way about this most magnificent city, I found his descriptions deeply resonating. Overall, an excellent book that in its own modest way, much like its hero George Young, stands out from the crowd.

Risk is a good little read. It is the story of a man, an attorney, who works investigating insurance claims. He is asked by the spouse the the deceased founder of the firm to check out the death of her son. Mr. Harrison creates some very interesting characters along the way. There's the timeworn nonhero hero, the Czech hand model snd some Russian Mafia types. The winds its way through New York City with a feel for urban grittiness. What more can you ask for? You get a taut story with interesting characters and a twist ending. This is a short novel but delivers plenty between its covers.

This is an intriguing story with unexpected twists. George Young, lawyer for a large insurance firm who checks out suspicious claims, has been asked to go see the widow of the firm's founder. She is very ill and her son had been killed in an accident after spending time in a bar for several hours. A camera on the building caught the accident, and there's no doubt that that is what it was! She wants to know why he was there so long and paid no attention to the traffic bearing down on him. George is reluctant as he has other work, but does this as a favor with no pay. The story pulls you in. It involves her son's divorce, his new lover, smuggled ornaments, several bad guys, his dead father, and a surprise at the end. I read it in one sitting. Really liked it a lot. I'll definitely read some of Colin Harrison's other books.