Cleveland detective returns to crime scene in ‘Wet Work’
Les Roberts, author of 16 books in the popular Cleveland-set Milan Jacovich detective series, says his 2011 suspense novel The Strange Death of Father Candy was supposed to be a standalone, a one-time shot. It tells of Dominick Candiotti, a Youngstown native who returns home after his brother, a priest, has died. Dominick doesn’t believe that “Father Candy” committed suicide, and he goes looking for answers in the fading steel town, talking to the dons of rival crime families and finding that the answers lead only to more questions.
Now, saying that he got so many requests from readers for more about Dominick Candiotti, Roberts has followed that book with Wet Work, in which we learn that Dominick, a Vietnam veteran, works as an assassin paid by a secret government agency, at the direction of a superior he knows only as Og. At Og’s order, Dominick kills men who are threats to national security.
When an assignment brings Dominick to Cleveland to “sanction” (the agency’s preferred term) a federal judge, he does his usual research to learn his subject’s habits and history, and starts to get an uneasy feeling. How does he really know these men are traitors or mobsters? How does he know Og works for the government? He calls Og and resigns, and now Dominick is the target.
While evading assassins with skills equal to his own, Dominick reviews his past “sanctions” to look for connections, and grows closer to learning who is behind the orders for “wet work.” Roberts makes sure to stir in plenty of action and conspiracy possibilities.
Wet Work (242 pages, softcover) costs $14.95 from Gray & Co. Les Roberts will sign his book at Fireside Bookshop, 29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls, from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday. He lives in Stow.
A breezy read for Buckeyes
The recent firing of Ohio State band director Jonathan Waters didn’t make the revised edition of 100 Things Buckeyes Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, a book first issued in 2008 by Andrew Buchanan. A bigger departure, of course, was that of Jim Tressel; his 2011 resignation is mentioned, though in several places his tenure is in the present tense, as though the author just couldn’t bear to let him go.
Included in the 100 things you must know before you die (we trust this is not a threat) are the names of former players and coaches, years of national championships, traditions of tailgating, songs and rivalry with “The Other Team Up North.” The introduction is by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.
The 252-page softcover costs $14.95 from Triumph books. Andrew Buchanan is a native of Columbus and now lives in Chicago.
Events
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Akron author Julie Drew talks about and signs Glimpse, her tense time-travel novel for young adults, 2 p.m. today; Julia Keller returns with Summer of the Dead, third in her superb mystery series about Bell Elkins, county prosecutor in an impoverished West Virginia town, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. A dinner with Keller follows at the Rosewood Grill, 36 E. Streetsboro Road, Hudson, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; $55, includes the cost of the book. Call 330-653-2252 for reservations.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.) — Seattle author David Laskin talks about and signs The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century, an epic of a Jewish clan in America, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Register at 216-831-6868.
Canton Palace Theatre (605 Market Ave. N.) — Art crimes investigator and former FBI agent Robert K. Wittman appears at a reception and presents “The Three F’s of Art Crime: Frauds, Forgeries & Fakes,” and signs his book (with John Shiffman) Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. $25; call 330-453-7666.
Barnes & Noble (28801 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere) — Former Beacon Journal writer Thrity Umrigar discusses and signs her new novel The Story Hour, 7 p.m. Thursday.
Main Street Books (104 N. Main St., Mansfield) — Former Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels talks about and signs The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt, 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.
Weymouth Country Club (3946 Weymouth Road, Medina) — Romance novelist Wanda Brunstetter, whose books are set in Amish communities including Holmes County, appears at the Writers Live Author Luncheon benefiting Friends of Medina County District Library, noon Sept. 17. $25 cost includes lunch. Deadline for reservations is Sept. 8; call 330-722-6235.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.