Private Sector

August 18, 2003
Haig's wisecracking J.A.G. attorney Sean Drummond returns for his fourth caper in three years (after January 2003's The Kingmaker). Unpopular with his military superiors because of his sharp tongue and his tendency to attract trouble, Major Drummond finds himself loaned out to a private law firm. Culper, Hutch, and Westin represents some of the District of Columbia's most staid, old-line institutions, and Drummond begins ruffling feathers from the moment he arrives, though he does prove surprisingly popular with some clients. Meanwhile, a serial killer is taking out attractive young professional women. The first victim is Lisa Morrow, Drummond's sidekick in Haig's debut thriller, Secret Sanction, and also a military lawyer working for Culper, Hutch, and Westin. In fact, Lisa's on her way to meet Drummond when she's murdered. Chapters from the obsessive killer's dark perspective alternate with Drummond's cheeky first-person narration. Not happy with police progress on the case, Lisa's sister Janet, also a lawyer and a dark-haired beauty, steps forward to help Drummond investigate, even as victims pile up. Both Janet and Drummond prove to be entertaining thorns in the side of crusty police detective Spinelli, the officer in charge of the murder investigation. Haig introduces related subplots featuring corporate greed and criminality, but they don't have the visceral chills or the sexiness of the serial killer story line. In the end, it's all about Drummond; though the novel is overlong, the hero's sharp and devilish style should keep reader interest high until the surprising conclusion.

June 15, 2003
For army lawyer Sean Drummond, working at the DC law firm to which he has been loaned can be, literally, murder.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2003
Maverick JAG officer Sean Drummond finds himself temporarily assigned to a private D.C. firm as part of an officer-borrowing program. He wants nothing to do with the uptight world of corporate law but figures all he has to do is be himself, and he'll be kicked out on his ass within two weeks. He does his best to meet his deadline but winds up assigned to a case involving a Microsoft-like corporation that is trying to land a multibillion-dollar contract with the Department of Defense. Things aren't all suits and cigars, though, when Drummond's predecessor turns up dead. Could her murder be connected to the case that is now in his lap? Smart-talking, no-B.S.-taking Drummond is the perfect hero for the bureaucracy-laden D.C. law scene. In his previous Drummond novels, Haig proved he could compete on the espionage front with the likes of Ken Follett; with this outing, he matches David Baldacci for Beltway intrigue.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2003
Army attorney Maj. Sean Drummond is back, and, if his many readers thought he was an irreverent misfit in uniform before, they haven't seen anything yet. This time, Drummond is loaned by the army to a prestigious DC law firm, where he causes more than the usual amount of trouble. His sardonic attitude makes him as unpopular in the private sector as he was in the army. A serial murderer has killed a female army lawyer, and the law firm is up to its eyeballs in shady deals. Drummond is in danger from many directions. Along with the murders, there are graft, corruption, assassinations, and national security problems. Through it all, Drummond keeps his sense of humor and honor and even manages to find a little potential romance. Like its predecessors, Haig's fourth Sean Drummond novel is enormously exciting, timely, and entertaining. Recommended for all fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/03.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.