A Matter of Honor

Rating:
Summary: Eugene Izzi was a genius crime fiction writer
Review: I am still so sad he is gone. I have read all of Eugene Izzi's books and the thought that there will be no more is tragic. I still think his best work is the early stuff, like The Take, Booster, King of Hustlers and the others. Eugene Izzi, you are missed.

Rating:
Summary: A serious thriller about race and personal integrity
Review: There have been three novels written over the last five years with the title A Matter of Honor. Eugene Izzi's story under that title deals with Chicago in the throes of racial conflict and features a diverse cast of characters both black and white whose personal agendas intersect in the tragedy of interracial murder and rioting. The central figures, a white homicide detective named Del Greco, brilliant at his job but emotionally remote from an upbringing in foster homes, and his partner Ellis Turner, a black detective with a loving family who has managed to maintain persepctive on race despite facing prejudice daily, are pitted against one another after Del Greco is accussed of racial prejudice and implicated in the murder of a young black who had murdered Del Greco's niece. The complex plot involves a background of black political machination, drug dealers buying influence, crooked lawyers with Mafia ties, a white supremicist organization called the ACK (Ayrian Christian Kinsman), sexual politics among the police, murder for hire, friendship, family ties, and enough quick turns to make the reader's head spin. Ultimately the plot - especially in its denouement - is so complicated and strained as to be unbelievable, but this does not detract from the book's power. The character's, even minor ones, are so good and so believably drawn, that the reader just has to know what happens to them.

The book does tend to be somewhat wordy, spending a lot of time probbing various character's thoughts and feelings. But this is handled very well and the information that we get is key to both understanding who these people are and why they behave as they do. This is, despite being a mystery/thriller, a very thoughtful and intelligent book about human emotions and the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit. I highly recommend it.