20 Great Thrillers, June 2012

Peter Leonard’s fourth and best novel to date concerns William McCabe, a struggling American college student in Rome, who is mistaken for his much wealthier friend, the son of a U.S. senator. McCabe is kidnapped and held for ransom by a group of hapless but dangerous Mafiosi underlings but wastes no time in trying to turn the tables on his captors. Meanwhile, an American crime figure absconds with the wife of a mysterious American. The two plots slowly and explosively intersect, with mayhem and dark humor along the way before a series of unpredictable occurences lead to a satisfying conclusion.