First published 1987
Eliot Ness stands in the shadowy streets of Prohibition-era Chicago, watching another speakeasy operate with impunity while police look the other way. As a federal agent, Ness refuses the bribes that have corrupted nearly every law enforcement official in the city. He assembles a small team of agents who share his determination to remain clean in a dirty war against Al Capone's criminal empire. The mob controls the liquor trade, the politicians, and the police, but Ness believes that honest enforcement of federal law can break their stranglehold on Chicago. His team raids illegal operations and seizes contraband, knowing that each success makes them bigger targets for retaliation. Ness discovers that fighting corruption means more than arresting criminals. It means proving that justice can survive in a system designed to reward dishonesty. The battle becomes personal as the stakes rise and the violence escalates.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, crime, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, underdog
Setting: Chicago
Period: Prohibition-era
271 pages · Paperback · Rusconi
Content warnings: violence