The Devil's Only Friend

by Mitchell Bartoy

It is the fall of 1943, and the city of Detroit is doing its best to recover from the explosive race riots that marked the recent summer. The police are working overtime to protect the auto plants and ensure that their massive machinery continues to churn out the steel that comprises America's lifeblood overseas. Pete Caudill, late of the Detroit detective squad, is passing the time sitting on the fire escape of a squalid rented room, consumed by the ghosts of his past, including the black teenager he shot and killed years ago and a similar boy whose life he saved in the recent riots.
When a young woman distantly connected to Caudill is murdered, her blood threatens to stain the reputation of the Lloyd family, scions of Detroit's all-powerful auto industry. Caudill himself has a certain reputation with the Lloyds, plus a direct link to the complicated man who runs the company and, some say, the city of Detroit itself.
As a desperate investigation unfolds and the war effort rages on, the tentacles of a menacing conspiracy reach deep into the soul of the powerful Lloyd family and threaten to squelch the very heart of American patriotism beating within. It's up to Pete Caudill, using whatever meager resources he can assemble, to put down the sinister forces working against the Lloyds, perhaps in the process preserve America's chances in the war--and discover an unexpected second chance at his own life.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 2006

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t realize it was a sequel, so I didn’t read the first book. That’s on me. I liked the characters and description of the city. The 1940’s dialogue made it hard for me to follow, I feel like I missed some things.

*spoilers ahead*




Questions I have after finishing:
Why was Lloyd murdering people, just to shame his father?
How many people has Federer killed?
Why did Federer want to be involved in the case in the first place?

[Michelle Monticello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at a library book sale years ago and I finally got around to reading it. Sadly, I didn't know it was a sequel. The author gives enough information to understand what went on in the first book, but I would suggest reading that one before this one.