Fear's Justice

by Marc Olden

Late in life, Fear Meaghal has fallen head-over-heels in love with Linda, a detective who's married to corrupt cop Bobby Schiafino. When Linda is found murdered in an airport parking lot, Meaghal sees one thing after another wrong with the evidence and starts investigating--only to be blocked by other cops at every turn. Film rights sold to Robert DeNiro.

Genres: Thriller

317 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Marc Olden (1933–2003) was the author of forty mystery and suspense novels. Born in Baltimore, he began writing while working in New York as a Broadway publicist. His first book, Angela Davis (1973), was a nonfiction study of the controversial Black Panther. In 1973 he also published Narc, under the name Robert Hawke, beginning a hard-boiled nine-book series about a federal narcotics agent.

A year later, Black Samurai introduced Robert Sand, a martial arts expert who becomes the first non-Japanese student of a samurai master. Based on Olden’s own interest in martial arts, which led him to the advanced ranks of karate and aikido, the novel spawned a successful eight-book series. Olden continued writing for the next three decades, often drawing on his fascination with Japanese culture and history.

Reviews

[John]

James Patterson only wishes he could write a thriller this good. Too bad about the weak title and lame cover art, though. And, admittedly, Olden gets off to a rough start by trying to pack too much background information on the main character into the first couple of chapters, causing the beginning to feel awkward and amateurish. Also, Olden expects the reader to keep track of way too many names early on in the plot. After the first 50 pages, however, Olden really hits his stride, and, from there on out, the novel is a tightly plotted adrenaline shot to the heart. Think the TV show, 24, mixed with the movie, TRAINING DAY. Why it hasn't been made into a movie is beyond me. Maybe it's because the author, a black man, made his main character a white NY City cop who is heroic in spite of being a bigot, and whose investigation is constantly being hindered by reverse racism levied against him by the African American community. Talk about racial overtones. Or it could just be because maybe five people in the world have ever even heard of this book, let alone read it. Such a shame. What should have been the springboard for a great series of detective novels is instead fading away into total obscurity. Here's hoping that Olden eventually starts getting the kind of attention his novels deserve.

[Dennis]

This is a tough, gritty NYC police thriller involving a small band of ruthless, corrupt cops in very high positions, connected to City Hall and big business. The payoffs are on a grand scale, people are dying, and no one seems to want to take them on. That is, until it becomes personal to a tough Irish cop, and he decides to fight back. If you're looking for an action-packed police thriller, put this on your summer reading list.

[Pa]

A suspenseful tale about a bigoted NY cop, who is only mildly corrupt. When his lover (also a cop) is killed, he decides to investigate and encounters some powerful opposition. Interesting characters and well-developed plot.

[John Grace]

Usually love Olden's work, but this was his contribution to the then-hot Politically Incorrect Cop genre of the 90s, spawned by Wambaugh and Caunitz. It's not bad on its own merits, but not as strong as other works at the time. Prefer Olden's novels seasoned with ninjas and samurai swords!