SMOKER

SMOKER is an enjoyable tag-along with Greg Rucka's savvy bodyguard, Atticus Kodiac. This time Atticus teams up with the equally clever and mayhem-prone daughter of the owner of a competing "personal protection" firm. Their assignment is to stop an assassin's attacks on the star witness against a big tobacco company. Nobody in this caper, including Atticus's employer, is what he or she seems. It's a good story, but one that needs to be read with a lighter touch and faster pace than narrator George Wilson delivers. Wilson nevertheless holds one's attention. He is particularly effective in capturing the "crusty geezer" personality of the assassin's target. K.C. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 01]