Synopsis
Charlie Salter, Staff Inspector with the Toronto police, is Eric Wright's best-known and most loved character. Over the years, Salter has made a name for himself with his cunning detective skills and his determination to get the job done.
However, Salter's days with the force appear to be numbered. He has recently turned sixty and is starting to realize that he isn't as young as he used to be. Tasks that used to be easy are now more difficult and he is convinced that his family is watching his every move. On top of that, there's Salter's career to consider. He hasn't handled a case in months and realizes that he has slowly become an office clerk. He may be down, but he's definitely not out.
A recent murder that has the police stumped is the perfect opportunity for Salter to prove that he is still up to the job. When a well-known and respected lawyer is stabbed to death in his home and the prime suspect, a hooker last seen near the apartment, disappears, the heat is on the police. They aren't having any luck and things get more tense when the victim's sister, a Member of Provisional Parliament and a potential candidate for Attorney General, becomes involved. That is when Lieutenant Marinelli of Homicide is only too happy to throw the case to Salter.
Knowing that the tenderloin district has already been thoroughly searched, Salter believes the hooker will be found much closer to the lawyer's home. The trail takes him into a large poker game organized by the city's top lawyers. Is this a smart move for someone on the verge of retirement? Will he find what he is looking for or only damage his legacy with the force?
The Last Hand combines suspense with the wry humor that marks Wright's stories and is an outstanding culmination to the series.
Publishers Weekly
Toronto's Charlie Salter, head and sole member of the Special Affairs Unit, which deals with only the most sensitive police investigations, takes on his 11th and not terribly compelling case before turning in his badge, as proclaimed on the striking if somewhat cheesy jacket, which displays an ace of spades in a disembodied hand. Charlie has reached 60, the limit for Canadian police to retire from active service, but he's lost none of his smarts as he looks into the murder of a prominent lawyer found stabbed to death in his apartment, which a woman, who neighbors say dressed like a prostitute, was seen to leave. So far the search for the woman, or any other clues, has been fruitless. Charlie has been accused of being behind the times, not up on the latest innovations in police work, but he has his own methods, following routine q&a wherever it may lead him. Here the trail takes him to a poker game among Toronto's leading lawyers and, ultimately, to a state-of-the-black-arts stock swindler. Charlie is a congenial character, and the glimpses of his family life are the best parts of the story. Unfortunately, minimal suspense and a lack of concern for the victim, not to mention a dull villain, make this a standard, by-the-numbers mystery. Still, Wright (The Night the Gods Smiled, etc.) fans will fondly remember better books in the series and mourn Charlie's passing if this is indeed his last case. (Feb. 25) FYI: Wright is also the author of the Lucy Trimble and Mel Pickett series. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.