BROTHERS AND BONES

4 1/2 stars out of 5

This book, named to Kirkus Review Best Books of 2013, is a winner in my book as well. And apparently I'm not alone; as I write this, it had earned a rather impressive average of 4.3 stars from 1,236 reviewers at Amazon.com and

spent more than three months in the Top 100 in the Kindle Store - primary reasons I didn't hesitate when I had a chance recently to snag it for 99 cents through BookGorilla.com.

The story begins as Charlie Beckham, a Boston federal prosecutor just starting as lead attorney on a case that should shoot him to the top of the career ladder, runs into a grungy homeless man who calls Charlie by a nickname known only by one other person - Charlie's much-older brother Jake, who turned up missing 13 years ago and is presumed dead (by everyone except Charlie, that is).

Long obsessed with finding out what really happened to Jake (to the point of seeing a psychiatrist ever since the disappearance), Charlie goes off the deep end trying to find the homeless man - threatening his successful career and jeopardizing his relationship with his fiance, Jessica. who happens to be the daughter of a powerful head federal prosecutor and Charlie's boss. But Charlie is certain the homeless man has important information about the missing Jake - it's even possible, Charlie reasons, that the guy is Jake in disguise. 

Of course, finding the man is far from easy, and the chase takes Charlie into seedy parts of the city and puts him directly in the crosshairs of some of the criminal underworld. Will Charley find the homeless man before either or both of them end up dead? And if he does, will he learn what really happened to Jake? Ah, I'll never tell - if you want to find out, you'll just have to read this one for yourself. I don't think you'll be sorry you did!

Brothers and Bones by James Hankins (Amazon Digital Services Inc., 2013); 365 pp.