Ray is heralded as a local hero when a ride-along TV reporter gets the live story when Ray, ignoring standard procedure, intervenes in a hostage situation and saves a little girl. Ray hopes that the resulting affair with the reporter, Leanne Corvino, will divert his attention from Sheila and save him from betraying his rules. The spark just isn t there between them, however, and the physical relationship ends while the friendship continues. A desperate call for help from Sheila will start the downward spiral that will force a confrontation between his love for this woman and his principles and that will ultimately threaten his career and his life. Readers who are looking for a taut police procedural mystery will be disappointed in Line of Sight .
Many mysteries feature a noble hero battling the forces of evil with right triumphing in the end.
Ray Dolan is a hero in only the literary protagonist sense of the word-the compromises and concessions he makes are frequently blameworthy rather than heroic. The dearth of many appealing, admirable characters makes Line of Sight a dark, cynical tale. It s easy to imagine this book translated into a film noir with lots of forbidding atmosphere and ominous shadows. Furthermore, the somewhat anemic plot won t require much paring to fit the standard two-hour movie running time. The succeeding chapters dealing with the gradual deterioration of his principles and his various relationships may not appeal to all readers.