Smoker
The subject is BGs--bodyguards--and Natalie Trent (bred and  buttered in the personal security business, where her father, Elliot, is a top player)  says to Atticus Kodiak, "You know what a bad reputation BGs have. Most  people on the street think a BG is a muscle-bound heavy with mirror shades, undereducated and overarmed."Atticus, of course--as readers of Greg Rucka's explosive and  intelligent books about him (FinderandKeeper) already  know--is none of the above. He does tend to get involved in running gun battles  in heavily populated urban areas, however, and has lost a client or two in  a shootout. No wonder the very slick Elliot Trent doesn't want him as an employee, let alone a son-in-law, in a case involving the protection of  an eccentric scientist about to blow the whistle on a giant tobacco  company. But Atticus worms his way in anyway--and the results are as exciting  and packed with fascinating inside details of the BG trade as ever. Particularly entertaining is a scene where Atticus and Natalie are  hired to test the security of a safe house, using everything from unordered  pizzas to volleys of tennis balls to irritate the guards. And the presence of a  very spooky world-class hired killer known only as John (or Jane) Doe keeps  the tension wires at maximum tightness. Another fine performance from a  writer ready to move up in weight and class.--Dick Adler--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.