Deep Shaker

Les Roberts

5/28/2000

One of Milan's long time friends, Matt, asks for a favor. Would Milan please talk to his high school freshman son? Matt and Rita Mae know something is wrong with their son. They ask Milan to talk to Paulie. Milan quickly realizes that Paulie is using drugs, possibly dealing as well.

Milan gets very angry. Paulie was like another son for him. He decides to try to track down the chain of drugs into the Cleveland area. He starts some investigating and hears about "the Jamaican connection" in Cleveland. He follows Paulie and his group at the school until he finds their distributor. Milan does not want to grab the street dealers. He wants to find the dealer who is bringing the crack into town.

Soon Milan is treading on toes without knowing he is doing it. Deaths start appearing in the trails he is following. He travels across the Cleveland area from Deep Shaker, the richest neighborhood, to the worst slums where the crack houses abound. He works with people on the local newspaper, the Plain Dealer, the police, and the lob Mafia. He is determined to save a few Ohio kids, including Paulie.

Les Roberts' Milan Jakovich reminds me of Robert Parker's Spenser. He has a wonderful middle class Ohio tone. He's just a guy who is trying to right some wrongs. Since I know the Cleveland area these books are a little closer to me as I visualize the areas where Milan travels. Plus Roberts writes a good mystery. The twists and turns that seem to lead the right direction - are they or not? Has his path led him to the right person? Or has he missed a clue somewhere along the way? Read this involving mystery and find out.

I recommend this book. Unfortunately it is currently out of print, although it is listed at .

Pepper Pike
Full Cleveland
Deep Shaker
The Cleveland Connection
The Lake Effect
The Duke of Cleveland
Collision Bend
The Cleveland Local
A Shoot in Cleveland
Best Kept Secret
Indian Sign
The Dutch
The Irish Sports Pages