The Hearing

Nobody does the thriller milieu better than Mills, who once again uses his skill as a magazine writer to bring complicated fictional scenes of crime, law, and politics to instant and completely credible life. When Alabama judge Gus Parham is nominated by the president--his old college friend--for an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, it brings out of the woodwork everyone from a 13-year-old daughter he never knew he had to a vengeful Colombian drug dealer who can orchestrate more damage from behind prison bars than most villains on the outside. There's also a fascinating, complex character named Helen Bondell, who runs an alliance of public interest groups known as the Freedom Federation and who at first sees the nomination of moderate Southerner Parham as a bad idea. Bondell wants to keep Gus off the Supreme Court in the worst way--until she realizes that her supposed allies have much worse ways than she can imagine. Helped by a supportive president with some resourceful aides, a tough DEA agent friend, and Samantha, the delightful and courageous daughter suddenly thrust back into their lives, Gus and his wife Michelle resist all pressures to withdraw from the race and avoid a bloody Senate hearing. By making sure that every detail of motivation and landscape rings true, Mills keeps us captivated every inch of the way. Some of his memorable early works such as Panic in Needle Park and Report to the Commissioner, are out of print, but more recent books (Haywire and The Power) are available in paperback. --Dick Adler