All the great words for Big City Bad Blood pretty much apply to this book. I read this book immediately after finishing the first one and once again was greatly rewarded with a great story. Similarly to the first book, this is one story where uncovering the scheme is not enough. Ray needs to figure out a way that will allow him to extract himself out of the plot alive. He has to think creatively and set things up so that people don't see a benefit on killing him.

I only wish that Gravedigger played a bigger role in the story. The Gravedigger character is so interesting and mysterious, that the author should have allowed for more development....hell, he could have his own series of stories.

PI Ray Dudgeon is still recovery from injuries received during his investigation of a previous case (see "Big City, Bad Blood"). He needs money for surgery to repair his shoulder, and takes a case he might otherwise have turned down. In the previous case, he found himself confronting The Outfit and an array of corrupt politicians and officials. Now he finds himself in the middle of a different kind of corruption.

The novel deals with contempory issues, in particular the issue of contracted security services. There are guilty parties, and there are people who want things swept under the rug. There are black bag jobs, and Ray has to determine who is working for whom, who he can trust, and who wants to kill him.

There is a romance issue on the side, and some collateral casualties. The novel seemed to start a bit slow, and then was a little hard to put down.

After tackling the Outfit and the mayhem of the Hollywood mind-set in Big City Bad Blood, Ray Dudgeon returns to Chicago in Trigger City and finds himself ensnared in a web of murder, lies and deceit. I've been hoping to run into Ray again at my local bookstore and I am not at all disappointed with Chercover's second offering. A great read, full of surprises, I couldn't put it down.