When Campbell writes about Chicago being a close-knit town where everyone knows each other and is busy all week long swapping favor for favor, you think you've opened up another one of his kind of humorous tongue in cheek Jimmy Flannery mysteries. But what Campbell has done with Boneyards is he's taken the insider world of Jimmy Flannery's Chicago, shaved off the cute edges and Flannery's funny way of narrating, and given us a full-on hardboiled Chicago tale. Make no mistake about it, Boneyards is Campbell's greatest work.

Boneyards is the story of a fixer, a Chicago cop known locally as the City Hall Pimp who has his fingers in every jar and every racket. This is a tale about Ray Sharkey's downfall, but it's far more than just another story about a bad cop mixed up with the rackets. It's a story filled with background details that bring to life an amazing complex character. He's got a daughter in an institution. A wife dying of cancer. A sister who wanders around like a vagabond. A one legged brother. A mistress in a flat. He's got half the politicians in the city after him to break him down, to bring him to heal, to make a public example out of him for both personal and political reasons.

There's a murder case here involving a guy put through hell and hung out to dry in a hotel bathroom and not much to go on to solve it. But it's not at the center of this novel, Ray Sharkey is, big, rude, corrupt, filled with agony.

This is great thick deep stuff. Really wish Campbell had been able to make this into a seri ( )

When Campbell writes about Chicago being a close-knit town where everyone knows each other and is busy all week long swapping favor for favor, you think you've opened up another one of his kind of humorous tongue in cheek Jimmy Flannery mysteries. But what Campbell has done with Boneyards is he's taken the insider world of Jimmy Flannery's Chicago, shaved off the cute edges and Flannery's funny way of narrating, and given us a full-on hardboiled Chicago tale. Make no mistake about it, Boneyards is Campbell's greatest work. Boneyards is the story of a fixer, a Chicago cop known locally as the City Hall Pimp who has his fingers in every jar and every racket. This is a tale about Ray Sharkey's downfall, but it's far more than just another story about a bad cop mixed up with the rackets. It's a story filled with background details that bring to life an amazing complex character. He's got a daughter in an institution. A wife dying of cancer. A sister who wanders around like a vagabond. A one legged brother. A mistress in a flat. He's got half the politicians in the city after him to break him down, to bring him to heal, to make a public example out of him for both personal and political reasons. There's a murder case here involving a guy put through hell and hung out to dry in a hotel bathroom and not much to go on to solve it. But it's not at the center of this novel, Ray Sharkey is, big, rude, corrupt, filled with agony. This is great thick deep stuff. Really wish Campbell had been able to make this into a series. ( )