What follows is a non-stop, action-packed adventure as Blake overcomes several attempts on his – and his loved ones – lives and becomes deeply entwined in investigating two murders, a litany of sexual assaults, lies, charges, counter-charges and outright hatred. Blake takes the investigation in stride while fighting for answers from northern California, to Salt Lake City to a small town on the Georgia/North Carolina/Tennessee border.
The cast of suspects include an over-sexed divorcee named Kathryn “Kate” Winslow, who, in addition to holding clues that may solve the murders, is constantly making passes at Blake; her alcoholic, shady ex-husband, Phillip – an investment counselor who could be involved in shady dealings; her multi-millionaire self-righteous and controlling brother, James Kilmer, and her oldest daughter, Allison, who ran away from home after dropping out of college, and now works as a hooker and blames her parents for the way her life turned out.
Along the way, Blake shows his toughness getting information through legal and illegal gains as well as his kind-hearted side – in one case teaching a young boy named Freddie Roosevelt why it’s wrong to steal pencils and paper from a local convenience store, making Freddie apologize and giving him a job washing his Audi turbo and walking his dog, Watson. Blake befriends people throughout the novel – showing kindness and respect all the while keeping his own family’s cold, hard secret below the surface.
Author Daniel Babka’s characters are real, gritty and in one particular case, farcical. For example, his portrayal of Tony Moriano, an ex-mobster with a shady background but a heart of gold, is so over-the-top, it almost makes him believable. Moriano and his son, Tony Jr., know how to intimidate and get the answers Blake can’t – and often do, but they use their former background and a bit of a comic touch – like seeking jelly donuts or steak dinners as fees for doing jobs Blake requests. Babka gives them some flavor, but is careful not to be too outrageous.
The novel is split into mostly short chapters and each chapter is divided into separate sub-chapters, marking easy breaking points to stop reading when necessary and still stay interested in the novel, however; is difficult to put down because readers want to know what will happen next to Blake and learn more about him and his life.
NO MORE ILLUSIONS is a well-written, action-packed police mystery with a likeable and believable lead character and a cast of shadowy characters living in a world of wealth and privilege with deep, dark secrets. But those secrets may one day rip apart their lives and the lives of those around them.
Reviewed by Jack H. Durschlag for IndieReader.