Joseph D. McNamara. The Blue Mirage (1990) 324 pp.
Publisher’s description: “Fraleigh … has made it to the top of the Silicon City, California, police department, but can he stay there? His first major SWAT operation was a disaster. Not only is a cop in intensive care, but a trigger-happy psychopath is at large, gunning for anyone in uniform. Fraleigh’s torrid affair with an ambitious lady politician threatens to heat up into a media bonfire. He has never felt so shaken by doubts about the job and love, and he hasn’t even walked into The Blue Mirage yet. It began as a small-time operation. The cops would run a sting out of The Blue Mirage, a phony bar and grill, and bag some neighborhood fences. But suddenly, explosively, the routine plan turns into a big-time sting involving millions of dollars in stolen bonds, murder, and local politicians, and leaving Fraleigh in a most precarious position. When the case points to New York City, Fraleigh is almost relieved to be out of Silicon City. But it’s here, in his old hometown where he was a cop on the beat, that he must confront his cop brother and the ghosts of an old scandal within the New York City Police Department.”