The Collectors by Richard A. Danzig is the third book in the third book in the Chance Cormac legal thriller series. However, it’s the first Danzig book to be reviewed in this blog. This is a good crime novel with one exception, but it’s a story that’s worth filling your entertainment time. There are a three main story lines with some excellent subplots.
Chance, an attorney whose practice is in Brooklyn, is hired to investigate whether a multimillion dollar painting that was purchased through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, could be a forgery. The Met is the largest museum in the U.S., which is located in Central Park, and it’s security systems are clearly state of the art, and no such theft had ever occurred in the long history of this museum. But quickly, it becomes apparent that Chance’s new client is not fully cooperating with the investigation for reasons that are not clear. At the same time the reader is learning about Chance and this new case, we learn that the man who had been working for him as an investigator, Damian, had given up such work to move to a new life in Costa Rica where he eventually teamed up with two old buddies, all former Navy SEALS. It was Troy who owned the surf shop, where he employed JR and Damian. They were all burned out on the high stress of their former jobs and were just looking to have a good life in paradise without much more to worry about than the size of the waves each morning.
It was during his morning run on the beach that Damian found a body of a man who had obviously been shot and killed. He called JR to help him deal with the matter and they promptly called the local policeman to report it. However, it turned out that Sergeant Rios was corrupt, and he decided to frame Damian and JR for the murder. Rather than take them to the local jail, he sent them to a remote prison that was only for convicted felons. It was a prison that was actually run by a corrupt warden and was controlled by dangerous gangs. Despite their training and SEALS, Damian and JR were helpless to deal with the gangs. Damian was beaten within an inch of his life and JR was beaten to death. Of course, Chance was contacted to help rescue Damian.
Danzig introduced a third story line of a man who had grown up in Costa Rican poverty. His parents owned and lived in a bodega in San Jose. They were honest and hardworking people and their son, Alejandro Renata was devoted to them. He was also a gifted student who won scholarships to college in San Jose, and then a scholarship to Johns Hopkins for medical school. Renata excelled at his efforts and quickly made his way into the world of organ transplants. His successes and research brought him tremendous wealth. He worked hard and loved his life, but he also fiercely protected his own territory of transplant research, much as his father had protected his bodega in San Jose. When his aging father needed a heart transplant, Renata used his worldwide influence to find a suitable heart from a donor in Argentina. However, the plan fell through and led to his father’s death. Renata was enraged and rather than continue in his lucrative work in London, he moved to Costa Rica where he built his own elite hospital that specialized in treating elite and wealthy people who needed transplants. As a result, he became more wealthy than ever.
It was Danzig’s pulling the seemingly diverse stories together that was the plot of this book. It was entertaining, and I very much liked his development of the characters. Chance’s personal life was compelling, and his hiring of a new investigator, Wendell Holmes brought a new fascinating man to the drama. I thought the only weak part of the story was the transition of Dr. Renata from being a internationally renowned surgeon into a sociopath who was engaged in black market dealings to get the organs he need his super rich patients. I think this book falls into my class of airplane novels, something that would successfully distract me while taking a cross-country air flight. I can see picking up one of his earlier novels for just such a trip.
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