Chicago private eye Mal Foley was a lawyer once. Then he disobeyed a court order requiring him to reveal a client's role in a shootout that left three people dead, one of them a cop, and his law license was revoked. Now years removed from that fateful day, Mal is filing a petition to get his license reinstated. It quickly becomes a problem, however, as Mal is expected to "express remorse for his misconduct" in order to satisfy the court, something he steadfastly refuses to do. In fact, he would withdraw the petition -- if people would only stop trying to frighten him into doing just that. Anonymous notes turn into death threats, then into savage beatings, and finally into murder. It seems no one wants Mal's petition to lead to a hearing, where testimony might reveal what really led to the shooting so many years ago.
The person with the most to lose should the truth come out seems to be Jimmy Coletta, a second cop shot that night. Coletta survived, but has spent his life since in a wheelchair. Whatever part he played in the shootout, he seems a good man now, spending his life helping minority kids who have disabilities. Mal doesn't want to bring Jimmy down, but soon an innocent man's life depends on Mal pressing ahead with his petition, no matter who gets destroyed in the process. Set in Chicago, No Show of Remorse is a startling novel about crime, corruption, and their devastating consequences.
