I ran across this series starring Peter Macklin while looking at an Estleman bibliography. Such a multi-faceted/talented author who manages to write excellent, well-written stories in multiple genres: detective, western, and thriller.Apparently this was the first in a series of Macklin novels. While the plot is beyond fantasy (the idea of the FBI making a deal with an incarcerate mobster to get one of his "enforcers" (Macklin) to rescue 800 hostages on a Great Lakes steamboat being held captive by some homegrown terrorists totally strained my credulity. Not to mention that multiple injuries are cured virtually instantaneously by a hot shower...
Nevertheless, you can see strong hints of Estleman's talent that was revealed more completely in later works. Block does it much better with his Keller series.
