O'Banion's Gift

By Michael O'Rourke

A lawyer handling a stressful child custody case in 1996 seeks distraction in the search for a woman who fled Chicago in 1924 with money stolen from Al Capone by rival gangster Dion O'Banion. What... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0974477702
• ISBN13: 9780974477701
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: St. John's Publishing Company
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

One gift that you will not be able to put down

As the author of a book about Chicago gangster Dean O'Banion, I was intrigued to learn that Michael O'Rourke had woven O'Banion's 1924 swindle of Al Capone mentor Johnny Torrio into this story's background fabric. "O'Banion's Gift" is the beautifully crafted intertwining of a vintage mystery and the all-too-modern moral dilemma of being an honest lawyer in a dirty divorce case. High-profile corporate attorney Riley McReynolds finds himself saddled with the distasteful task of representing his firm's most lucrative client in a vindictive divorce suit. Diversion arrives in a sudden obsession with a young woman who had benefited from Dean O'Banion's ill-gotten charity over seventy years before. Riley's search for Bridey Reaves transcends geography and time, and takes the reader on a gripping exercise in detective work. "O'Banion's Gift" is highly recommended. It's the kind of book you cannot put down.

O'Banion -- A Gift to the Reader

Usually I proceed with care when a book comes highly recommended by a friend, especially when the friend is related to the author. No such care was needed here! When Al Capone and The History Channel collide with a nasty Minnesota divorce, attorney Riley McReynolds shines. Add in a bit of mid-life crisis, law firm politics, high society quirks, and a large dose of humor, and this book takes off, leading to a romp through several Midwestern states and a few trips to the courthouse. All of these disparate elements come together beautifully with some interesting twists and turns, leading to a very satisfying reading experience. O'Banion continues McReynolds' trials started in "The Ordeal of Riley McReynolds," and the middle-aged prosecutor turned corporate counsel turned criminal defense attorney turned divorce lawyer and missing persons locator rises to the task with quite unpredictable results. This book is worth the hard cover price!