Novel: A Choice of Enemies

Overview
George V. Higgins' A Choice of Enemies unfolds as a terse, unsparing portrait of reputation under siege, set against the sunlit yet morally shadowed landscape of Florida real estate and federal law enforcement. The central couple, a prosperous developer and his wife, find their lives upended when shadowy allegations tie them to international drug trafficking. Higgins frames the catastrophe less as a thriller of chases and shootouts than as a sustained study of how rumor, official procedure, and human frailty conspire to dismantle ordinary lives.

Plot and Conflict
What begins as a routine audit or inquiry evolves into a full-scale criminal investigation built on insinuation, unreliable witnesses, and bureaucratic momentum. The developer's once-stable career, civic standing, and personal relationships are systematically eroded as agents and prosecutors assemble a case whose factual basis is often thin. The couple must navigate a legal and social landscape where every ally is tentative, every document can be spun into evidence, and the distinction between guilt and appearance of guilt is dangerously blurred.

Characters and Voice
Higgins populates the novel with a cast drawn from the overlapping worlds of law, journalism, business, and small-time politics. The developer and his wife are portrayed with a mix of sympathy and hard-headed realism, depicted as capable people who are nonetheless vulnerable to being overwhelmed by institutions and the court of public opinion. Supporting figures, investigators tasting bureaucratic success, defense lawyers juggling principle and pragmatism, local functionaries eager to distance themselves, are rendered with sharp, often unsparing dialogue that reveals motive through speech rather than exposition.

Style and Structure
The narrative advances through crisp, colloquial exchanges and tightly observed scenes rather than ornate description. Higgins' prose leans on conversational verve, letting conversations carry the burden of characterization and moral appraisal. The pacing is deliberate, with procedural details layered in to show how investigations gather momentum; the reader experiences both the tactical choreography of a federal case and the slow accretion of social pressure that isolates the accused.

Themes and Tone
A Choice of Enemies probes themes of power, accountability, and the fragility of reputation in a society that often substitutes accusation for proof. The novel interrogates the legal system's capacity for error and the human cost of institutional overreach, suggesting that the machinery of justice can become an engine of personal ruin when fed by assumption and ambition. Tone balances bleakness with dark irony: moments of sharp humor and wry observation puncture the tension, but rarely dispel the sense of inevitability that pervades the narrative.

Resonance and Impact
Higgins' focus on ordinary people caught in the gears of larger systems makes the story feel both specific and broadly relevant. The Florida setting and the real estate milieu ground the plot in a recognizable social reality, while the procedural unraveling holds a mirror to any era in which rumor and law intersect. The novel rewards readers who appreciate dialogue-driven fiction and moral complexity, leaving a lingering question about how much of innocence is preserved once suspicion has been cast.