I've been rereading a lot of Francis recently (though not this one, which clearly I ought to) and I've been really struck by the amount of emotional connection, friendship circles, people caring about each other, that runs through them that I didn't really remember.

Interestingly, the ones I read include a couple where the hero looks at it, goes "The legal system will not provide justice here." and deals with in a way that is emotionally satisfying, legally unjustifiable, and often pretty ruthless (though generally not fatal.)