'The Confession' by Robert Dugoni Book Review

          The jury is back and the verdict is unanimous. Robert Dugoni is not the ‘next’ anyone in legal thrillers, he’s the new standard against which others will now be judged. If Murder One was his Master’s thesis, then his latest David Sloane thriller, The Conviction, is his PhD; a dissertation in deception.

Sloane, the lawyer that never loses, finds himself reliving a horror from his recent past through the behavior of his step-son, who is suffering his own crisis of self-destruction brought on by witnessing his mother’s brutal murder and coming perilously close to his own. In a last ditch effort to reconnect—and keep Jake out of jail—Sloane accepts an invitation to go camping with an old friend and his son.

Jake, reluctantly followed by the younger boy, runs afoul of local law enforcement in a small town in California’s Gold Country. Whisked away, tried and convicted in a kangaroo court, the boys find themselves on the way to a juvenile detention center from Hell before the dads fully realize they are missing.

          Now, the law Sloane has manipulated to his advantage for so long, becomes a ponderous impediment, and he must decide if he can do whatever it takes—legal or not—to rescue the boys before time runs out.

          The Conviction, due out June 12^th from Touchstone, is a taut, riveting Tilt-A-Wheel ride that builds to a white-knuckle climax for readers. Dugoni is fully in command of his craft and does not disappoint. This book makes a compelling case that Robert Dugoni deserves a place atop the bestseller throne. All hail the new King of legal thrillers!

Robert Dugoni

The Conviction   ISBN: 978-1-4516-0672-0

Touchstone  Due for release June 12, 2012

R L Pace received an advance copy of this book, gratis, for review purposes, but purchased a pre-release copy at full price before reading ‘The Confession’ or writing this review.

Murder One-Robert Dugoni Book Review

"Time may heal all wounds--but it leaves deep scars.  Just ask David Sloane, the doesn't lose lawyer in Robert Dugoni's latest legal thriller, Murder One, set for wide release June 7th.  (Yes, I actually have a review done in advance of a book's release!)

More than a year after the murder of his wife, Sloane is finally, reluctantly, re-emerging into the land of the living.  Tragedy hangs heavy in his heart, but he manages a good effort at a black-tie dinner as a featured speaker, where he unexpectedly runs into the opposing counsel in the case which brought so much grief  to his life.  Barclay Reid has also suffered; the cruel loss of her only child to a drug overdose.  As a result, she has become a crusader against the Russian drug-trafficker she holds responsible.

Despite being adversaries in the past, Sloane is attracted to Reid and her zeal for justice.  When the Russian drug dealer is found murdered, Sloane is inexorably drawn into defending his first criminally accused client:  Barclay Reid.

Dugoni is at his screw-tightening best here, weaving a plot that is intricate and as tightly wound as a tiger about to pounce. It is also fair to the readers.  All the evidence is in play and we gets to try to figure things out right along with David Sloane.  It's an E-ticket roller-coaster ride sure to keep you turning the pages.  I read it in a single sitting, I just couldn't wait to match wits with the famous lawyer and see if I was right.  I wasn't, completely, but it made the journey all the more enjoyable.

Murder One treads a path between Presumed Innocent and Basic Instinct with shocking twists and armchair gripping tension right to the stunning climax that, for me, make this an overall better read.  With his attention to detail, and keen sense of mood, timing and language, there is no question Dugoni is the new king of legal thrillers, and one day soon I can well imagine a banner across one of his books that says:  Soon to be a Major Motion Picture.

I can dream, can't I?



 Murder One by Robert Dugoni

Touchstone

ISBN: 978-1-4516-0669-0


I threw in the E-ticket ride for the benefit of us snow-capped readers that can actually remember what that meant.