|
A published author recently confided to me that it appears as if half of the world is writing mysteries and the other half is trying to do so. And if one were to break those numbers down by occupation, it would seem as if part of the qualification for membership to the Bar is indeed to publish a novel. Some have wondered --- disingenuously, I believe --- if we really need another attorney writing mystery and suspense novels. The answer, in the case of David Hosp and his debut novel DARK HARBOR, is a resounding "yes!"
Hosp creates a flawed but endearing protagonist named Scott Finn. Finn's background takes a page or three from Horatio Alger. An orphan from the streets of Boston, Finn was in the process of flushing his life down a deep, dark sewer before reversing course and channeling his tenacious, take-no-prisoners attitude and aptitude into law school and subsequently into the courtroom. His skills as a public defender attracted the attention of Howery, Black & Longbothum, Boston's most prestigious legal firm, and as DARK HARBOR opens he is on a fast track to become a partner in the firm.
Finn is part of a team defending Huron Security, one of the firm's most significant clients, from a wrongful death action when Natalie Caldwell, lead attorney on the Huron Case (as well as Finn's friend and former lover), is found brutally murdered. Caldwell appears to be the latest victim of Little Jack, a serial killer who has left the people of Boston terrorized and the police dumbfounded. Boston Police Detective Linda Flaherty, however, isn't certain that Caldwell's death is truly connected to the Jack murders.
When Little Jack is apprehended, Flaherty is strongly pressured to close the Caldwell case along with the others. She stubbornly and tenaciously pursues her own investigation and finds that the trail leads directly to Finn, who, with Caldwell's death, has been given the plum assignment of leading the team defending Huron. Finn is outraged that he is under suspicion, and his umbrage grows greater as he begins an investigation of his own to prove his innocence, only to discover that the murder leads inexorably back to his own law firm. Finn and Flaherty begin a delicate dance in which they uneasily aid each other's investigation while Finn becomes a more likely suspect --- and their grudging mutual attraction for each other doesn't make things any easier.
Readers have to engage their suspension of disbelief at times in DARK HARBOR --- most attorneys never encounter anything this exciting in their day-to-day existence --- but it is still a fun read. The most intriguing element of the book for me was the manner in which Hosp has created an incredibly complex scam that he explains in words of one and two syllables. This is a trait that he no doubt acquired in the courtroom --- your average jury pool does not consist entirely of PhDs --- but I can think of few authors (David Hewson, Brad Meltzer, Jeffery Deaver, maybe one or two others) who do this type of thing with the clarity that Hosp brings to his work.
DARK HARBOR is an impressive debut by an author whose talent looks to run deep, and long.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
Click here to get the audiobook from Audible.com.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
