WRONGFUL DEATH
Robert Dugoni
Touchstone
Legal Thriller
ISBN: 9781416591009
In a relatively short period of time, Robert Dugoni has earned a slot on the A-list of many readers and critics. His third work of fiction returns to the world of THE JURY MASTER, his debut novel.
WRONGFUL DEATH begins with attorney David Sloane in a familiar role --- that of seizing victory from the jaws of defeat on behalf of a client during a jury trial. After the proceedings, with his string of triumphs intact, Sloane is approached by Beverly Ford, the widow of a U.S. serviceman killed in action in Iraq. Mrs. Ford has filed a claim against the government alleging that the body armor with which her husband had been supplied was inadequate. Though relatively unfamiliar with military law, Sloane knows that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to successfully litigate an action of this type. Yet there is something about the woman’s situation that resonates deeply within him.
Sloane, himself an ex-Marine who was injured in combat (and that story is worth the price of admission to WRONGFUL DEATH all by itself), begins by first researching the law, a process that does not reassure him about his chances for success in representing the Fords. But when he starts investigating the circumstances of Ford’s death, Sloane almost immediately senses that something is amiss. First of all, the statements of the soldiers in Ford’s combat unit are almost identical, a highly unlikely proposition given the chaos that accompanies a combat situation. What is equally unusual, however, is that Sloane is finding it impossible to interview the soldiers: one has apparently committed suicide, one was killed in what looks like a street drug transaction gone bad, and a third cannot be located.
Nevertheless, Sloane is undaunted. When his wife and stepson are the targets of a vague threat, rather than being deterred from his quest, he becomes more determined than ever to see that justice is done on behalf of the Fords. Charles Jenkins, the somewhat enigmatic but extremely capable former CIA agent who helped make THE JURY MASTER such a joy to read, is along to help, as is Alex, his gorgeous and dangerous soul mate. Though Sloane and Jenkins are outnumbered and outclassed --- not to mention that statutory law isn’t really on Sloane’s side either --- the good guys have some unexpected aces up their sleeves that no one, including the reader, will see coming.
I have mentioned this before in my reviews of his other novels, but it bears repeating: Dugoni is a master at explaining complex legal concepts in an understandable, readable way and in an exciting, riveting context. The Feres Doctrine --- which essentially prevents a soldier from suing the military, the government and its agents for injuries incurred incidental to service --- is dry sledding at best. Dugoni puts a real-world face on it and its consequences. By the time you have finished reading the book, you will want to seek out more information about the Feres Doctrine on your own. But he never utilizes legal concepts at the expense of his narrative thread, doling out the action and the legal theory in a 5 to 1 ratio.
WRONGFUL DEATH heralds the welcome return of one of thriller fiction’s newer --- and brightest --- stars.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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