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Author Jamie Katz is an Assistant District Attorney in Massachusetts, and his profession and experience are evident in this strong first novel. Attorney Dan Kardon is something of a lost soul. He's drifted from firm to firm, always seeming to move a little lower in the Boston pecking order. A combination of family tragedy and his own uncertainties about his life and career have made it difficult for him to succeed in ordinary terms. Unmarried, he maintains a relationship with a married couple from his college days, Ann and Frank Winters. When a relative, Arron is orphaned, Ann and Frank adopt the child to raise and Don Kardon becomes a kind of ex-officio uncle. When the story begins, Aaron is nineteen, a cycling enthusiast and planning to live with some college buddies in a beach-side cabin owned by the Winters in the Cape Cod community of Wettamesett. Suddenly, Aaron is murdered and the small town police department seems to be getting nowhere fast. Because Kardon is a lawyer, he agrees, reluctantly at first, to accede to the Winter's sorrowful request to intercede with the police. But when he does look into the case, circumstances spiral quickly out of control. The novel is an interesting mix of textures, with strong characterizations and subplots that are intriguing enough to stand on their own. The writing is good and only occasionally is one forced to turn away from the sweep of disbelief. This book is not easy to pigeonhole. There's the satisfactory look inside Kardon's faltering law practice, good detailing of the police investigation, and the changes that occur in the protagonist, Kardon. He's interesting to follow as he develops. If the pace sags a bit in the middle, it's still a good first novel and Katz leaves us with more than one uncompleted thread which will encourage readers to look for continuation of the character in subsequent stories.
Reviewed by Carl Brookins, May 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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