The Hidden Man (Putnam, 2009) by David Ellis
is the first legal thriller about Jason Kolarich, an attorney in an unnamed
Midwestern city that sounds a lot like Chicago. Kolarich is reeling from the
loss of his wife and child in a car accident four months earlier and is barely
functioning when a slick stranger named Mr. Smith gives him a briefcase full of
cash to defend Kolarich’s childhood friend Sam Cutler in a murder trial that is
scheduled to begin in a month. Cutler’s baby sister was taken from her room one
night about 25 years ago, and Cutler is accused of shooting the man who was
believed to have kidnapped and killed her but who was never convicted.
Smith tells Kolarich that he
will be directing the defense but Kolarich doesn’t understand Smith’s interests.
Cutler claims not to know anything about Smith and is deeply suspicious of his
motives. Kolarich maps out his own strategy and implements it over Smith’s
escalating objections. He is developing an understanding of the case,
considering potential defense strategies, and attempting to interview witnesses
while overwhelmed with guilt and grief and realizing that his younger brother
is likely using drugs again.
Kolarich is not the typical
protagonist of legal thrillers. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and would
have started down a path of petty crime as a teenager had the football coach
not recognized his outstanding athletic ability and diverted his energies. He
managed to attend college on a football scholarship, where his quick temper got
him into more than a little trouble but he still managed to graduate and go on
to law school. Kolarich is an original thinker and seldom does what anyone
expects him to do, which brings him into direct conflict with Smith but helps
in the execution of courtroom strategy.
An original story with a
couple of imaginative and unexpected plot twists turn this into a very good
legal thriller. Starred review from Publishers Weekly.
·
Publisher:
Putnam Adult
·
Publication
date: September 3, 2009
·
Print
length: 336 pages
·
ISBN-10:
0399155791
·
ISBN-13:
978-0399155796
Amazon Associate Purchase
Link: https://amzn.to/4evauCe
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment