The Jury Master

January 9, 2006
The most impressive thing about this gripping legal thriller is what it doesn't do. Dugoni, a lawyer who coauthored a nonfiction book about an Idaho worker brain-damaged in 1996 by cyanide fumes, opens his debut novel with a wrongful death attorney in San Francisco, David Sloane, about to make his closing remarks defending a corporation in a similar case. Sloane, who has won 14 cases in a row, hates his arrogant client and must face an obviously hostile jury. But instead of devoting many chapters to the case, Dugoni quickly moves into some unexpected and very interesting territory: a recurring childhood nightmare Sloane shares with former CIA agent Charles Jenkins, apparently a complete stranger. Meanwhile, unstoppable West Virginia police detective Tom Molia investigates the suicide of a top adviser to the president, and what he finds draws Sloane and Jenkins closer to the truth behind their shared terror: an international conspiracy 30 years in the making. All of Dugoni's characters have a fresh and believable edge, and there is plenty of action in far-flung settings. One looks forward to Sloane's return.

February 1, 2006
This fiction debut from former lawyer Dugoni, author of the nonfiction "The Cyanide Canary" displays few of the pitfalls commonly seen in a first novel. David Sloane is a San Francisco wrongful death attorney everyone either envies or hates. With his words and actions, he can manipulate a jury into doing anything he wants, and he hasn't lost a trial in 15 years. But his existence begins to unravel when, on the other side of the United States, a presidential adviser evidently takes his life. Days later, Sloane receives a mysterious package from the man. Suddenly, he finds himself the target of assassins who want the contents of the package and who also know that the adviser's death was no suicide. Sloane must use all of his courtroom powers of persuasion in the real world if he is to survive and shatter a conspiracy. This thriller is reminiscent of the early John Grisham and should easily find its way onto the best sellers lists. For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "1/15/05.]" -Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L., WA"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
In this rapid-fire fictional debut, a personal friend of the president has turned up as the victim of a not-so-apparent suicide--but not before mailing a package to David Sloane, a golden-tongued corporate lawyer with a mysterious past. It doesn't take long for unknown baddies to kill (a) a kindly old woman, (b) an eager rookie cop, and (c) two beloved dogs, thus making matters personal for Sloane, rumpled police detective Tom "Mole" Molia, and ex-CIA operative Charles Jenkins. Neither plotting nor prose can be accused of subtlety or originality, and readers looking for legal action or psychological depth best look elsewhere. Still, the action keeps coming, so omnivorous thrill seekers who favor Martini and Grisham may want to give Dugoni a look. The jury's still out, though, on whether he has the potential to play in their league.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)