Falls the Shadow

Don Leslie narrates this macabre mystery with stylistic ease, meandering through intricate characterizations, twists, and subplots with frequent black humor. His smooth voice suits prominent Defense Attorney Victor Carl, but the slow pace of the narration during the lengthy trial scenes teeters on being boring. The pace quickens when Carl meets the mysterious Dr. Bob, a dentist and compulsive busybody who operates under a law known only to him. However, moments of bad taste chosen by the author, characterized by bizarre humor, give the story a disappointing and confusing close. Accents and gender and age changes are excellent, but the pace of the presentation is uneven and the content disappoints. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

April 18, 2005
Payment in advance lures cheerfully selfish criminal defense attorney Victor Carl (who last fought the good fight in 2004's Past Due
) to seek a new trial for François Dubé, a charming French chef convicted of murdering his beautiful wife, in Lashner's fifth legal thriller. Like every case in every courtroom drama, Dubé's is more complicated than it first appears, involving secrets that could humiliate, if not bring down, half of Philadelphia society. Carl, who thinks Dubé did it even as his partner, Beth Derringer, says otherwise, is further distracted by a new pro bono client he's taken on and a throbbing toothache that sends him into the less-than-tender hands of Dr. Bob, a dentist who takes a holistic approach by involving himself in every aspect of his patients' lives. Soon Carl's getting himself a new girlfriend, a new wardrobe, new dental work and a new set of troubles from the cream of Philadelphia high life. Lashner works overtime to amuse the reader, arming his tough-talking characters with jokes to spare, leading to a tone that's somewhere between Raymond Chandler and Chandler Bing. Toning down the relentless wisecracking might have helped sell the more serious parts of the book (would the victim's grieving mother really tease Carl about his missing tooth?), but the well-staged plot twists and Carl's amusingly amoral narration make for good beach reading. Agent, Wendy Sherman.