Alibi

June 29, 2009
Australian author Bauer's third David Cavanaugh thriller (after 2008's Gospel
) follows the hotshot Boston criminal defense attorney as he defends James Matheson, a young law student accused of murdering Jessica Nagoshi, the daughter of corporate powerhouse John Nagoshi. With the help of Sara Davis, his girlfriend and co-counsel, Cavanaugh goes head-to-head with ADA Roger Katz, who aims to further his own career by putting Matheson away. The well-plotted legal thrill ride is marred by two-dimensional characters and a complete lack of emotion. Poorly constructed and sometimes purple prose (“the solitude of dawn... when, somehow satisfied with their allocated allotment, the shadows gave way to a rising sun and the ever-promising possibilities of what lay ahead”) turns a would-be page turner into a slog. Fans of Bauer's previous books ought to give this one a chance, but John Grisham she ain't.