Violent Ward

June 28, 1993
Deighton's latest, an enjoyable departure from his tales of British espionage ( City of Gold , etc.), introduces a protagonist with definite series potential. Harried L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy is plagued by a slew of eccentrics who fully bear out the book's epigraph: ``If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the Violent Ward.'' Among them are an ex-wife who tries to get more alimony by perching on the ledge outside his office, a slightly over-the-hill actor in search of a handgun, a Robert Maxwell clone called Sir Jeremy Westbridge and a Trump-like entrepreneur named Zach Petrovich, who owns Murphy's law firm and is married to his high school sweetheart. Their maneuverings spark a complicated plot whose many ramifications include a charitable organization that doubles as a clearinghouse for those seeking to fake their own deaths and the set-up of a tax-free Peruvian corporation through the use of bearer shares, but Murphy keeps all the craziness in perspective with a first-person narration that unfolds as a series of quiet, subtle surprises. Told in perfect Dashiell Hammett style, with the clues all noted but never underlined, this novel respects the reader's intelligence and almost begs for a rereading just to savor how skillfully Deighton has woven everything together. Author tour.

February 1, 1994
YA-A masterfully crafted tale awaits both teens seeking leisure reading and those looking for a contemporary author for a literature assignment. Within the first six pages, evidence is given to support the title lead in: "If America is a lunatic asylum, then California is the Violent Ward." The lives of Mickey Murphy, a LA criminal lawyer; and the entire cast of con artists and people on the cusp of legitimacy, Hollywood wannabes, old friends, and especially Mickey's childhood sweetheart, Mrs. Ingrid Petrovitch, are deftly woven into this plot that is full of humor and unexpected twists and turns. The surrealistic combination of media coverage juxtaposed with the first-person accounts of the rioting following the first Rodney King trial provides a fitting context for the physical and intellectual resolution of this story.-Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA

June 1, 1993
Deighton's latest is markedly different from his international spy thrillers. This time his story is set among the rich and famous of Southern California, with L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy as the hero. Unfortunately, the novel is a hodge-podge of trite, contrived, trying-too-hard-to-be-funny characters and dialogue, with a Byzantine plot and a surfeit of why-is-this-here subplots (guns, antique cars, the Rodney King riots, has-been actors) that only add to the confusion. The plot goes like this: Murphy's law firm has been bought by Zach Petrovitch, a megarich mogul with fingers in lots of pies. Petrovitch's wife, Ingrid, Murphy's childhood sweetheart, still makes Mickey's heart rate accelerate. But something funny's going on, and Murphy has to figure out whether Zach's trying to kill Ingrid, Ingrid's trying to kill Zach, or one of Zach's associates is trying to kill them both. As if this weren't enough, Murphy also has to cope with his worthless, "lend me fifty, Dad" son, his airheaded "lend me a hundred, Mickey" ex-wife, and a secretary who can't seem to understand that he likes his croissants "without" jelly. Warning for other authors tempted to tamper with what's worked in the past: "don't." It's a risk that rarely pays off. Of course, with Deighton's name on the cover, "Violent Ward" will probably generate requests despite its flaws. So buy plenty of copies, but don't be surprised if readers are less than thrilled. ((Reviewed June 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)