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Fatal Flaw |  |
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Fatal Flaw | |
Ethically adventurous Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl usually does the right thing, but often for the wrong reasons. When old law school classmate Guy Forrest is accused of murdering his beautiful lover, Hailey Prouix, in their Main Line love nest, Carl agrees to represent him -- while keeping silent about his own prior romantic involvement with the victim, and his present determination to see that his client is punished for the brutal crime. But once Carl sets the machinery of retribution in motion, it may be impossible to stop it, even after his certainty begins to crack. Now Victor Carl must race across the country to uncover shocking truths: Who, really, was Hailey Prouix? And why is a killer still waiting in her shadow?
New York Times bestselling author William Lashner is a former trial attorney in the criminal division of the Department of Justice. A graduate of the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, he lives with his family outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Fortunately, William Lashner is as fine a wordsmith as he is a plotter. The settings are crisply evoked, from Philadelphia and Las Vegas to the dirt-poor Appalachians. All the characters are vivid, and a few--including the murder victim--are well-nigh unforgettable. But it's the narrative voice of Victor Carl that really carries the book. Cynical, funny, streetwise, and ethically flexible, he's an exceptionally engaging guy. And, like some of the wisecracking private eyes he resembles, he can deliver both breezy sarcasm and real emotional power. My suggestion: Reach past those other legal thrillers and put Fatal Flaw at the top of your reading list. --Nicholas H. Allison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
专业书评 From Publishers Weekly
At the start of this highly readable if predictable third thriller by Lashner (Hostile Witness; Veritas), Philadelphia lawyer Carl answers the late-night distress call of his friend Guy Forrest and finds him naked and sobbing on the front steps of a suburban house. Inside is the corpse of Guy's lover, Hailey Prouix, the woman for whom he left his devoted wife and kids. Even though at first he's unconvinced of Guy's innocence, Carl eventually agrees to represent Guy when he's charged with murder. Carl also holds an important secret that he keeps from Guy; from his own legal partner, Beth; from everyone, in fact, but the reader: Carl was Hailey Prouix's lover, too. In the novel's early chapters, Lashner effectively describes the mind games that Carl plays with himself, rationalizing decisions that are in his own best interest, if not those of his client. Once he believes Guy's earnest claims, Carl begins to probe Prouix's past, more to answer his own nagging questions about her than to find her killer or even to save Guy. The trail takes him to Las Vegas and to Prouix's childhood home in West Virginia. The past sins and crimes that Carl uncovers are of the predictably unspeakable variety. Indeed, the plot has a by-the-numbers feel: in one set piece, Carl is pursued and run off the road by a mystery car with tinted windows. What raises Lashner's thriller above the ordinary is its rich and resonant first-person narrative. Since his debut in 1995's Hostile Witness, the character of Carl has aged like fine wine. His wit is sharper and deeper now, but he also displays a bittersweet nostalgia and a more seasoned (if jaded) worldview. He's a provocative and entertaining guide, far more entertaining than the journey on which he leads us.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
This startling legal thriller is very, very good, but it's hard to find things to say about it that don't take away some of the surprise value. The story opens with Victor Carl, a defense attorney, called to the scene of an apparent homicide by his old friend, fellow attorney Guy Forrest. The victim is Hailey Prouix, Guy's former courtroom opponent and current live-in lover. But, and this is where it's necessary to be vague, Victor is also friendly with the victim. Guy begs Victor to defend him--it's almost certain he will be charged with murder--and Victor agrees, even though, for reasons of his own, he wants to see his buddy convicted of the crime. What follows is a devilishly complex, meticulously plotted thriller that keeps us guessing right up to the final scenes. Lashner, the author of two other fine novels, Hostile Witness (1995) and Veritas (1996), has given us a narrator, Victor Carl, who is clearly unreliable but in more ways than we can imagine. The author's prose style achieves a rare lyricism in places, and his characters are deep pools of mystery. A first-rate legal thriller. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
