Robert Dugoni, The Jury Master

The Jury Master

Robert Dugoni

Warner, March 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 044657869X

How one feels about San Francisco wrongful death attorney David Sloane depends on whether he represents you or opposes you in court. He is the master of manipulation as juries always go his way, though the members may hate his guts; years and fourteen major cases without a loss.

Everything changes with one phone call. Presidential advisor Joe Branick calls Sloane just before he commits suicide. Not long afterward, a package from Branick arrives. Suddenly thugs seem interested in Sloane, and his apartment is torn apart but nothing seems missing. Branick has sent him a file with a three decade old secret, that if revealed will destroy political and business careers of the most powerful that were built on blood. It also contains information about the beleaguered lawyer's past, and that of a stranger, former CIA agent Charles Jenkins. Trying to stay alive and uncover the entire truth at the same time as bulldog West Virginia police detective Tom Molia who thinks Branick is a homicide case.

This is a terrific thriller that is made plausible by a wonderful cast who seem very real, especially the attorney and former Fed on the run, and their persistent adversaries. The storyline is action packed from the moment that Sloane wins his latest case, and never slows down until the final get together in Seattle with a Bird poster and Sam the dog. Fans will appreciate Robert Dugoni's powerful novel debut and seek his nonfiction work THE CYANIDE CANARY (perhaps even more frightening because it is non-fiction in a time of lawsuit ceilings, and no collections on even paltry safety violations).