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“The 7th Canon” by Robert Dugoni
Peter Donley works for his Uncle Lou’s law firm in the Tenderloin section of San Francisco. Uncle Lou’s biggest client is the Archdiocese of San Francisco and when one of the priests is charged with the murder of a teenager and possible pornographic acts, Donley catches the case. Despite having to delay his own plans, Donley owes it to his uncle to follow the 7th canon – “zealously represent a client within the bounds of the law.”
Father Tom Martin, complete with shaved head, an earring, and a tattoo, has been the right fit for the boys’ shelter in the Tenderloin for years, but the evidence does point to the priest. Tom had opportunity, if not motive. Thing is, he says he didn’t do it. Fr. Tom is being railroaded, and everyone is in a rush to file the motions and convict the guy.
Donley must deal with the murdered teen, elusive complicit witnesses, and the evidence found at the scene. An ambitious DA, the Chief Prosecutor, the former Governor of California, and a cop gunning for revenge, are among the tightly drawn supporting cast. Dugoni has woven a masterful tapestry of suspense in this standalone novel.
Fun fact: “The 7th Canon” is set in the late 1980s, before emails or cellphones.
“43 Missing” by Carmen Amato
Detective Emilia Cruz, the first woman detective in Acapulco, has been called in on a federal level case – a search for the missing bodies of 43 male college students who participated in an annual protest rally. After stealing busses from a local bus company, they were stopped by the police, handed over to a drug gang, and never seen again.
Cruz is part of a task force of five law enforcement officers hand-picked by the Attorney General’s office because of their lack of affiliation with previous investigations that pointed to inadequate actions by the Mexican government. Nothing was done to either bring anyone to justice or to find the bodies. The task force parameters are clear: ‘Don’t gather new evidence or interview the families, but the government wants to confirm or deny the previous conclusions and put the matter to rest.’
“43 Missing” is based on an actual 2014 case in Mexico that garnered international attention and was widely acknowledged that it was gang/drug related. In Amato’s fictional account, the families want closure and to find where the bodies were buried while remaining anonymous; they fear for their lives if they speak up publicly.
What is uncovered in “43 Missing” is astounding and Amato is thoroughly convincing in her taut version of what might have happened in real life. This is a haunting page-turner. In real-life, the 43 bodies have yet to be found.
“Low Country Bribe” by C. Hope Clark
Seeing blood splattered all over the office is not the way I’d like to start the business day, but that’s exactly what Caroline Slade, Federal Agent for the Department of Agriculture near Charleston, South Carolina, encounters. A co-worker, Lucas Sherwood, has committed suicide and the morning goes downhill from there.
A hog farmer, Jesse Rawlings, attempts to bribe Ms. Slade into helping him get title to a farm in the area. In exchange for $10,000 and maybe a little action on the side. She reports the attempted bribe to her boss, but is implicated as complicit in the very charges she has reported. The investigators stop believing her version of the events and the hog farmer knows where she lives.
Clark delivers a story that includes corruption and greed, a scheme much broader in scope than a mere bribery attempt, kidnapping, tacky affairs, real estate fraud, and renewed interest in the case of missing co-worker Mickey Wilder.
The area of South Carolina in “Lowcountry Bribe” appears desolate, maybe even a bit creepy, at times. What came to mind was how easily somebody could get lost forever, without ever a possibility of being found. The book is based in part on an actual bribery case in the author’s personal experience, although Ms. Clark has insisted the murders in the novel are fictional.
“Buried Secrets” by Joseph Finder
Nick Heller is a former intelligence officer with Special Forces background. He is excellent at uncovering secrets, is loyal to his family and friends, and has an ache in his heart for an old FBI flame. He has a secretary who can hack into anything and contacts going way back. And a look that you defy at your own peril. Even Heller is not always immune to ‘the look.’
A family friend, evasive billionaire Marshall Marcus, asks for Nick’s help when his daughter, Alexa, is kidnapped. Alexa is a troubled teenager with an earlier kidnapping experience that colors her fear of small spaces. This time, she has been buried alive with limited food and water. Finder has drawn Alexa so well that I felt her terror as she pushed against the coffin, as she tried to stay calm and lost it, as she pleaded for release, as she screamed.
I carried “Buried Secrets” everywhere. I read it while waiting in line, while eating. I just couldn’t abandon Heller while he dealt with the constantly lying father, the rule conscious FBI, the sick kidnappers, the layers of secrets, the pulse-pounding race against time. Talk about compelling characterization and riveting storylines!
Enjoy the reads!
