A Criminal Defense by Steven Gore

Published by Harper on July 30, 2013

Having read two of Steven Gore's Graham Gage novels (one was entertaining, the other just okay), I decided to try his latest Harlan Donnally novel. It convinced me that Gore should stick with Graham Gage.

The discovery of Mark Hamlin's naked body hanging from a rope in San Francisco's Fort Point leads retired homicide detective Donnally to play a reluctant role in the investigation of his murder. A judge (who behaves more like a prosecutor or police officer than a judge) appoints Donnally as "special master" to root through Hamlin's files looking for evidence that would lead to Hamlin's killer -- a suggestion, oddly enough, that Hamlin presciently made in a letter he wrote before his death. Why Hamlin didn't take greater care to avoid being murdered in never explained.

As he searches through Hamlin's files, Donnally follows leads that reveal preposterous criminal schemes in which Hamlin was engaged. He also discovers that Hamlin frequently traveled to Southeast Asia, leading Donnally to suspect (with no basis whatsoever) that Hamlin was a child predator.  In addition to Hamlin's clients, Donnally uncovers additional suspects, including the sister who inherits Hamlin's property and the lawyers who worked with or against Hamlin. Of course, the reader knows that most of these will be red herrings. They are also dull herrings. The truth is equally dull and not even momentarily credible.

Few of Gore's characters struck me as realistic, and I couldn't motivate myself to care about any of them. The criminals are one-dimensional caricatures of real people. Hamlin is a cartoonish stereotype of a dishonest lawyer, allegedly guilty of so many kinds of wrongdoing (including, laughably, opium addiction) that I wanted him to come back to life to defend himself. Donnally, on the other hand, is arrogant, self-righteous, and ill-informed. He hates everyone and everything. We get page after mind-numbing page of Donnally's condemnation of private defense attorneys (who are either incompetent or corrupt) and public defenders (who sell out their clients) and prosecutors (who make too many deals with the public defenders) and trials (which are just theater) and forensic psychologists (who say anything they are paid to say) and the city government (because it doesn't want to turn San Francisco into a police state) and drug cops (because they plant evidence and lie about their illegal searches) and judges (because they throw out the evidence that the drug cops acquire illegally) and hippies (because they're hippies) and his father (a filmmaker who didn't make "honest" movies). Donnally at least has the virtue of being an equal opportunity hater, but if anyone in the novel deserves to be hated, it's Donnally -- and that's not a good opinion for a reader to have of a thriller hero.

While none of the supporting characters are interesting, they aren't as obnoxious as Donnally (although some of them, including a character who is supposedly gay, seem to have a problem with gay men and lesbians). In fact, the only interesting aspect of A Criminal Defense is a scheme involving federal defendants accused of drug crimes who inform on other defendants. Gore has some insight into the way informants (whether or not they are truthful) drive the criminal justice system in federal court, and he understands the willingness of federal prosecutors and DEA agents to overlook their obvious lies. Unfortunately, the scheme isn't remotely plausible, and it comes too late in the novel to redeem a snooze-inducing plot.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Absolute Risk by Steven Gore

 

Published by Harper on October 26, 2010

FBI Agent Michael Hennessey enhanced his career by participating in the arrest of financial mathematician Hani Ibrahim for funneling money to foreign terrorist groups. After leaving the FBI, Hennessey pursued his suspicions that Ibrahim was framed. As the novel begins, Hennessey has arranged a meeting with Fed chair Milton Abrams to discuss Ibrahim but Hennessey apparently commits suicide just before the meeting is to occur. Ronald Minsky, CEO of Relative Growth Funds, is supposedly using Ibrahim's theories about fractal analysis to operate the world's most successful hedge fund. Abrams believes Minsky is making money illegally, a fact Hennessey may have stumbled onto. Abrams wants Graham Gage to uncover the truth. Gage's search leads him to a scheme that could cripple the world's economy.

In a related subplot, Gage's wife Faith finds herself in the midst of a worker's rebellion in China following an earthquake. Workers are unhappy about unsafe buildings that were constructed with the help of foreign corporate bribes. Yet another subplot involves the vice president, who has been suckered into endorsing a National Pledge Day that expressly excludes all Americans who do not adhere to the Christian faith.

I liked Absolute Risk more than the previous Gage novel, Final Target. The insufferable smugness that characterized Gage in the first novel is gone and the plot is more straight-forward. On the other hand, I didn't think Absolute Risk maintained quite the degree of suspense that makes a thriller memorable. The subplot involving Gage's wife in China creates more dramatic tension than Gage's investigation into Relative Growth, yet it's a less significant part of the story. Having said that, I disagree with the reviewers who felt bored by the discussions of economics that occur throughout the novel. I thought they were interesting and integral to the plot; I never got the sense that Steven Gore was lecturing me about economics, nor did I feel that the characters' perceptive opinions about economic theory hindered the story. While I don't have the kind of economics background that would permit an informed opinion about the credibility of the scheme that Gage eventually uncovers, I can say that if it could happen (and Gore makes it seem plausible), we should all be very afraid.

There is a political component to the story that will turn off some readers. It didn't bother me, but some readers might think Gore is unduly critical of politicians who fail to keep church and state separate. It's a timely social issue that has been handled well in other novels, but it was a bit out of place in this one. That component of the novel seemed unnecessary and even distracting, although all three of the novel's storylines do tie together nicely in the end. Still, it isn't a large part of the story and it contributes amusement value, if nothing else. Be warned, though, that if you don't want to read about religion and politics in a thriller, you should find a different book.

Gore's prose is polished and free of clichés. His sentences are never awkward.  I look forward to reading the next Gage novel; something I wouldn't have predicted after reading the first one.

RECOMMENDED

Final Target by Steven Gore

Published by Harper on February 9, 2010

Graham Gage is a PI whose agency does high end work. When his best buddy, international transactions lawyer Jack Burch, is shot, Gage is drawn into a US Attorney's attempt to indict Burch for conspiring with SatTek Industries to launder money. The real conspiracy is something quite different.

Ample action and decent pace make up for a needlessly convoluted story that I won't even try to summarize -- Gore got a bit carried away with all the plot twists. The characters are cardboard although the portrayal of federal prosecutors and over-zealous law enforcement agents as willing to sacrifice the truth for the sake of a career boost rings true. Unfortunately, Gage is so full of himself I found it difficult to cheer for his success. It was easier to cheer for Burch since he's in a coma for much of the novel.

Novels of sophisticated financial crime and shady foreign markets are becoming more common. This is a decent entry in the field despite its flaws. I particularly liked the scenes that take place in Ukraine. With a tighter plot and stronger characters, however, this could have been a much better novel.  As it stands, I think readers would be better served by Gage's second effort, Absolute Risk, a novel that overcomes many of the faults that impaired my enjoyment of Final Target.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS