A teaser sentence from the thriller, The Hidden Man by David Ellis:
"I'll do that," I promised. "But I need more than a month to prepare, Sam. I need six months, minimum."
(ch. 10, from an uncorrected proof. Final edition may differ.)
I thought the plot of this mystery was very good. I also like the relationship between the lawyer Jason Kolarich and his childhood playmate, Sammy, who suddenly, just before the trial, requests that Jason defend him in a case of suspected murder. Jason balks but then reluctantly agrees; he and Sammy go back a long way. Sammy hasn't confessed to the crime, and no one except the law seems to blame him for the death of a pedophile suspected in the disappearance of his little sister Audrey thirty years ago.
The Hidden Man has lots of twists and turns, enough to keep you going, although I had to navigate a maze of different ways to try a case and to defend in criminal court. Those familiar with courts and trial law will get the most out of the intricacies of this very good legal thriller.
From the publisher:
" Jason Kolarich is a midwestern everyman with a lineman's build and an easy smart-ass remark. He's a young, intelligent, and successful lawyer, but he's also struggling with an overwhelming emotional burden - one that threatens to unravel his own life, and possibly the lives of those around him.
When a long-estranged friend resurfaces needing Kolarich's legal help, the lawyer has to try to salve old wounds. Yet as the trial looms, it becomes clear that unsettling events from the past are precisely what need to be exposed in order to crack not only this case but also a mysteriously connected one that went unsolved more than thirty years ago."
Author David Ellis, an attorney from Chicago, is counsel to the speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and was the prosecutor in the Governor Rod Blagojevich impeachment trial. He has written six other mystery novels and is an Edgar Award winner.
Thanks to Putnam, New York for an advance review copy.
