Summary: Claire’s a law professor at Harvard, and everything’s going right for her. She’s got a beautiful daughter from a previous marriage, tenure, and she’s married to the man of her dreams. Or is she? Following a break-in at their house, her husband is chased down by the government and the military for a horrendous war crime he’s accused of committing 13 years earlier. Claire takes the reins and leads her husband’s defense team, trying to keep him alive and out of military prison.
Setting: United States, 1993 and flashbacks to Central America, 1985
Plot: Claire is a tenured professor at Harvard, a rising celebrity due to her involvement with a highly publicized case, and is happily married to a wonderful man. Her life starts falling apart around her when her husband is accused of war crimes in an undeclared war in Central America, and chased down by the FBI. She pursues a vigorous legal defense for him, taking on the military justice system in a bid to get down to the truth, or at least to keep her husband out of prison. Are those goals mutually exclusive?
Criticisms: No significant criticisms. The book is written about a pretty graphic series of events during an undeclared war. Most of the graphic events covered are described from a more narrative style, rather than from a gritty, realistic perspective.
Wrap-up: Finder does a good job of dumbing down some of the more technical concepts (regarding armaments, etc.), and while his courtroom scenes aren’t quite as polished as Grisham, he’s quite effective at capturing the courtroom drama. Most of his books are written more about the corporate world and corporate espionage, so this was a nice change-up, and nicely demonstrates his versatility as a writer.
Grade: By my arbitrary scale, I would give this book a B.
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