Review: FRAME-UP (Oceanview Publishing 2010)Author: John F. Dobbyn
In FRAME-UP, we meet a formidable young, Boston-based lawyer Michael Knight and his mentor/partner Lex Devlin. The story opens with Knight recovering in a hospital following an explosion, in which an old friend, John McKedrick, has been killed. The explosion sets off a chain of events that leads Knight into danger.
Turns out Devlin has old ties from childhood with a crime kingpin who Knight couldn't have imagined his mentor being associated with. The kingpin's son is accused of arranging the explosion and resulting murder – however, he claims he's being framed. Knight's job is to represent the son. He already knows that McKedrick wasn't a complete innocent, either, since he'd been legal counsel for shady characters himself.
The story takes you through Knight's quest for information that'll exonerate his client – leading the reader through a convoluted set of events that keeps one guessing.
Meanwhile, as Knight works out the machinations of Boston's Mob politics, complications related to a stolen Vermeer painting are playing out in Europe. These complications involve a rather intimidating and powerful man, known only as "the gentleman" – someone who inspires enough fear and loathing among the players to belie his nickname.
The story is told mostly from Knight's first person perspective, but switches gears about halfway through, so the reader sees events in Europe from another point of view (and in third person). This technique builds tension and creates anticipation of how the European connection fits into the larger picture.
Knight also grows close to one of McKedrick's friends – a charming young woman, who Knight worries may have been in love with McKedrick. The relationship creates a nice romantic subplot that gets woven well into the main story.
John F. Dobbyn has created in Knight a lawyer who's intrepid, without being foolish. Knight has ethical and moral standards and he tries to do the right thing, while representing people he might not like personally – making him both adventurous and a consummate legal professional. Dobbyn does a masterful job of balancing these attributes – it's not an easy feat to make a lawyer's job look as exciting as depicted here, without going way over the top. [Something I know all too well from personal experience. Sorry, couldn't resist. And, Suite101, if you don't like it, that's just tough.]
Read the entire Suite101 review here. [Sans BSP and sarcastic remarks. :)]
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