Fatal Flaw

April 21, 2003
At the start of this highly readable if predictable third thriller by Lashner (Hostile Witness; Veritas), Philadelphia lawyer Carl answers the late-night distress call of his friend Guy Forrest and finds him naked and sobbing on the front steps of a suburban house. Inside is the corpse of Guy's lover, Hailey Prouix, the woman for whom he left his devoted wife and kids. Even though at first he's unconvinced of Guy's innocence, Carl eventually agrees to represent Guy when he's charged with murder. Carl also holds an important secret that he keeps from Guy; from his own legal partner, Beth; from everyone, in fact, but the reader: Carl was Hailey Prouix's lover, too. In the novel's early chapters, Lashner effectively describes the mind games that Carl plays with himself, rationalizing decisions that are in his own best interest, if not those of his client. Once he believes Guy's earnest claims, Carl begins to probe Prouix's past, more to answer his own nagging questions about her than to find her killer or even to save Guy. The trail takes him to Las Vegas and to Prouix's childhood home in West Virginia. The past sins and crimes that Carl uncovers are of the predictably unspeakable variety. Indeed, the plot has a by-the-numbers feel: in one set piece, Carl is pursued and run off the road by a mystery car with tinted windows. What raises Lashner's thriller above the ordinary is its rich and resonant first-person narrative. Since his debut in 1995's Hostile Witness, the character of Carl has aged like fine wine. His wit is sharper and deeper now, but he also displays a bittersweet nostalgia and a more seasoned (if jaded) worldview. He's a provocative and entertaining guide, far more entertaining than the journey on which he leads us. 6-city author tour.

March 15, 2003
This startling legal thriller is very, very good, but it's hard to find things to say about it that don't take away some of the surprise value. The story opens with Victor Carl, a defense attorney, called to the scene of an apparent homicide by his old friend, fellow attorney Guy Forrest. The victim is Hailey Prouix, Guy's former courtroom opponent and current live-in lover. But, and this is where it's necessary to be vague, Victor is also friendly with the victim. Guy begs Victor to defend him--it's almost certain he will be charged with murder--and Victor agrees, even though, for reasons of his own, he wants to see his buddy convicted of the crime. What follows is a devilishly complex, meticulously plotted thriller that keeps us guessing right up to the final scenes. Lashner, the author of two other fine novels, " Hostile Witness" (1995) and " Veritas" (1996), has given us a narrator, Victor Carl, who is clearly unreliable but in more ways than we can imagine. The author's prose style achieves a rare lyricism in places, and his characters are deep pools of mystery. A first-rate legal thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)