Hostile Witness

After reading a local review that simply raved about William Lashner, calling him the "best mystery writer in the country," I knew I had to find one of his books and read it. I was not disappointed.Victor Carl, an attorney with two first names, isn't your ordinary, every day hero. One might call him an anti-hero. Consider that he's a lawyer, first off. And that he's made some really bad decisions in his life, which has put him on the "down and out" list in Philadelphia. In order to save his failing private practice, he agrees to aid Councilman Jimmy Moore to avoid a racketeering and murder rap. Basically, he's sold his soul in order to get a leg up in the world. Not only does his decision turn out to be the most dangerous choice he's ever made...it turns out to be the worst. While Victor watches as his client is framed--and could it be that he's being duped as well?--he begins to learn a hard lesson about life, and about himself.An excellent, well-written novel, with deeply flawed and believable characters, Lashner is one author that gets added to my "favorites" list!

There are a number of legal thrillers being published with great regularity, but I haven't encountered very many that capture what it is like to walk out of law school with that freshly minted degree, pass the bar exam, set up practice and...wait. Wait for the phone to ring, wait for that promised money to start rolling in, wait for that career satisfaction to kick in.William Lashner, the author of HOSTILE WITNESS, describes this and, even though he describes it from a retrospective standpoint, does it quite well. Actually, he does a number of things quite well and a number of things amazingly well. When Victor Carl, Lashner's main character gets caught between the rock of expenses and the hard place of a shrinking accounts receivable, one gets the feeling that Lashner, who was a practicing attorney in Philadelphia, has either been there or has been close enough to it that he knows what it smells and looks like, even if he's never tasted it.When we meet Carl he is six years out of law school and, in his own words, flat-out broke. Out of time, out of money and possessing only an abundance of despair, a sharp intellect and a way with a smart remark, he finds himself only a few cases away from being destitute. One of those cases takes him to the offices of Talbott, Kittredge, and Chase, opposing counsel and one of the premiere Philadelphia law firms. Carl goes into their offices expecting nothing and leaves not only with a generous offer of settlement for a marginal case, but also an offer of employment as co-counsel.William Prescott III, a partner with Talbott, Kittredge, and Chase offers Carl the opportunity to represent Chester Concannon, an aide to City Councilman Jimmy Moore and charged as a co-defendant with Moore for extortion, arson and murder. The trial is in two weeks, but all Carl has to do is sit down, be quiet and leave everything to Prescott. The fee that Prescott offers is more than enough to solve all of Karl's problems as well. It is that final point that sweeps away any ethical reservations Carl might have. It does not take long, though, before it becomes obvious to Carl that Prescott is subtly setting Concannon --- and Carl --- up for a fall.That, however, is not Carl's only problem. He soon finds himself involved with Moore's mistress, the beautiful, enigmatic Veronica Ashland. Ashland is the nexus of the Gordeon knot that lays at the heart of the crimes Moore and Concannon are accused of and has the potential to either save Carl's client or bring the case crashing down around his ears.Between first page and last, Lashner does a masterful job of keeping this complex, complicated plot humming along quite nicely and demonstrates a fine sense of knowing when to connect dots for the reader and when to sit back and let the reader do it. If there's a flaw at all in HOSTILE WITNESS, it's with the introduction of Morris Kapustin, a wonderfully unlikely private investigator. The flaw is that Kapustin is so interesting a character that he

I adored this book!! It was a really meaty story. Just like the ones I love to sink my teeth into! I don't think I have come across a lawyer protagonist I liked quite this much since Rudy Baylor in John Grishams's "The Rainmaker". You can't help but adore Victor Carl in this story. Perhaps some of his goals lack sensitivity but you know that deep down, Victor is an honorable man and sure enough, by the end of the book even he realizes it. The suspense of the story is riveting, the characters are very real and there are enough twists and turns in the story to keep you intrigued. But the best thing about this book is it's depth and it's quality. I can't fully explain it, but it makes most lawyer type thrillers seem shallow in comparison. Sometimes I had to reread a passage and just stop to think about what was going on, but that is a sign of a great read, in my opinion. It is a delicious story and a one you just want to savor,so to speak. When you are done you sure want more of Victor Carl and I can't wait to read the next in the series. I hope Mr. Lashner is working hard on a third!!

Victor Carl, the protagonist of "Hostile Witness," is one of the most enjoyable characters to appear in suspense fiction in quite some time. Far from being the embodiment of the idealized American lawyer, Carl is full of flaws and frailties that make him all the more enjoyable to follow in this fast-paced, suspense-laden thriller that has humor and heart. The book may be set in modern-day Philadelphia, but its roots lie in the California-based film noir classics of the 1940s and early 50s. "Hostile Witness" is easily the most enjoyable book I've read in a long, long time. I hope it is the just the first of many such books from newcomer William Lashner.

This is one of the best legal thrillers I've read - including Grisham, Turrow, R.N. Patterson. Protagonist Victor Carl is so human - flaws and all - I found his character as complelling as the mystery itself. Don't read any synopsis of this book! Get to know the characters and the story one page at a time. I devoured the book during a recent vacation - and on the 6 hour plane trip home. Couldn't wait to check for additional titles by the author and was glad to learn that Carl's not-so-illustrious legal career continues in Lashner's next novel.