In the Name of Honor: A Thriller

When I see a book written by Richard North Patterson, I feel it is a MUST read. I have never read one of his books I did not enjoy and "In the Name of Honor" is certainly no exception. This book will take you through a military trial involving mainly the McCarran and the Gallagher families that will also take you into the heart of the Iraqi war, then bring you back to present reality in a hard fought trial that will teach you much about law, both military and civilian. Captain Paul Terry was given the duty to defend the general's son, Lieutenant Brian McCarran, for shooting and killing his wife. Captain Terry, a JAG (Judge Advocate General) attorney, had only a month left before he was to start a very lucrative Wall Street job in civilian life and he was so looking forward to that job away from military life but he felt he could at least get the defense started for another attorney. The McCarran family had been military for generations and they didn't want a blot like this on their history. To top it all off, it was the general's son who had killed his goddaughter's husband. Sound confusing? It is but not the way the author wrote his story. The victim, Captain Joe D'Abruzzo, had been Brian McCarran's company commander in Iraq, a fact that made them work very closely together in times of stress. The disagreements between Brian and his commander in procedures while serving in Iraq became wider and caused a lot of dissension between the two but the commander was the law of the platoon. Joe D'Abruzzo would not even go to his commanding officer even though Brian had requested that many times. These splits in opinion between the two led to some of the problems in Iraq and upon their arrival back home. Then Joe's wife Kate was being threatened by Joe to the point of being frightened with him around, especially with the loaded gun he kept in the apartment. This trouble also caused Kate to turn to Brian to protect her when her husband had threatened her. Did this cause an affair? The trial produced many incidents in Iraq as well as at home where PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) could have been a factor in the murder. Many experts were used as witnesses, as well as fellow platoon members that were still alive and hard to find and were reluctant to testify and bring back too many horrific memories. Brian's sister, Meg, wanted to help defend her brother but that had to be with Terry's approval, which he did okay since she was an attorney though not experienced in military law. Meg and Paul Terry found a spark between them and it wouldn't go away. They sometimes had problems keeping their mind on the trial when they worked on the facts and strategies away from the courtroom. I think I have given you enough to make you want to dig into this very good story. If not, you must not like adventurous military trials with love mixed in. With so many possibilities of who actually did what in this murder, you will be kept guessing until the

This book has it all. I can just picture the handsome military lawyer, Captain Paul Terry, as he takes on a case representing the well-connected golden boy, Lieutenant Brian McCarran, on charges of murder and adultery. You see, Lt McCarran's father is the Chief of staff of the army, and has been tapped for the top position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cpt Terry has only two months left to serve as a Jags Corp officer, after being hired by a top notch Wall Street firm, and he hopes that this case will be resolved quickly. He was assigned this case by his commanding officer and also has a reputation to have never lost a case as a prosecutor and only a few as a defense lawyer. Mr. Patterson takes the reader on a journey that explores not only the JAG system in the military, but also the dynamics within a four generation military family, and the daily life of a soldier in Iraq. He expertly educates the reader on the definition of PTSD, and how the military code has not caught up to the reality of our present time and situation in the world. I am always spellbound by the stories Mr. Patterson writes, and this one did not disappoint me one bit. His novels are not formulated, fill in the blank stories, in which the supporting cast is the only thing that changes, book to book. Instead, his novels are superbly crafted sagas that I truly treasure and take my time with, rather than speed read over some of the content. This book is not an action-packed thriller of the Tom Clancy or W.E.B. Griffin variety, but is rather a fine suspense novel, that builds slowly to a conclusion that kept me guessing until the end. I suggest that when you get this book, you set aside some quality time to just get lost in the story. I stayed up quite late several nights in a row and really didn't want to put this book down at all! I highly recommend this book.

Brian McCarran is the son of the army chief of staff and comes from a long line of heroes. After returning from Iraq he is different. We find out how different when he kills his commanding officer and husband of a close family friend. He's defended by military lawyer Paul Terry, a short timer, with the opportunity to jump to a large criminal defense firm in New York and his sister Meg who is the family enabler. This book is written into the context of the struggle the military has had with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its role in the lives of soldiers and its impact on the military criminal justice system. Mr. Patterson weaves a complex tale that,I think fairly, navigates the complexities of the issue and its impact on soldiers, their families and the military system itself. Add in twisted family dynamics, secrets, an affair and betrayal and you have a toxic cocktail of the highest magnitude. The book appears to be a straight ahead courtroom novel, but it takes an interesting twist at the end, presenting Paul Terry with an ethical crisis of the highest magnitude. This book is a great read. It felt real, it moved quickly and I found it hard to put it down. I found myself caring for the characters and wondering what would happen to them. This is a can't miss story

In the Name of Honor is a legal and psychological case study that explores the meaning of "honor" and the conscious and unconscious interplay between personal morality, family loyalty and professional obligations. Well researched and presented without bias or conclusion, Patterson allows his multi-dimensional characters to tell the story through their own filters of experience and need. As the truth unfolds, it becomes evident that Brian is not the only character for whom the past and the present are interwoven to such an extent that their freedom to understand and control their judgment and actions is compromised. There is a lot of necessary detail and through the telling and retelling of the same story, the reader is able to have some experiential understanding of the hovering presence of trauma in the minds and psyche of people. In the hands of a less able writer, the combination of adultery, murder, suicide, the military, Iraq and PTSD would have created a toxic manuscript rather than one that is compassionate, thought provoking and honorable.