Reasonable Doubts

Gianrico Carofiglio writes knowingly and entertainingly about the Italian justice system, with focus on the functioning of courts and the meaning of the law. In "Reasonable Doubts," he presents the relatively straightforward story of a man seemingly set up and convicted for smuggling drugs while on a vacation in a neighboring country with his wife and child. Carofiglio's protagonist, defense lawyer, Guido Guerrieri, is asked to appeal the conviction, but quickly finds that the potential client is a much-hated bully from his own childhood, thereby setting up a conflict of feelings for the attorney -- the pursuit of justice vs. personal prejudice. While every aspect of "Reasonable Doubts" is colored by Guerrieri's struggle to stay professional in the management of the case, the novel is also a skillfully presented police or legal procedural that reconstructs the basics of the case and ends with a masterful courtroom presentation by protagonist Guerreri. One big plus for this reader of "Reasonable Doubts" was the relative absence of the all-encompassing cynicism about the Italian justice system that is often part and parcel of other mysteries set in that country. Author Carofiglio, an anti-Mafia prosecutor in Southern Italy, has not lost all confidence in the Italian rule of law. Overall, this is a well-written and translated novel that respects readers' intelligence and gives them a bit of a challenge. Highly recommended.

Camilleri doesn't disappoint with this newest translation, August Heat. The beginning is light and comedic, but settles once again into a Sicilian mystery requiring the Commissa's team. It's great to meet up with the traditional characters and travel once again into the stark but wonderful Italian life of Sicily. The translation is great and leaves you waiting for the next book and hopes for many more to come.

Gianrico Carolfiglio has an affection for American books and movies, at least his defense lawyer Guerrieri does. His stories are far more than simple thrillers as they ironic love stories with comments upon the strange and often fragile relationship that truth has with criminal courts of law and those who make their living there. Carolfiglio does a far better job of protraying interesting believable characters caught up in the work and life that most lawyers know and practice in than either Grisham or Michael Connelly do. They on the otherhand, spin better yarns of action and danger. His books are short and quickly read but very difficult to forget. If you have not read at least one of his books you should not claim to be a well reader of mystery books.

This Italian bestseller is the third in Carofiglio's series of crime/legal thrillers featuring lawyer Guido Guerrieri. The simple story is set in the somewhat grim eastern port of Bari (yes, I've been there and don't care to return), where the 40ish private attorney plies his trade while fending off a midlife crisis. One day, not long after being dumped by his girlfriend, he is retained by a convicted drug smuggler to represent him in his appeal case. Coming back from a vacation in Montenegro, the man's car was searched, and 40 kilos of cocaine was found, leading to a sixteen year sentence. However, he claims to have confessed only in order to keep his half-Japanese wife out of jail, and disavows any prior knowledge of the drugs. The story then unfolds relatively straightforwardly, as Guerrieri examines the details of the original case and does a little digging with the unofficial help of a few old acquaintances. As in many European crime novels, the hero/protagonist is somewhat of a loner, and spends a good portion of the book drifting around the streets of the city (by bike!) ruminating on his empty life, eating, and drinking. Adding to Guerrieri's woes is his self-loathing when he falls all too easily into bed with his client's exotically beautiful wife. A further complication is the lawyer's secret past with his client -- as a teen, the client was a fascist thug who was part of a gang who assaulted Guerrieri, an event the client doesn't appear to recall. These latter two elements don't add a great deal to the story, especially the teenage connection, which leads nowhere and ultimately serves little purpose. Yet despite the relatively unoriginal plotline, there's a certain tone to the story that makes it quite compelling. Definitely not a great book, but good enough to make me want to go back and read Guerrieri's earlier cases (Involuntary Witness, A Walk in the Dark).

In Bari, Italy, convicted drug smuggler Fabio Paolicelli asks Guido Guerrieri to represent him on his appeal of a sixteen year sentencing. Guido looks at the trial in which Fabio's confession makes his guilt obvious. However, Fabio insists he was set up and that he admitted doing the crime to insure his wife Natsu Kawabata would not be on trial too. He also insists his lawyer Corrado Macrì worked for the opposition and not providing him with a good defense. Guerrieri hesitates as he feels the appeal will fail because Fabio confessed, the man's past as a Fascist punk offers no redeeming quality to build from, and there is no lucid motive to forge a conspiracy to lock him away. However, upon meeting the exotic half-Japanese Natsu, Guido agrees to represent Fabio. As he constructs the defense, Guido cannot resist Natsu's lure even though he knows this is a morally wrong conflict of interest; they make love. If Fabio ever finds out and is freed from prison it could prove dangerous to his lawyer, who begins to wonder if he should throw the case too. The legal thriller aspects are fascinating and cleverly devised, but that takes a back seat to the deep look at the ethics of the middle age attorney Guido. Readers will appreciate his realizations and rationalizations as he ponders between the best and worst defenses. Few sub-genre tales contain a better protagonist as he makes the tale worth reading with his fresh somewhat cynical spin (see INVOLUNTARY WITNESS). Harriet Klausner