The Case of the Colonist's Corpse

What we have here is a traditional courtroom drama, set in the Star Trek universe. There is only a brief cameo appearance by the crew of the Enterprise; mostly, the book centers around Sam Cogley, the lawyer who defended Captain Kirk in the TV episode "Courtmartial". The book is well-written and interesting, but if you read "Star Trek" books for the characters of the Enterprise crew, this book is not for you. Similarly, if you enjoy courtroom dramas, but don't care for science fiction, this book is probably not for you. If, on the other hand, you enjoy both science fiction AND courtroom drama, this is a definite must-read.

The Case of the Colonist's Corpse ReviewIn this Perry Mason meets Star Trek Original Series novel, renowned Federation defense attorney Sam Cogley agrees to defend a Klingon commander who has been charged with the murder of a Federation settlement administrator. The story is set on a barren colony planet settled (under the terms of the Organian treaty) by both the Federation and Klingons. Both races are competing to demonstrate who can best utilize the planet's resources and thus win the planet. Though the competition causes ongoing hostilities, the two respective leaders have worked out a truce creating a on-planet neutral-zone and governing whose law various offenses should be tried under.Problems arise however when it is discovered that the Klingons are rotating in new colonists secretly to make it look like they are better able to manage their area. Moreover it appears that the Klingons have planted a spy as they seem to know things about the colony before anyone else - including Starfleet. Things come to a boil when the Federation administrator arranges a late-night meeting with his Klingon counter-part and is found dead with the Klingon standing over him.Sam Cogley (who defended Kirk at his court martial from the TV series) agrees to represent the defendant. He comes to Aneher to solve the case and uncovers a number of things and perhaps even starts the two cultures on their way toward peace.For Star Trek fans that are mystery lovers this book delivers (it is similar in style to the Perry Mason novels). For those liking the more traditional style of Star Trek book, you may be disappointed. Kirk and crew appear for no more than 10-15 pages; however it has a strong plot and is somewhat unique among Star Trek books which generally follow the ship comes and solves problem on planet mold.

This is not you average Star Trek novel. Bob Ingersoll and Tony Isabella have written a tale which is closer to Perry Mason than Trek. This is deliberate. The cover illustration is much like the cover of an old paperback mystery and even the typeface of the title page duplicates those great old books.The authors use Samuel T. Cogley, who defended Kirk in the original series episode, Court Martial, to give us a wonderful homage to the old Perry Mason novels. They even acknowledge their debt to Erle Stanley Gardner. Most of the story is set on a planet which, due to the Organian Treaty, humans and Klingons are competing at developing. While it takes place some pages into the story, the back cover informs us that the human administrator is found murdered with the Klingon administrator crouching over the body. Cogley must defend the Klingon.The leadup to the murder introduces us to Cogley and his assistants and then to the murder victim and those that will be suspects. The authors play perfectly fair to the reader and give us all the clues. Even still, for me, the identity of the murderer comes as a surprise.Kirk and crew do make a cameo appearance but the story focuses on Cogley and his people. The cover proclaims that this is "A Sam Cogley Mystery". I loved this and certainly hope that the authors will give us more.

Star Trek: The Case of the Colonist's Corps written by Bob Ingersoll and Tony Isabella is a worderful who-done-it and is liken to a Perry Mason mystery. The main character in this book after the first 100 page setup is Samuel T. Cogley, a lawyer, who has in the past worked successfully for Captain James T. Kirk and defended him from court marshall in the Ben Finney incident. Here, the book sets the scene with some background information and we get the usual suspects on who killed Administrator Daniel Latham on the planet Aneher II which sits in the middle of the Neutral Zone between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Aneher II is under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty and is a contested world settled by both the Federation and the Klingons. As both sides are trying to prove to the Organians that they alone can best settle this world, there is mistrust and spying going on making for an interesting story. The character development could be a little stronger but it was adequate for this story as you got the general idea about who didn't like Latham and had a grudge to settle. Commander Mak'Tor the head of the Klingon colony is found in Latham's office with a phaser in his hand kneeling over latham's body. Ah, so it seems that we have the murder suspect caught red-handed, but the cranky odd old lawyer Samuel T. Cogley is called into the picture to defend Mak'Tor. But there are twists and turns as Starfleet has assigned Areel Shaw to the prosecution, who has already lost once to Cogley and doesn't want to repeat of the same outcome. There are clever scenes within this book and you can see the deductive reasoning of Cogley coming through and his courtroom antics seem to backfire, but is that what seems to happen or is it planned. Cogley is clever, but will he get to the bottom of this case? The answer is in the book. I gave this book a 5 star review for its originality and for using seldom seen characters in a unusual setting for a Star Trek book. With a little more writing this could have been as good a Perry Mason novel. Sam Cogley for the Defense! Makes sense and is a very good read... pay attention and you'll figure out who-done-it.