A Grave Breach by James Macomber, a Mysterious Review.

Review: The third international legal thriller by James Macomber, A Grave Breach, is a riveting novel that is all the more remarkable as the individual components of the story are not particularly compelling. A true case of the total being far greater than the sum of its parts.

There are two parallel storylines in A Grave Breach that are only tenuously connected, though the author clearly intends for the reader to infer the similarities between them. One is a continuation from a previous novel and deals with the recovery of Janie Reston. Janie, who had suffered severe physical, emotional, and mental trauma as the result of an attack by terrorists, is being cared for at a private clinic in Georgia. A doctor there wants to use an experimental technique to learn more about what Janie remembers from the attack, and uses legal means to gain control of her care and treatment.

Though a potentially interesting subplot in and of itself, there are several problems with it. The legal discussions, though mercifully brief, involve exceedingly esoteric matters of law. There is no courtroom drama here, only backroom maneuvering between counsel and the judge. The medical case is equally obscure. Implicit memory is a recognized concept, though somewhat controversial in amnesic patients. And then there's the motivation of the doctor, which is never fully explained.

The other storyline, and the primary one, has lawyer John Cann off to Europe to defend a man, Dubran Mribic, held in custody by international authorities, at the request of the senior partner in his Washington DC law firm. He finds himself inexplicably threatened, and then, after learning the man he is to defend was involved with ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian War and subsequently disappears, he teams up with Radovan "Rade" Nikolic, a member of the Serbian anti-terrorist authority, to find him and bring him to justice.

The most hard-core geo-political aficionado must be confused by the Balkans with its myriad ethnic groups and shifting alliances and conflicts over the centuries. The situation is made worse in A Grave Breach as 60 years of recent history is compressed into a few pages. Although critical to the story, it's confusing nonetheless. The legal matters discussed are even more arcane, largely involving procedural and jurisdictional issues. Again, no courtroom theatrics here, just a group of men from various government and international agency organizations discussing at length who has the authority to do what with Dubran Mribic.

Even the thriller aspect is fairly routine, in a Bond, James Bond sort of way. And yet, almost in spite of itself, it all comes together so very well. Macomber masterfully handles all these (sometimes tedious) topics and incorporates them into a page-turning book that is hard to put down. A Grave Breach is a first-rate thriller and is highly recommended.

Acknowledgment: Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity provided a copy of A Grave Breach for this review.

A Grave Breach

A John Cann Thriller by James Macomber