A
Grave Breach
A
John Cann Thriller
James
Macomber
Oceanview
Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-07-4 (1933515074)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-07-6 (9781933515076)
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): International lawyer John Cann would never defend a war
criminal - particularly the Serb accused of horrific acts during the
Bosnian War of the 1990s. But when his friend, mentor and Senior
Partner Arthur Matsen needs his help, John has to make a tough decision.
Struggling with legal issues and ethical dilemmas in Europe, John's
past is close behind. Never far from his mind is Janie Reston, the
young college student viciously abused and left for dead by terrorists.
As John uncovers what lies deep in Matsen's past, Janie is in
increasing peril. Will past, present and future intersect or will time
run out?
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.
Special thanks to Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity for providing a copy of A Grave Breach for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read A Grave Breach? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
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Scorpion Books (Hardcover), January 2001
ISBN-10: 0-9709538-0-1 (0970953801)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9709538-0-3 (9780970953803)
Art
& Part
Scorpion Books (Hardcover), June 2003
ISBN-10: 0-9709538-2-8 (0970953828)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9709538-2-7 (9780970953827)
A Grave Breach
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), October 2007
ISBN-10: 1-933515-07-4 (1933515074)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-07-6 (9781933515076)
Omnimystery
keywords for A Grave Breach
...
Location(s) referenced: Washington
DC, Georgia,
Balkins
