Overview
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ROBERT DUGONI RETURNS WITH HIS MOST EXHILARATING THRILLER TO DATE, A PULSE-POUNDING STORY OF CORPORATE GREED, ESPIONAGE, AND THE LENGTHS ONE MAN IS WILLING TO GO FOR JUSTICE.
Bodily Harm opens with a big win for David Sloane and his new partner, Tom Pendergrass, in a malpractice case centered on the death of a young child. But on the heels of this seeming victory, an unlikely character—toy designer Kyle Horgan— comes forward to tell Sloane that he’s gotten it all wrong: Horgan’s the one who’s truly responsible for the little boy’s death and possibly others—not the pediatrician Sloane has just proven guilty.
Ordinarily, Sloane might have dismissed such a person as a crackpot, but something about this case has always troubled him—something that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. When Sloane tries to follow up with Horgan, he finds the man’s apartment a shambles— ransacked by unknown perpetrators. Horgan has vanished without a trace. Together with his longtime investigative partner Charles Jenkins, Sloane reexamines his clients’ son’s death and digs deeper into Horgan’s claims, forcing him to enter the billion-dollar, cutthroat toy industry. As Sloane gets closer to the truth, he trips a wire that leads to a shocking chain of events that nearly destroys him.
To get to the bottom of it all and find justice for the families harmed, Sloane must keep in check his overwhelming desire for revenge. Full of nail-bitingly tense action scenes as well as edge-of-your-seat courtroom drama, Bodily Harm finds Robert Dugoni at the very top of his game.
Synopsis
Bodily Harm opens with a big win for David Sloane and his new partner, Tom Pendergrass, in a malpractice case centered on the death of a young child. But on the heels of this seeming victory, an unlikely character — toy designer Kyle Horgan — comes forward to tell Sloane that he’s gotten it all wrong: Horgan’s the one who’s truly responsible for the little boy’s death and possibly others — not the pediatrician Sloane has just proven guilty.
Ordinarily, Sloane might have dismissed such a person as a crackpot, but something about this case has always troubled him — something that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. When Sloane tries to follow up with Horgan, he finds the man’s apartment a shambles — ransacked by unknown perpetrators. Horgan has vanished without a trace. Together with his longtime investigative partner Charles Jenkins, Sloane re-examines his clients’ son’s death and digs deeper into Horgan’s claims, forcing him to enter the billion-dollar, cutthroat toy industry. As Sloane gets closer to the truth, he trips a wire that leads to a shocking chain of events that nearly destroys him.
To get to the bottom of it all and find justice for the families harmed, Sloane must keep in check his overwhelming desire for revenge. Full of nail-bitingly tense action scenes as well as edge-of-your-seat courtroom drama, Bodily Harm finds Robert Dugoni at the very top of his game.
Publishers Weekly
Dugoni offers an awkward union of classic revenge tale and courtroom drama in his third legal thriller to feature Seattle attorney David Sloane (after Wrongful Death). When eccentric toy designer Kyle Horgan claims that he was responsible for a young child's death in a wrongful death case, not respected pediatrician Peter Douvalidis, against whom Sloane is about to win a massive judgment, Sloane has cause for serious concern. Already conflicted about elements of the case, Sloane becomes alarmed at the revelation of a second child's death eerily similar to the one blamed on Dr. Douvalidis and more so when Horgan vanishes. Sloane's link with Horgan and his reputation as “the lawyer who doesn't lose” make him and his family a target for an ex-CIA assassin, Anthony Stenopolis. Effective courtroom scenes compensate only in part for Sloane's covert search for Stenopolis, which is a fitfully competent assembly of familiar thriller clichés. 7-city author tour. (May)
Editorials
Kirkus Reviews
Attorney David Sloane (Wrongful Death, 2009, etc.) makes a satisfying return in a toy story for adults. Around Seattle, legal folk have gotten in the habit of referring to Sloane as "the attorney who never loses." As he awaits the verdict in his latest case-a malpractice suit against a pediatrician-Sloane takes pardonable pride in an unbroken string of 22 victories. Make it 23, when the jury returns in favor of Sloane's clients, the McFarlands, grieving parents of Austin, a little boy who's dead. Another victory, yes, but then why is Sloane feeling so much less than triumphant? For two reasons: (1) niggling doubts as to whether the pediatrician's performance was as lackluster as Sloane had made it appear, and (2) a bizarre encounter outside the courtroom just prior to the verdict, the memory of which he can't seem to shake. Toy designer Kyle Horgan, unkempt, smelling slightly of booze, obviously distraught, had accosted Sloane, stopping him long enough to point an accusing finger-at himself. The doctor was being mistakenly accused, a blatant miscarriage of justice. In explanation, he had thrust a manila folder at Sloane, swearing it would prove irrefutably exculpatory. Later, Sloane better understands the young man's agitation. He had designed a good toy, but greedy hands were manufacturing it into a child murderer, hence Austin's tragic death. Unsettled, Sloane is eager for further disclosure, but by now Horgan can't be located. Happenstance? Hardly. Someone has secrets, so dark that keeping them buried amounts to a life and death issue. To that end, enter a world-class professional killer. As efficient as he is amoral, and aimed directly at Sloane, he's been charged by his employers to inflict maximum bodily harm. The ending's a bit pat, but it's still a well-told story that manages to be both harrowing and moving.Publishers Weekly
Dugoni offers an awkward union of classic revenge tale and courtroom drama in his third legal thriller to feature Seattle attorney David Sloane (after Wrongful Death). When eccentric toy designer Kyle Horgan claims that he was responsible for a young child's death in a wrongful death case, not respected pediatrician Peter Douvalidis, against whom Sloane is about to win a massive judgment, Sloane has cause for serious concern. Already conflicted about elements of the case, Sloane becomes alarmed at the revelation of a second child's death eerily similar to the one blamed on Dr. Douvalidis and more so when Horgan vanishes. Sloane's link with Horgan and his reputation as “the lawyer who doesn't lose” make him and his family a target for an ex-CIA assassin, Anthony Stenopolis. Effective courtroom scenes compensate only in part for Sloane's covert search for Stenopolis, which is a fitfully competent assembly of familiar thriller clichés. 7-city author tour. (May)From the Publisher
“Dugoni's impressive talent is on full display here. There's plenty of bark and bite—both readers and the characters are in for a wild ride. Don't miss this one."—Steve Berry
“Bodily Harm is as good as it gets. Another great page turner by Robert Dugoni. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Stephen J. Cannell
“With each new novel, Robert Dugoni continues to prove both his talent and his craft. His books remind me of the best of John Grisham—only better! Read him now!” —James Rollins