Friday, June 5, 2009

High Crimes by Joseph Finder

Do you ever really know the person you married? Joseph Finder's frighteningly credible novel confirms his place as 1 of America's leading thriller writers. Claire Chapman, a celebrity professor at Harvard law school and a high powered criminal defense attorney, has about as close to a perfect life as one can get. She attained National attention for successfully defending a movie star in a rape trial; her 2nd husband, Tom Chapman is a charismatic and successful money manager; and she lives in a beautiful house in Boston with her 6 year old daughter. Then a random burglary sets in motion a chain of events that turns her world upside down. A police investigation reveals the chilling fact that Tom is not who he says he is; he never attended the college he says he did, he once had a different name...and a different face. When Tom is arrested and put on trial for a crime he insists he didn't commit - an unspeakable atrocity, a mass murder carried out 13 years ago - Claire puts her reputation on the line to defend him.She must try the casein a sealed high security courtroom: a top secret court-martial run by the Pentagon, in which all the evidence is classified and all the rules are different. And when it becomes evident that the judge - and, in the shadows behind him, a highly placed military leader - will let nothing stand in the way of Tom's being convicted of 1st degree murder, Claire's faith in her husband is tested to the very limit.

The lesson readers may get from this novel is knowing to play your game and learning how to play other's game to win. This was what Claire did. She knew that winning the case with all pieces of evidence are classified, apart from what she used to do in regular courts. With her talent and intellect, he unfolded a great mystery in the Pentagon, where her husband used to work, and jailed a high profile military officer who ordered a High Crime.

Source: Alibris

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