A Thin Difference: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I really enjoyed the book, and appreciate the clear, concise writing.

Rating:
Summary: Crime and Punishment with an unexpected twist
Review: Right at the start, Hollon throws a curve into his novel, one that weighs upon the reader's mind throughout the book, a damning presence that refuses to be dislodged. Is there a crime so heinous as to be unforgivable? Possibly.

Jack Skinner is a middle-aged lawyer at the edge of financial dissolution. His life sliding into oblivion for years, he exists in an alcoholic haze, somehow enduring the misery of each day, at least until three o'clock. At exactly three in the afternoon, his extremely patient, unpaid secretary leaves for home and Jack removes the ubiquitous bottle from his desk drawer. So when Brad Craine saunters into the office, with a request for legal services and offering a $5,000 cash retainer, who can argue with Skinner's relieved acceptance? Craine merely requires the attorney to expunge his record, after which he intends to purchase a bar after qualifying for the liquor license. Should Skinner have been more circumspect? Craine did appear after three in the afternoon, the beginning of Jack's personal Happy Hour. And as Skinner himself wryly observes, "A man who keeps his eyes straight ahead has a hard time watching his back."

More than willing to ignore the quagmire that his personal life has become, Jack spends most of his hours at the office, in the court room or at the local bar. Three times divorced, Skinner's oldest daughter despises him and the youngest one is emotionally damaged, seeking oblivion in drugs and men. Ever more an absentee father, Jack studiously avoids any responsibility for his children's problems.

When Brad Craine is arrested for murder and needs his help, Skinner agrees to defend the affable young man, who insists that he is innocent. Skinner goes into overdrive, enlisting the aid of his younger daughter as assistant and using his considerable skills to build Craine's defense, especially since the prosecution's case is predominantly circumstantial. The perfect witness in his own defense, Craine's performance on the stand is brilliant. Skinner is hopeful that the verdict may be favorable, but it is a close call. At this point, the author tosses in yet another Hitchcockian twist, one that stuns even the self-deprecating Jack Skinner. Faced with an impossible conundrum, a man is called to account for a lifetime of deception, a very personal date with destiny. Hollon masterfully seduces the reader into the vortex of his dark and emotionally complex novel, always one step ahead, no holds barred, Luan Gaines/2003.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves more stars!
Review: This is by far one of the best legal thrillers out today. Blows Grisham out of the water. Believe me, get this book and read it! Mr. Hollon's writing is clean, concise and to the bone. I never saw the ending coming until it hit me like a train. I hope that he continues to write legal thrillers like this. Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!