Walls of Silence: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Dark, complex mystery with unexpected epilogue
Review: Fin Border is screwed. He is pegged as a mediocre attorney in a mediocre law firm, and that's without his father's grim legacy hanging over him. And then he is unwittingly invited to witness his friend JJ's suicide, taking 15 innocent others with him. It gets worse when he realizes that JJ has set him up to look like a murderer. At the same time Fin starts to suspect something is amiss in the belly of his firm, with references back to his own father's infamy. The only ray of light for Fin is the kindling of his romance with Carol, but even that may be doomed by it's affiliation with JJ and the firm.

The conspiracy in this book is too complex to follow completely but the ever-darkening tone of the book draws you in. The unexpected epilogue is sadly humorous in the final compromise between good and evil.

Rating:
Summary: Story of two halves
Review: I read Walls of Silence in a week because I had a lot of time. The first half of the book was a personal drama with little action (though a bit of tension). The second half was all action and little drama. Rather than being a story with twists and turns, you know from the beginning that things are dark and the book slowly reveals the underlying secret. It was ok.

Rating:
Summary: Dark, moody and refreshing
Review: This book satisfied me on many levels. First, the author writes very well with certain passages and turns of phrase that had me reeling or saying: "I should remember this. It might come in handy."

Second, the protagonist Fin Border is a pretty ordinary man but -- man, oh man -- the author gives him a devastatingly captivating internal voice. Fin talks and behaves like a boring gentleman lawyer (mostly) but his thoughts reveal a cunning intellect, a biting sarcasm, a self-effacing masochism and many levels of nihilism. It is so much fun, I usually *skip through the dialogue quickly* to get to the internal monologue! Well, you know what I mean.

Third, The plot is convoluted enough and (most importantly) revealed slowly and carefully. No elaborate setups, no agonizing expository flashbacks. It keeps a great pace.

Here's how I came to buy this book. I picked it up by change when I was waiting in line to pay. I read the first 3 pages. I was hooked. End of story. I went home and I told myself I lucked out.