A Legal Thriller - Frame Up

I had the opportunity to preview Frame Up by author John F. Dobbyn. It is published by Oceanview Publishing and is scheduled for release on March 8th, 2010. This is the second book in the series featuring Michael Knight and Lex Devlin. The first book in the series was called Neon Dragon. I have not had the opportunity to read the first book in the series yet.

Michael Knight and his friend John McKendrick went to law school together. After law school they took different paths - Michael went to work in the US Attorney's office and John went to work for a mobster lawyer. Michael had hopes his friend would "get out" of the dangerous position he was in as a lawyer for a mobster.

One day he was going to have lunch with his friend. He was also expecting some news from Michael as well. When he approached the car his friend was in, the automobile exploded. When he woke up in the hospital later, he learned the car exploded with his friend in it - and his friend did NOT survive.

After he went to the closed casket funeral for his friend, he returned to work. He was a partner in the Devlin and Knight law firm. His partner asked him to ride with him and they went to a church. It was here Knight learned of a curious relationship between his partner Lex, a church official Monsignor Ryan, and a mob boss Mr Devlin. In spite of their differences, they had a relationship / friendship that dated back many years ago as kids.

The purpose of the meeting turns out to be hired as a lawyer to defend the son of the mob boss. Although he has not been arrested or charged yet, they learn he will be arrested for the murder of Knight's friend. After hearing assurances that the son is NOT involved with the mob and did NOT kill John, Knight comes to an agreement to take him on as a client. Knight is determined to find out who killed John and why.

This just sets the story up so far. I do not want to give away the story but let me share some thoughts I had as I read the story.

I have heard it said that lawyers have tricks up their sleeves - kind of like magicians. In this story, Knight is not the only lawyer with tricks up his sleeve but he has something else in his favor as well - "cajones". It seems he has more than his fair share of successes at bluffing his way through situations when he is investigating.

And have you heard the phrase "we have angels watching over us"? In Knight's case, he certainly seems to have angels watching over him - like when he survived the exploding car bomb that was supposed to kill his friend. But I do not think it was angels watching over and protecting him when three attempts are made on his life. I can't see angels using guns and bullets and killing.

Finally, I enjoyed reading about some of the relationships in this book. I mentioned the relationship between Knight's partner, the church official, and the mobster boss. It was interesting how this relationship developed and evolved. There were also interesting relationships between Knight and his partner as well as between Knight and McKendrick.

Now my final "tease". It probably is apparent that the title Frame Up refers to the fact that somebody is trying to frame the mob boss' son. There is more to the title and you need to read the book to find out what it is about.