Book Review: Semiautomatic

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Semiautomatic     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Rob Reuland
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Legal Setting   Noir   Thriller

Andrew Giobberti is an attorney, working in Brooklyn New York district attorney's office. As we learned in the earlier "Hollowpoint," he has suffered an intense personal tragedy, and the emotional and professional fallout from that incident has given his superiors ample justification to reassign him to a boring detail oriented section of the staff.

As this latest installment opens, Gio is presented with a new assignment - to return to criminal prosecution and assist in the trial of a young street hoodlum accused of murdering the owner of a small grocery. In his quest to determine the nature and strength of the evidence Gio finds himself drawn into a dark hidden agenda of other key figures in the story, and must come to terms with a situation in which any choice open to him has tragic consequences.

Reuland writes in the present tense, and this gives the narrative a tense, edgy feel which is very effective. The ethical patchwork in which the characters find themselves provides a great deal of food for thought for the reader.

Woodstock - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM