David Sloane is the best wrongful death attorney in San Francisco. But despite his professional success, he's plagued by a nightmare of a childhood he cannot consciously remember. When he recieves a package from a White House confidant who then turns up dead, the contents reveal a history he could never have imagined.

From Publishers Weekly

The most impressive thing about this gripping legal thriller is what it doesn't do. Dugoni, a lawyer who coauthored a nonfiction book about an Idaho worker brain-damaged in 1996 by cyanide fumes, opens his debut novel with a wrongful death attorney in San Francisco, David Sloane, about to make his closing remarks defending a corporation in a similar case. Sloane, who has won 14 cases in a row, hates his arrogant client and must face an obviously hostile jury. But instead of devoting many chapters to the case, Dugoni quickly moves into some unexpected and very interesting territory: a recurring childhood nightmare Sloane shares with former CIA agent Charles Jenkins, apparently a complete stranger. Meanwhile, unstoppable West Virginia police detective Tom Molia investigates the suicide of a top adviser to the president, and what he finds draws Sloane and Jenkins closer to the truth behind their shared terror: an international conspiracy 30 years in the making. All of Dugoni's characters have a fresh and believable edge, and there is plenty of action in far-flung settings. One looks forward to Sloane's return. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

In this rapid-fire fictional debut, a personal friend of the president has turned up as the victim of a not-so-apparent suicide--but not before mailing a package to David Sloane, a golden-tongued corporate lawyer with a mysterious past. It doesn't take long for unknown baddies to kill (a) a kindly old woman, (b) an eager rookie cop, and (c) two beloved dogs, thus making matters personal for Sloane, rumpled police detective Tom "Mole" Molia, and ex-CIA operative Charles Jenkins. Neither plotting nor prose can be accused of subtlety or originality, and readers looking for legal action or psychological depth best look elsewhere. Still, the action keeps coming, so omnivorous thrill seekers who favor Martini and Grisham may want to give Dugoni a look. The jury's still out, though, on whether he has the potential to play in their league. David Wright
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