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Keep and Bear Arms
From the moment a bomb explodes in midwestern courthouse, all eyes turn to the suspect. It is left to a small-town lawyer to dig deep to defend an unlikeable guy with some peculiar habits. Written by long-time attorney Robert Isham Auler, it breathes fire and ice, and will even make you laugh on occasion. A first-time novelist with a lot to say and a great way of saying it.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published May 10, 2008
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 6, 2008
excellent defense twist to the modern courtroom thriller
I've read quite a few courtroom thrillers from the likes of Turow and Lescroart, and Bob Auler's "Keep and Bear Arms" was right up there in characterization, suspense, and interesting topics.
But Auler's tale was different... and all the better for it. He told it from the point of view of a big-city liberal defense attorney, Carl Hardman, who's trying a terrorist case in a small conservative town with a mildly corrupt old-boy-network legal system. Sort of like "My Cousin Vinny", but Hardman ain't new at this: he's a washed-up 50-something lawyer who's not even happy about defending an accused terrorist, but who wants to make sure the guy isn't railroaded into a lethal injection.
I liked Hardman - he's real, sympathetic, and driven. He struggles with problems beyond the case, like an ex-wife, an eleven year old daughter he doesn't get to see as much as he needs, and the hots for his client's sexy wife. Auler also does a nice job building out a strong characterization in Brother Bill, the leader of a far-right protest group.
"Keep and Bear Arms" tells how an unlikeable Lebanese American is accused of fire-bombing an old judge, right in the middle of a courtroom. The FBI jumps in and calls it terror. Hardman is sucked into his defense. The far-right gets upset that a big-city lawyer is gonna cut a deal and plots their own mischief. Hardman is fighting with his nasty client. And all the time he's struggling with his convictions about how he's going to defend somebody who he already thinks is guilty.
Auler spins all his characters through twists on the same dilemma--one we should maybe ask ourselves every now and then: how do we put aside our own "gut level" beliefs and prejudices and follow the rules, especially when we have the power to climb above the law? Some of his characters are able to surmount this challenge, and some aren't--and it's not the ones you'd expect.
This was a fantastic legal read, and it really made me think on the deeper issues of how the rule of law keeps us human. Thanks, Bob, and keep writing!
I've read quite a few courtroom thrillers from the likes of Turow and Lescroart, and Bob Auler's "Keep and Bear Arms" was right up there in characterization, suspense, and interesting topics.
But Auler's tale was different... and all the better for it. He told it from the point of view of a big-city liberal defense attorney, Carl Hardman, who's trying a terrorist case in a small conservative town with a mildly corrupt old-boy-network legal system. Sort of like "My Cousin Vinny", but Hardman ain't new at this: he's a washed-up 50-something lawyer who's not even happy about defending an accused terrorist, but who wants to make sure the guy isn't railroaded into a lethal injection.
I liked Hardman - he's real, sympathetic, and driven. He struggles with problems beyond the case, like an ex-wife, an eleven year old daughter he doesn't get to see as much as he needs, and the hots for his client's sexy wife. Auler also does a nice job building out a strong characterization in Brother Bill, the leader of a far-right protest group.
"Keep and Bear Arms" tells how an unlikeable Lebanese American is accused of fire-bombing an old judge, right in the middle of a courtroom. The FBI jumps in and calls it terror. Hardman is sucked into his defense. The far-right gets upset that a big-city lawyer is gonna cut a deal and plots their own mischief. Hardman is fighting with his nasty client. And all the time he's struggling with his convictions about how he's going to defend somebody who he already thinks is guilty.
Auler spins all his characters through twists on the same dilemma--one we should maybe ask ourselves every now and then: how do we put aside our own "gut level" beliefs and prejudices and follow the rules, especially when we have the power to climb above the law? Some of his characters are able to surmount this challenge, and some aren't--and it's not the ones you'd expect.
This was a fantastic legal read, and it really made me think on the deeper issues of how the rule of law keeps us human. Thanks, Bob, and keep writing!
Displaying 1 of 1 review