The Conviction: A Novel [Hardcover]

I picked up Robert Dugoni's debut novel The Jury Master back in 2006. I quite enjoyed it, but for some unknown reason, I hadn't read another of his books until I picked up his latest - The Conviction. (I know I've missed a lot of good reads in between.)

Lawyer David Sloane is Dugoni's recurring character. He's known as 'the lawyer who does not lose'. In the courtroom maybe, but in his personal life Sloane has suffered some losses. His partner Tina was brutally murdered - in front of her son Jake. Jake is dealing with his grief by abusing drugs and alcohol and engaging in petty crimes that are rapidly escalating. Sloane had raised the boy with Tina. In a last ditch effort to keep him out of detention, Sloan agrees to get him sucessfully through rehab this time. When an old friend, Detective Tom Molia, invites Sloan and Jake on a camping trip with him and his son T.J., it seems like a great idea.

And it was....until Jake decides that breaking into a local business in the small town of Truluc is a good idea...and he has T.J. was with him. Unbelievably, the boys are caught, tried and convicted within six hours and sent to Fresh Start, a local boot camp, for six months. All without their fathers' knowledge.....

Oh, this was such a page turner! Although, sometimes I didn't want to turn the page, fearing the worst, but needing to know to know what would happen next. As Sloane and Molia work feverishly on the outside to get the boys released, Jake and TJ struggle to survive inside the camp. And I feverishly kept turning pages.

Dugoni's main premise for The Conviction has it's basis in reality. Stories of abusive youth detention camps are fact - not fiction.

I had forgotten how much I liked the David Sloan character. I'm fascinated by the courtroom drama and legal machinations. (And Dugoni does these well - he worked as a litigator before turning to writing.) But for me the best legal stories have elements outside of the courtroom as well - legal thrillers seems to be an apt description. Sloan is a bigger than life character in both arenas, willing to do whatever it takes to free the boys. He's the guy you'd want in your corner.

The Conviction has it all - great plotting (with twists I didn't see coming at all), non stop action, chills, thrills, strong characters and a clearly defined good vs. bad dynamic that will have you on the edge of your seat and staying up late to finish.

The Conviction can certainly be read as a stand alone, but if you're like me, you'll be hunting down the previous books in the series. Highly recommended

Another top-notch thriller from Robert Dugoni. This is one of my favourite authors. When I saw that his new novel had come out, I had to get it. I was not disappointed.Just when you think nothing worse can happen to David Sloane, Dugoni turns up the heat again.

This time, Sloane and his stepson Jake head into the backwoods of Northern California for some father-son time. Sloane hopes he can find a way to connect with Jake, who's spiraling into more and more trouble, before it's too late. They are joining Sloane's old friend, detective Tom Molia ( The Jury Master), and his son TJ. But Jake quickly finds a way to get himself and TJ into real trouble with the local law and with Judge Earl Boykin.

When Sloane and Molia discover the boys have been sentenced to the detention camp Fresh Start, without benefit of legal or parental representation, they protest. But their pleas fall on deaf ears and they find themselves in legal hot water as well. Sloane rallies the troops and starts digging into the backgrounds of the judge, the camp, and the bigshot in town, Victor Dillon. Their poking around only turns up the heat on both them and the boys.

The action never lets up. The writing is clear and fast paced. This is a book that is hard to put down. Once you pick it up, you have to read it to the end.

An amazing novel!