Review Summaries

• The novel has been praised for setting courtroom tension alongside island life and for making its protagonist memorable through vulnerability and humour.

Reviews

• Amor Proximi

  Interestingly devious, this is the story of Arthur Beauchamp who has been a top lawyer for a number of years for a high-end law firm. Now 63, his decision to retire to Garibaldi Island just off the Canadian mainland is about to founder on the determination of several colleagues when a provoking and unusual case emerges to pique his interest. At first he resists, wanting nothing more than peace and comfort and the chance to restore the small house he has bought. His marriage to Annabelle has come to grief and a divorce is in the offing. He meets some of the other island inhabitants and finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent woman, Margaret. His wife's adulteries have more or less emasculated him. But the case won't go away, especially as it is a friend who has been accused of rape, one Jonathan O'Donnell, a much respected academic. There are several contraindications that slowly make themselves felt and Beauchamp, in the end, is drawn in and agrees to take the case for the defence. The case proceeds, as does Beauchamp's attraction to Margaret. The characterisation is very good, but don't be put off by the atmosphere of stuffiness that at first obtains. It's misleading and one very quickly settles in to what turns into a riveting court case. It's revealing about the way the Canadian court scene still reflects elements of British colonialism, and though years aren't mentioned, this feels as if it is set in the 1970s. It's concerned with the politics of the island of Garibaldi, the feeble state of law enforcement in place on the island, and there are some amusing touches that relieve the atmosphere. It also has a mini-treatise on the subject of pain that really hits the button. Back on the mainland, however, the court case has unusual, not to say, unrealistic features, including a women being hypnotised to reveal what really happened on the night in question. It's very readable and quite fun at times with an altogether positive atmosphere and comes alive at all the right points of the plot.

• Interesting read

  Interesting characters and plot

• Great book, first in a series

  William Deverell is now my favorite mystery/suspense/courtroom drama author. His writing is beautiful and he has an amazing, droll sense of humor that I find irresistible. This is the first of a series about the fictional attorney Arthur Beauchamp who is a flawed but lovable character. Enjoy this book and then move on to the others in the series.

• Excellent Book with some good Laughs

  Excellent story. I don't know in what genre this book would fit, if that really makes any difference anyway, but the writing is superb and the humour is priceless! Even brought out some really loud guffaws in a couple of places! And, of course they all lived happily ever after!!! Looking forward to the next in the series as these fit in my "Canadian Authors series in order" project.

• Gentle and Delightful Mystery with a Side of Island Characters

  Gentle and delightful mystery set on a fictional Gulf Island about an impotent Vancouver defense lawyer who is trying to leave the rat race. It's not exactly full of surprises, but it's an enjoyable read and the island characters have a ring of truth to them. It manages to evoke important aspects of island life without being slavishly pedantic or wildly implausible. It reminded me a bit of Barbara Kingsolver's "Prodigal Summer" in tone and theme, without the literary pretense. I am a business executive from Vancouver who left the rat race for a non-fictional Gulf Island, and definitely recognized my world in this book, entertainingly re-imagined.

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