Bob Dugoni’s The Jury Master
At some point in Bob Dugoni’s debut thriller it becomes clear that main character David Sloane is a man with a past. Sloane doesn’t know what that past is, or who he is, until men close to the president of the United States try to kill him. The story opens with Sloane winning a court case, he’s the jury master of the title, but a mysterious package arrives. A close friend of the president is dead and official Washington launches the coverup.
Fans of courtroom dramas may be disappointed with the turn of the story. This is a political thriller, not a legal one, a complex plot with roots in oil diplomacy between the US and Mexico. The story is presented from mulitiple points of view, a technique that elevates tension but requires the reader to keep many characters, both good and bad, straight in their minds. This is a big novel, one best read in long stretches to keep the players fresh as the story emerges.
Tess Gerritsen has commented often about prose in the thriller. She’s taken her lumps despite her EDGAR nomination for Vanished. Bob Dugoni will take his too because the prose is umpolished at times although the problems could have been fixed with some simple editing. Critics pound on Robert Crais for some of the same problems, but he keeps working and selling, and so will Bob Dugoni. The Jury Master jumped onto the NYT’s Bestseller list twice last month, and the author is on tour this spring. TWB got behind this book with a successful campaign, so it can happen.
The International thriller conference is June 29 through July 2 in Phoenix. Yes, it will be warm. I think Bob Dugoni is planning to attend, so fans will have the opportunity to meet him.