Reasonable Doubts
by Gianrico Carofiglio
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gianrico CarofiglioTranslator: Howard Curtis
Edition: Paperback
Published: 2007-10-01
ISBN: 1904738249
Number of pages: 275
Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
Book Reviews of Reasonable Doubts
Book Review: Straightforward Enjoyable Italian Legal Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
This Italian bestseller is the third in Carofiglio's series of crime/legal thrillers featuring lawyer Guido Guerrieri. The simple story is set in the somewhat grim eastern port of Bari (yes, I've been there and don't care to return), where the 40ish private attorney plies his trade while fending off a midlife crisis. One day, not long after being dumped by his girlfriend, he is retained by a convicted drug smuggler to represent him in his appeal case. Coming back from a vacation in Montenegro, the man's car was searched, and 40 kilos of cocaine was found, leading to a sixteen year sentence. However, he claims to have confessed only in order to keep his half-Japanese wife out of jail, and disavows any prior knowledge of the drugs.
The story then unfolds relatively straightforwardly, as Guerrieri examines the details of the original case and does a little digging with the unofficial help of a few old acquaintances. As in many European crime novels, the hero/protagonist is somewhat of a loner, and spends a good portion of the book drifting around the streets of the city (by bike!) ruminating on his empty life, eating, and drinking. Adding to Guerrieri's woes is his self-loathing when he falls all too easily into bed with his client's exotically beautiful wife. A further complication is the lawyer's secret past with his client -- as a teen, the client was a fascist thug who was part of a gang who assaulted Guerrieri, an event the client doesn't appear to recall. These latter two elements don't add a great deal to the story, especially the teenage connection, which leads nowhere and ultimately serves little purpose. Yet despite the relatively unoriginal plotline, there's a certain tone to the story that makes it quite compelling. Definitely not a great book, but good enough to make me want to go back and read Guerrieri's earlier cases (Involuntary Witness, A Walk in the Dark).
Summary of Reasonable Doubts
"Carofiglio writes crisp, ironical novels that are as much love stories and philosophical treatises as they are legal thrillers."-The New Yorker
"Guerrieri could have just gotten off an Alitalia flight from the land of Grisham or the Los Angeles of Michael Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer. Sharp writing will keep readers turning the pages."-Publishers Weekly
Praise for the Guerrieri series:
"Involuntary Witness is a stunner."-The Times
"Every character in Carofiglio's fiction has a story to tell and they are always worth hearing. As the author himself is an anti-mafia prosecutor, this powerfully affecting series benefits from veracity as well as tight writing."-Daily Mail
"Raises the standard for crime fiction. Carofiglio's deft touch has given us a story that is both literary and gritty-it speeds along like the best legal thrillers."-Jeffery Deaver
Lawyer Guerrieri is asked to handle the appeal of Fabio Paolicelli, sentenced to sixteen years for smuggling drugs into Italy. Everything seems stacked against the accused, not least because he initially confessed to the crime. His past as a neo-fascist thug also adds credence to the case against him. Only the intervention of Paolicelli's beautiful half-Japanese wife finally overcomes Guerrieri's reluctance. Matters get more complicated when Guerrieri ends up in bed with her.
Gianrico Carofiglio, born in 1961, is a judge and anti-Mafia prosecutor in the southern Italian city of Bari. Bitter Lemon Press introduced him to English-speaking readers with his best-selling debut novel, Involuntary Witness.
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