Bodily Harm

Dugoni offers an awkward union of classic revenge tale and courtroom drama in his third legal thriller to feature Seattle attorney David Sloane (after Wrongful Death ). When eccentric toy designer Kyle Horgan claims that he was responsible for a young child's death in a wrongful death case, not respected pediatrician Peter Douvalidis, against whom Sloane is about to win a massive judgment, Sloane has cause for serious concern. Already conflicted about elements of the case, Sloane becomes alarmed at the revelation of a second child's death eerily similar to the one blamed on Dr. Douvalidis and more so when Horgan vanishes. Sloane's link with Horgan and his reputation as “the lawyer who doesn't lose” make him and his family a target for an ex-CIA assassin, Anthony Stenopolis. Effective courtroom scenes compensate only in part for Sloane's covert search for Stenopolis, which is a fitfully competent assembly of familiar thriller clichés. 7-city author tour. (May)