cover image Thirst for Justice

Thirst for Justice

David R. Boyd. ECW, $16.95 trade paper (280p) ISBN 978-1-7704-1240-8

In the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, Seattle surgeon Michael MacDougall, the hero of environmental lawyer Boyd’s taut, thought-provoking debut, gladly donates his medical services, but he’s unprepared for the flood of sick and dying. After outlaws assault members of his team, he returns to Seattle a haunted man. Convinced that America needs to do more for the Congo’s poor and destitute, MacDougall attempts to persuade people in power to take action, like increasing their access to clean water. When his efforts prove fruitless, he commits an act of bioterrorism with the hope of bringing the nation’s attention to his cause. The result finds him arrested and on trial facing the death penalty. Boyd does a fine job of presenting the mental state that leads MacDougall to his misguided action, and raises the question of whether a person can ever be justified for an act of terrorism. Part thriller, part political commentary, and part courtroom drama, this novel will stick with the reader long after the final page. (Oct.)