I think there is room for both him and his henchmen-and-women to grow, and I look forward to reading more about them. Vail is an intriguing if not wholly admirable character, and his supporting cast hardly less so - intriguing, that is. The story is told from shifting viewpoints to good advantage, and suspense is maintained to the end if you see it all coming you’re a good deal more perceptive than I am. There’s a many a twist and turn in the plot, which has a lot to offer fans of both psychiatry and courtroom drama, but I’ll let you discover them for yourself. As the police believe they have a cod-lock cinch case, it is almost certain that Vail’s reputation will suffer which, of course, is the point of it all.ĭiehl is a polished writer and a consummate storyteller. To show their displeasure, the power structure insures that Vail is handed the pro bono defense of the youth charged with the clergyman’s murder. The book opens with the bloody and brutal murder of Chicago’s most prominent Catholic clergyman, and then shifts to Vail winning a multi-million dollar settlement from the City and County on a police brutality suit by a gangster. This is the first in what will be a series of at least two about superstar Chicago defense attorney Marty Vail. Film: Paramount, 1996 (with Richard Gere as Martin Vail).ĭiehl has written a number of successful novels, the best known of which are probably Sharkey’s Machine and Thai Horse.

Primal Fear by William Diehl