Customer Reviews

Breach of Trust

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Breach Of Trust" is David Ellis' latest legal thriller and it features Jason Kolarich from "The Hidden Man". Ellis is making a career of writing about and exposing governmental corruption which comes easily from his experiences as a government prosecutor in Chicago. Jason Kolarich is an intriguing character who seems to gain more focus and determination when his family dies in a terrible auto accident. The fact that he was supposed to be driving them at the time but stayed behind to speak to a potential witness, Ernesto Ramirez, who never showed ignites his inner demons and his pursuit of justice, after a period of grief and aimless job shifting.

Jason decides to seek the killer(s) of Ernesto, who he subsequently discovered was killed the same night his family died, as a form of guilt relief both for his not being with his family that tragic night and for possibly setting Ernesto up for death by his relentless pursuit of his testimony. Complicating matters is a zealous federal prosecutor with a vendetta against Jason who forces him reluctantly to go undercover seeking damning evidence of political corruption from the Governor and his myriad underlings. Jason is soon playing dual games--find Ernesto's killer and fulfill his responsibilities as chief governmental "snitch".

How Jason handles these two overlapping assignments while preserving his true purpose and identity is skillfully handled by Ellis whose plot, while confounding and circuitous at times, is nonetheless satisfying in the end. The reader is exposed to a world of back room political crime and shenanigans filled with wiretaps, kickbacks, payoffs, power for sale, and even murder. Aside from Jason, there were few characters who were particularly likeable nor who elicited my concern for their well being. Pacing was a problem for me as the plot moved along at a numbing pace with little action, violence, or suspense to break the monotony of Jason audio-taping evidence and debriefing with the feds, except for one notable violent interrogation. Certainly "Breach Of Trust" reads as more a satisfying methodical procedural than as a suspenseful legal thriller.

For fans of political and govermental corruption novels, "Breach Of Trust" should provide compelling reading. Unfortunately, I never felt the "thriller" part of legal thriller...it was just too slow and methodical for me. There is a mystery (or two) to be solved and there is suspense entwined with Jason's need to protect his identity as a governmental spy; otherwise, I found too little suspense, too little action, and too few thrills.

Jason Kolarich feels lucky to be assigned second chair in defending Senator Hector Almundo from a charge of murder. The case deals with Almundo's alleged deal with the Canniblas street gang. They were shaking down businessmen for contributions to Almundo's election campaign and splitting the proceeds. Almundo is charged with conspiracy and the chief witness against him is his chief of staff, Joey Espinoza.

One night, Kolarich is waiting for a call from a confidential informant, Eddie Ramirez. The call is important so Kolarich's wife takes her infant and drives to her parent's home without him. In a double tragedy that changes his life, his wife and child are killed in an auto accident on a slippery road. Later, he learns that the reason why the informant's call didn't arrive is that he was murdered.

After a period of mourning, Kolarich returns to work. He's approached by Ramirez's wife, Essie. She wants Kolarich to find out who killed her husband.

Since he feels responsible for Ernesto's death and because he also feels he is the cause of his wife and child's deaths, he accepts. He believes that if he can find Ramirez's killer, he would, somehow, make up for his failure.

In this psychological novel, we experience the pain and loss that Kolarich feels. Without a proper plan, he attempts to ingratiate himself to the politicians and friends of Almundo. However, his actions are caught by the FBI who are investigating corruption from the governor's office down to the local level. Since Kolarich can't prove that he was innocently pretending to work for these officials, he agrees to go undercover and help the FBI with the case.

Kolarich is a heroic character who is just a man, trying to do the right thing. Unlike some of the super heroes of thrillers, he maks mistakes and isn't able to overcome the strength of his foes. But he does have the determination and feeling that he's correcting a wrong and doesn't allow anything to get in his way.

This is a well written novel that provides an interesting character portrayal as well as a fine and all too believable thriller.

Jason Kolarich was once an up-and-coming young defense attorney at one of Chicago's highest profile private law firms. Following a case in which his strategy was the key in securing the acquittal of a State Senator from federal murder charges it seemed as if the sky was the limit for his future. Except something went terribly wrong at the end of the trial. While he was in his office late one winter night waiting for a phone call from an informant, Jason's wife, tired of waiting for him to come home as promised, packed their infant daughter in the car and headed out for a planned visit to her parents. They never made it. Their car skidded off the icy road along the way, killing both.

Not able to shake the loss - and the thought they'd still be alive if he had been driving - Jason has hit a place in his life where he simply doesn't care anymore. Not about himself, his business; only his grief matters. He hadn't taken care of his own and they were dead because of it. But when he learns that the informant whose call he had been waiting on the night of his family's deaths was himself killed the same night, Jason is jolted back to life and into action. Believing there's no way the timing was a coincidence, Jason sets out to learn the true circumstances behind the informant's death.

Before he knows it Jason finds himself in an ever deepening web of bribery, extortion, and kickbacks, one that appears to run all the way up to the Governor's office. Caught between crooked politicians and their shady advisers and the federal government investigating the corruption, Jason has to find a way to get to the truth he so desperately needs to move on with his life, while doing whatever necessary to make sure he doesn't end up in jail...or the ground.

Author David Ellis isn't just any attorney turned novelist. Having served as the House Prosecutor in the Impeachment trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich before the Illinois State Senate, Ellis has had a unique peek behind the curtain at exactly how dirty politics can get and what is needed to take down corrupt government officials. That, combined with his finely tuned feel for dialogue and the sympathetic, well developed character of Jason Kolarich, makes Breach of Trust the most absorbing political thriller I've read in quite some time.

Television dramas love to describe their fictional plots as "ripped from today's headlines." Some episodes are so topical that producers often feel obligated to disclaim that any of the characters portrayed are based on actual events or represent real people. Because works of fiction are often published many months after the real-life events that spawned their plots, the passage of time may diminish memories. But anyone who lives in Illinois or has been exposed to the countless network appearances of our erstwhile Governor Rod Blagojevich knows all too well that David Ellis has struck a chord in his new thriller that evokes painful memories.

Ellis, legal counsel to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, knows Illinois politics and Blagojevich. When the Governor was arrested by federal authorities, impeached by the House, and then tried and removed from office, Ellis was the impeachment prosecutor. His knowledge of the sad saga that infected the state during Blagojevich's tenure is substantial. BREACH OF TRUST is his seventh novel. Clearly its subject is one in whom he has deep and intimate knowledge.

Federal prosecutors brought down Blagojevich by traditional methods with an untraditional ending. Through informant witnesses and wiretaps, they learned that Blagojevich intended to sell a United States Senate seat for an appropriate fee. This information forced officials to arrest Blagojevich in the dead of night. In BREACH OF TRUST, the crooked Governor is brought down by a less conventional law enforcement method: a government mole. Jason Kolarich is an attorney on the road to legal and domestic success. As a young associate in a high-powered law firm, he is co-counsel in a major political corruption trial. The acquittal of his client is tempered by the personal tragedy he suffers at the end of the trial: the death of his wife and infant daughter.

Kolarich attempts to rebuild his life but crosses paths with the federal prosecutor who he defeated in court. He finds himself in an untenable position, where he must agree to become a government informant and provide evidence against corrupt government officials. The corruption stain spreads all the way to the Governor, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Blagojevich. Anyone familiar with Illinois politics will recognize not only the sordid players of the Blagojevich saga, but also their corrupt conduct ranging from "pay to play" to appointments in exchange for financial favors. Ellis portrays the scandalous details in an entertaining and easily readable style.

Of course, one cannot forget that this account is fiction and not fact. In fiction, plot often trumps believability. Kolarich is almost a super hero as he remains one step ahead of several attempts on his life. All right, maybe not a super hero but certainly a James Bond clone. With all respect to Ellis, in my four decades as an attorney I have never met a lawyer with anything that could even come close to the skill and guile of the fictional Mr. Kolarich.

Governor Carlton Snow, while portrayed as a corrupt man, is also an enigmatic figure in Ellis's hands. Enough unanswered questions surround the Governor throughout the book to suggest that there may be more than meets the eye to his behavior. Perhaps Blagojevich sickened Ellis to such a degree that he needed to portray a politician with a few redeeming qualities. Readers will need to answer that question for themselves.

BREACH OF TRUST is a wonderful escapist work of political fiction. It's a page turner with enough of a connection to the real world of politics for any political junkie to savor. It's a fun book with interesting observations and character portrayals from an author whose résumé establishes that he knows of what he writes.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

I won an advance copy of this book on LibraryThing, and I was thrilled at yet another chance to be introduced to a previously unknown author (unknown to me, anyway). This book had a solid plot that was quite easy to follow, despite the multitude of characters involved and the intertwining levels of corruption going on. There were only a couple parts that had me shaking my head at the antics of the main character (it involved intimate encounters with someone the guy had just met moments before), but maybe it's because I'm a girl. At any rate, this legal/political thriller was so engaging that I'm looking forward to checking out the author's other books. Recommended.

This was likely not his best book, but was still a good,impressively developed read.
The beginning will probably disappoint some, but he does pick up the plot and overcome this. Overall, a substantive, well researched and written novel. It is one to enjoy as an ongoing fan or first time reader.

Jason Kolarich was trying to do the right thing for his family. Having left the county attorney's office for a much better paying job at a high powered law firm, he was in the middle of a very high profile case involving a state politician. The hours were long and exhausting, but he never suspected that waiting for a phone call from someone he thinks has some information about the case would have had such devastating results for his own personal life and result, he believes, in the death of his wife and infant daughter.

It is a year later and Jason is, to put it kindly, drifting. He never returned to his old job, instead starting up a small, very small, private practice, so he was unaware that the informant he was waiting to hear from night was killed, murdered the same night Jason's own life was destroyed. And he can not help but believe there is some sort of a connection. He holds himself to blame for both incidents and while he knows that he can't bring back his family, he thinks he can find out who killed Ernesto Ramirez and find some sort of justice. Little does he know that he will soon find himself in the middle of an FBI probe of the corrupt Illinois state government, wire taps, secret meeting, kickbacks...and some people who will not stop even at murder to protect their positions.

Let me say, I am not usually a big fan of political and legal thrillers. Often, they seem to get so bogged down in complicated details that I lose sight of the story. And it would certainly be possible in this book. There is a big cast of characters, any number of sub-plots, so many twists and turns, that this book could have been a confusing mess...except that Mr. Ellis is an excellent writer that turns it instead into a compelling, very entertaining book.

First of all, in Jason Kolarich, he creates a very good lead character, someone the reader can really identify with. Jason is not perfect, and he knows it, and the book is better for it. He is a loose cannon who doesn't, in a way, really care what happens to himself, who feels he has nothing left to lose, and that makes for some great, believable action. Then throw in any number of well developed, very interesting minor characters and a nice little personal story for Jason, and the reader is hooked. The plot is complicated, with a lot of people who have a lot of different motivations, but in Ellis's skillful hands it never become confusing. Also, the plot moves along in such a nice steady pace that it always stays interesting, which for me and my short attention span is really saying something.

David Ellis knows of what he writes, since he is a lawyer and was, in fact, the Impeachment Prosecutor in the trial of former Illinois Governor Blagojevich. But more than that, is he a quite good writer who is able to take his knowledge and experiences and turn it into a quite good book.
For fans of legal thrillers, a must read, but a book that any reader looking for a well written and entertaining book will enjoy.

I have read all of David Ellis' books and have loved all of them. When I saw he had a new one coming out, I immediately pre-ordered it and was not disappointed. In" Breach Of Trust," he brought back Jason Kolarich from "The Hidden Man." He's a tough guy and smart lawyer who is part of the defense team, providing a good defense for a bad guy. Tragedy hits his family and Jason leaves the law firm, going out on his own with his friend, Shaunna, An opportunity presents itself for him to go undercover for the feds to expose some corruption in the governer's office and Jason takes it seeing in this an opportunity to find out who was responsible for the killing of a man who would have been a witness for him. Jason had been waiting for a call from this witness, thus not being with his wife and daughter when the accident occurred and he is driven by his guilt over their deaths as much as of his witness' murder. The story becomes very complex with many characters and many twists. Ellis recaps what has happened many times to clarify, a bit too many for my taste, but this is a small criticism. Jason is a very likable character who is extremely gutsy, able to think on his feet and stay outwardly calm regardless of how he's feeling inside. The many characters and subplots come together and are summed up very well in the end. This book has it all - love, loss, political corruption, legal maneuverings, but most of all a moving personal story. I'd love to see Jason Kolarich in a subsequent book to find out what happens next in his life. David Ellis is truly a gifted author and this is a can't-put-downable novel.

Jason has lost his wife and baby daughter. He should have been in the car with them. He was more familiar with road. Instead he was waiting for a call that never came. He was waiting for an informant to call with vital information, but the informant was murdered before he could place the call. Jason carries the guilt of not only losing his family but the informant had a wife and kids too.

Jason now has the opportunity to find the killer and bring him to justice. But the FBI is on to his plan as it collides with a probe of their own. He is forced into a game of wiretaps, listening devices, and danger, to help get the answers he needs and the information the FBI wants. The informant was just the tip of the iceberg. Corruption runs deep and wide, hopefully he can make it out alive.

Dollycas's Thoughts
A corrupt governor in Illinois, no way. Ellis writes this book after serving as House Prosecutor that convicted Governor Ron Blagojevich in the impeachment trial before the Illinois Senate. He writes what he knows. This is quite a political drama.

We were introduced to Jason in Ellis' The Hidden Man. I was really looking forward to this story after reading that one. Jason Kolarich is a guy trying to do the right thing so you are naturally rooting for the truth to prevail.

My only reservation about this story is that while very entertaining the book was written so that it could be read as a stand alone. A lot of pages were filled with things from the previous book with few real necessary additions. Coming in at 546 pages the repetition took away in places what could have been a tight page turning novel. It was wonderful that the truth was revealed and came together, but having read the first book it dragged in spots. The last third of the book was completely page turning and exciting. The suspense part came through a little more in this one.

Truthfully these books could be read in any order. I would start with this one and if you want, check out The Hidden Man. I see The Wrong Man (Jason Kolarich) is coming out June 28, 2012. I will look forward to the next installment. David Ellis is also teaming up with James Patterson for the anxiously awaited Guilty Wives out on March 26.

The night of infamy in 2007 left former Chicago prosecutor Jason Kolarich no better than a living corpse. Working for his client State Senator Hector Alundo charged with killing Adalbert Wozniak; Shaker, Riley and Flemming firm attorney Kolarich had been with private investor Joel Lightner that night. They were meeting with informant Ernesto Ramirez when his wife Talia and their newborn daughter Emily died in a car accident in which he failed to be there for them. Ironically, Ramirez also died that night; though he was a murder victim.

Feeling guilt for choosing his client over his family, Kolarich decides to investigate the homicide of the informant. As he digs deeper into the muddy case that ties state politicians with gangbangers, the FBI recruits him to help them investigate the governor as ironically he is now the informant.

The super second Jason Kolarich political thriller (see The Hidden Man) is a terrific timely tale with the recent sentencing of Blagojevich bringing the authenticity to the mix. Fast-paced in and out of the courtroom, Kolarich makes the taut storyline work as he swims in political toxic waste.

Harriet Klausner