Customer Reviews

The Dance of Shiva

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In Dance of Shiva we are introduced to many of the characters that populate Deverell's later novels: Max Macarthur and his law partner's at Pomeroy, Marx, Macarthur, Brovak and Sage; the alcoholic but brilliant lead counsel for the defense, Arthur Beauchamp; crown prosecutor Leroy Lukey, and a host of others. Deverell splendidly captures the feel of Vancouver in the early eighties, and he writes with the knowledge of the Canadian legal system that could only come from the star attorney who long headed the BC Civil Liberties Association.

Shiva is the Rama of a commune who is accused of murdering his 22 followers. Arthur Beauchamp is his defense attorney, and Max Macarthur his able assistant, who soon finds himself enthralled with Shiva's charisma and mystique. As the case unfolds in court, Macarthur finds himself wondering whether he's defending a mad man, or a framed messiah. And just where does the American Heiress who ran off to join the Moonies fit into it all? Funny, poignant, remarkable, the superlatives could go on forever. Simply put: Read it.

This was my first novel by William Deverell and I decided to read it because it included some eastern philosophy. Unfortuntely, the character of Shiva is mostly hidden in this novel and the focus is on the life of the defense attorney, Max Macarthur. The back of this book states that Max, "..embarks on a journey that threatens to shatter his firm grip on reality" as he falls under the spell of Shiva. None of this was really included in this novel; the book was more mundane and contained the same elements other murder mysteries contain. I expected more of a focus on the character of Shiva and was dissapointed when he was downplayed. Other than that, it was a decent murder mystery that also contained a side plot of Macarthur's dealings with his girlfriend, Ruth. It lacked the excitment of most mystery books and any real surprises.