Customer Reviews

Fatal Flaw (Victor Carl)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

William Lashner's "Fatal Flaw" is a terrific novel, a compelling page-turner that's all the more accomplished for the way it succeeds at two antithetical goals. On the baser level, the novel is a wonderful example of that Grisham-patented sub-genre known as the legal thriller. The plot, about a jaded attorney who's asked to defend a law school buddy on a murder charge, is carefully wrought and fiendishly clever, with swoops and twists that are mostly unpredictable but somehow always plausible (at least while you're caught up in the plot's momentum).

Lashner has a florid, hard-boiled, wiseguy style: In contrast to Grisham, who uses words solely to advance his plots, Lashner's love of wordplay and interesting turns of phrase makes his prose a pleasure to read.

The main characters have surprising depth and moral shading. Victor Carl, the defending attorney, has developed impressively (as a character, not necessarily as a human being) since Lashner introduce him in "Hostile Witness." From that novel and its successor, "Veritas", we came to know Victor as the polar opposite of a high-powered attorney: seedy, cynical, and resourceful - very much like Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon," but with a Jewish patina.

In "Fatal Flaw," Lashner pushes his hero over the edge of decency and professional ethics. As the novel opens, Victor arrives at the scene of the crime to find his client, Guy Forrest, sitting naked on his doorstep, while the body of Guy's fiancée -- an Appalachia-bred beauty named Hailey Prouix - is still warm upstairs. Without any hesitation, Victor begins rearranging and removing evidence.

How Lashner manages to make this ethically challenged hack likeable - indeed, even heroic - is one of the novel's giddy accomplishments. Equally skillful is the way he uses flashback, clues, and reminiscences to turn Hailey into one of the most intriguing femme fatales in recent memory. (Ashley Judd, call your agent!)

On a higher level, "Fatal Flaw" functions as a kind of meta-mystery, an insinuating parody of the detective novel-slash-legal thriller. Lashner seems to have thrown in every convention, stereotype and affectation he could think of, drawing on influences ranging from Chandler and Cain to Grisham and Turow. The plot twists, while not predictable in themselves, occur at predictable intervals; the racy language is deliberately overheated by just a couple of degrees; and the eccentric supporting characters are rendered (and named) with almost Dickensian flair. It's hard to resist a creation like Phil Skink, the skanky investigator who seems to ooze rancid foreboding from every pore.

As you read each sentence, you can almost hear Lashner chuckling with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. Yet while this sort of mocking detachment can kill a good thriller, Lashner's approach only enhances it. In "Fatal Flaw," Lashner assembles all the usual suspects of the genre and emerges with something unusually startling and pleasurable.

Although this is the third in the Victor Carl series, it was the first I've read to date. Now I can't wait to start at the beginning. The author's style is great, the plot interesting, and the mystery, although pretty easy to figure out, is still a good one. Although I thought at first that Victor Carl was a carbon-copy of lawyers portrayed in other books, I quickly found out this was not so. Lashner has the gift of expression, and the courtroom drama is better than Grisham at his best. I'm a fan!

Wow! The plot of this book was not only totally sweet, but also as tight as they come. When you learn in the first chapter that the attorney (Victor Carl) was bopping his best friend, Guy Forrest's fiance, Hailey, then said attorney is called to the scene of Hailey's murder and finds Guy sitting naked on the front steps of the murder scene with the smoking gun in his hand! Whoa! This book grabbed me from the get-go and didn't let go until the final chapter when everything is wrapped up in a nice, neat package. I haven't read a murder mystery this good in many moons. If you're looking for a great summer read, get this one. It won't let you down.

Talk about an ambitious plot! Victor Carl, a lawyer, finds his friend, Guy Forrest, also a lawyer, sitting naked outside the house of his friend's murdered girlfriend, Hailey Prouix, who of course is (or was) also a lawyer. Got that? But wait - there's more. It turns out that old Vic was also sleeping with Hailey, and he agrees to represent prime-supect Guy in his defense as Hailey's murderer. As Guy's lawyer, Vic figures, he can make sure that Guy, who maintains an improbable innocence, pays his due for the murder of Vic's also-girlfriend Hailey. Convoluted? You bet. But nonetheless, this is one terrific read. And not simply because the plot's main characters are all lawyers who are either 1) dead, 2) in jail awaiting trial, or 3) twisting the law for personal gain.

William Lashner - think Grisham without the cornpone. Or the street smarts and grit of "Mystic River"(s) Dennis Lehane with the courtroom realism of Scott Turow. Lashner's "Fatal Flaw" is a compulsive tale of love, betrayal, murder, and mayhem wrapped around a good old-fashioned who-dunnit and a compelling courtroom drama. This guy is the real deal: sharp dialogue, interesting and believing characters, well-drawn settings, an intriguing storyline. Lashner's Hailey Prouix, while dead from the first page, emerges through the memories of those still living as one witchy woman, able to reduce a man to a sniveling pile of desire with a mere bump of the knee. Lashner takes us on a journey through time and place, from Philadelphia's home of the affair and murder, to the Las Vegas strip, to the hills of West Virginia in an investigation that will reach back into the hills of Hailey's childhood. And the deeper Carl digs, the more his certainty fades, as a murky tale of old murder and dark secrets unfolds. Vic Carl is an engaging and believable protagonist backed by a dependable supporting cast, most notably Philadelphia Main Line Detective Breger and private investigator Phil Skink, the human metaphor of a blunt instrument. While the reader will likely figure out the end game well into the last third of the book, expect no diminishing enthusiasm in reaching the payoff. The reader is held helpless in Lashner's vicelock grip to the last word.

If you're looking for a real page turner - a fresh and exciting take on the overdone legal drama - look no further. William Lashner's "Fatal Flaw" is on the top self of American pop crime fiction.

I've decided that, when my birthday comes this year, I'm going to forego the standard wish that I have normally made. Since my life is good --- and I basically have everything I could possibly want --- I usually wish for something good for another person. This year, though, I'm going to be selfish. I'm going to wish that William Lashner would write more books.

It's been a while since William Lashner's last book, BITTER TRUTH (originally published as VERITAS). To say that FATAL FLAW, his new book, is worth the wait would be to utilize a cliché. There's no getting around it, however --- it's worth the wait. And as good as HOSTILE WITNESS, Lashner's debut novel, and BITTER TRUTH were, FATAL FLAW is definitely the butt-kicker of the three. The smartass edge in Victor Carl's voice is gone now. There are no laughs to be had in FATAL FLAW. This is a dark, dark tale that will keep you up for a couple of dark, dark nights turning pages at Concordian speed as you travel through Lashner's world.

FATAL FLAW does not waste time with lengthy introductions, but instead immediately plunges the reader into the middle of a crime scene. Carl has received a hysterical telephone call from Guy Forrest, an old college friend. When Carl reaches Forrest's side, he finds Hailey Prouix, Forrest's lover, murdered. Forrest has given up everything for Prouix --- marriage, family, job --- and it now appears that he will give up his liberty for her as well. Forrest is the obvious, and only, suspect in Prouix's murder. Carl agrees to defend Forrest, whom he believes to be guilty. Carl is not motivated by friendship, but rather by revenge. Forrest, as it turns out, was not Prouix's only lover. And Carl, who is shaken to his core by the murder, is determined to see that justice is done. What better way to insure that such occurs than to handle --- to manipulate --- the defense of the accused murderer, who Carl believes to be the doer of the deed?

But as Carl ever so skillfully leads his client to the theoretical guillotine, he begins to discover that he may be very, very wrong about so many things. Carl eventually finds that he must deconstruct the trap that he has built for his client, not only to prevent a miscarriage of justice, but also to keep from becoming trapped himself. In doing so, he must follow a trail that goes literally from one end of the country to the other and decades back in time, in order to uncover the life of a woman he knew too well yet never really knew at all.

Lashner's plotline in FATAL FLAW is incredibly complex. Yet, as he did with HOSTILE WITNESS and BITTER TRUTH, Lashner renders the difficult manageable and, even more importantly, interesting as he guides his reader through a labyrinth of plot twists that span space and time. Lashner also continues his practice of introducing quirky, unusual private investigators who almost steal the book away. The shamus introduced in FATAL FLAW is one Phil Skink and he is a central, unforgettable element in this unforgettable book. He is certainly as complex and indefinable a character as Carl himself has come to be --- and could easily be featured in a tale all his own. It is worth reading FATAL FLAW just for his introduction. Let's hope for a future reacquaintance.

FATAL FLAW may well be the novel that makes William Lashner a household name. Look for this one to be on several "Best Of" lists by year's end. Highest possible recommendation.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

First book I've read by Lashner, but will definitely not be the last. I think this is the third entry in the Victor Carl series, and I'm ordering the prior two.

Victor Carl is a somewhat seedy criminal defense lawyer who is not above manipulating the legal system. PI Phil Skink is a masterpiece: a man with a face that would stop a clock, who dresses in brown suits, wears a fedora, and talks like a gangster from the '30's. The interplay between Carl and Skink is sharp-tongued, chiseled, and testosterone-driven, yet the two play off one another n a fun, comedic way.

This is a real jewel of a book. The story is fast-paced, filled with witty dialogue and flawed characters. The courtroom drama is the best! The plot twists may be somewhat predictable, but the final twist will not be expected. Lashner is a writer with a unique voice who is definitely best-seller material.

Let me start by saying I read books for character; if I don't like the characters, it's a good bet I won't like the book. For me, this book didn't have a single character about whom I could care. There's the lawyer who is cheating on his wife and family, there is the protagonist lawyer who is having an affair with his "best friend's" mistress. That alone was enough to make me stop reading. If that doesn't bother you, the plot was decent enough, although slow and, at points very repetitive. The only reason I ranked this higher than NR was because, to be fair, others in our Mystery Group rated this book Good to Very Good. While they agreed they didn't like any of the characters and found some things improbable, they felt the characters and plot were well done. But for me, I kept thinking how many other, better books with more interesting characters I had waiting to be read.

What flaw? No flaws in this book. Loved it from beginning to end. In fact, I'd say it's one of this years best read (next to THE MURDER ROOM, of course). The characters are believable and the plot keeps you reading. But the best part of this book is the action. Non-stop action throughout. If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be just that: ACTION. A definite must for all action lovers. And if you're looking for a few other interesting titles that will keep you glued to your seat look no further than these, Buckland's Hot List: most creative, The Butterfly: A Fable (Singh); most engaging, The Alchemist (Coelho); most interesting, Life of Pi (Martel); most enlightening, 9-11 (Chomsky); most thrilling, The Lovely Bones: A Novel (Sebold); and finally, the most creative, engaging, interesting, enlightening and thrilling book of all, The Little Prince (Saint-Exupery). These are the books I'd recommend to my family, friends, students, and wife. There are many more, trust me, but these are the first that come to mind (for having left an impact slight or proud as it may be). If you have any questions, queries, or comments, or maybe even a title you think I should add to my list, please feel free to e-mail me. I'm always open to a good recommendation. Thanks for reading my brief but hopefully helpful review. Happy reading. Donald S. Buckland

A love triangle of the most extreme kind. Main character, Victor Carl, is a lawyer from Philadelphia. When a former classmate and fellow lawyer, Guy Forrest, is accused of murdering his lover, Hailey Prouix, Victor comes to the rescue. The only problem is Guy's lover was Victor's lover too! So instead of just defending his client, he is trying to find the murderer to his secret girlfriend while trying to keep the affair quiet. Victor's quest for the truth leads him back into Hailey's childhood. On the way, he gets ran off the road by a shady figure, meets her former boyfriend, meets her uncle in the fancy nursing home, then uncovers the mysterious death of her old friend Jesse Sterrett in the rock quarry. All of this leading up to the trial and uncovering the true mastermind behind the scenes.

The author, William Lashner, has become a well-recognized lawyer novelist. He has written books such as "Past Due," "The Hostile Witness," and "Bitter Truth." "Fatal Flaw" was published in 2003. William Lashner graduated from Swarthmore College and Iowa Writer's Workshop. He was a criminal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. He also lives in Philadelphia with his family.

I thought this novel was OK. It started out well enough, but it began to slow down three-fourths of the way through. I found the novel a little wordy especially when describing the scenery, which made it harder for me to want to read it. Although, the book is very realistic and is well written, the plot is just too slow for my tastes. The novel has potential to be an enjoyable for someone who really likes lawyer novels, or just likes intelligent mystery novels.

Until now, I had never read William Lashner. I saw "Fatal Flaw" in the book store and was intrigued by the storyline. I picked it up and hardly put it down until I was finished. The story consists of Attorney Victor Carl defending his old law school classmate as the latter is accused in the murder of his fiance. Victor was also intimately involved with the murder victim and takes the case to make sure that the defendant is found guilty, believing he has committed the crime. As the story unfolds, Victor begins to have his doubts, and as he delves deep into the past of the murder victim, the plot thickens as they say. This is a real page turner and Mr. Lashner's lengthy narratives are very enjoyable. How much did I enjoy this book? Before I finished "Fatal Flaw" I was the owner of Mr. Lashner's other books, sitting in my literary on-deck circle.