Fogbound [Hardcover]

Joseph T. Klempner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2003

Once more, the author of Irreparable Damage combines thrills, vivid characters, and a plot that leaves the reader breathless.

A Lincoln Navigator carries three well-dressed people through the barren New Jersey salt flats. The trip is uncomfortable but necessary. Their target has no phone, certainly no e-mail, and never answers his rare mail. But August Jorgenson is no country bumpkin. Before retiring, he was one of the most famous judges in the country, and only opinions like his fierce opposition to the death penalty kept him from a seat on the Supreme Court.

Now his visitors, from a reality show called Trial TV, have come to enlist his aid. They are excited about an idea they have that promises to strike a serious blow against the death penalty (and boost their ratings past those of Court TV).

The judge agrees to help. But as he digs into the facts of the case he becomes their enemy - an enemy who must be removed as a serious threat to their plans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Klempner (Irreparable Damage) combines courtroom maneuverings, reality TV and amateur sleuthing in ways that at first seem predictable but are in fact quite subtle in this sterling legal whodunit, with its courageous and memorable hero. When the clever folks at Trial TV decide to pry octogenarian judge August Jorgensen out of retirement to argue a hopeless death penalty case before the Supreme Court, they get much more than they bargained for. Jorgensen is a staunch opponent of the death penalty, but he's also happily retired in a decommissioned lighthouse on a New Jersey barrier island and not eager to re-enter service. However, the case of Wesley Boyd Davies, who is due to be executed by the state of Virginia for a young girl's rape and murder after the appeal process has been exhausted, has an irresistible hook. The thin legal grounds Jorgensen is supposed to defend before the Supreme Court aren't strong enough for him, so he decides to do a little exploring on his own. The autistic Davies is unable to participate in his own defense, his only means of communication, and an iffy one at that, being the extraordinary drawings he sometimes produces. The present nine Supreme Court justices play themselves in the nail-biter of a denouement. Jorgensen, with his dog, Jake, and his catboat, which he sails singlehandedly, comes across as a credible and engaging character. A former defense attorney, Klempner deftly handles the death penalty issue at the heart of this highly entertaining novel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"[A] sterling legal whodunit . . . highly entertaining."
-- Publishers Weekly (Publisher's Weekly ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (November 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312310676
• ISBN-13: 978-0312310677
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,778,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is Writing At It's Finest, January 4, 2007

By 

Joseph L. Burke "Paper Tiger" (Bradenton FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fogbound (Hardcover)

This is a "legal thriller" - but it is also much more. The writing is lyrical and graceful, the characters memorable, the plot different and absorbing. This is a book you can read over again just for the sheer pleasure of the prose and for being involved with the hero's life. I look forward to reading all of the author's books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the editor was fogbound too, July 8, 2009

By 

sophocles (new jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fogbound (Hardcover)

a decent read, a decent story idea, and a good set of unbelievable characters. but it's frustrating that the protagonist lives on the Jersey shore on the jacket, in North Carolina for part of the story, and in South Carolina for the rest of the story - all in the same lighthouse. come on, this is irritating!

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars chilling legal thriller, November 6, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fogbound (Hardcover)

When Judge Jorgenson retired from the bench he was hearing cases in the Fourth Circuit Federal Court. He never was considered for nomination as a Supreme Court justice because he was vehemently against the death penalty and was strongly pro-choice. He hasn't tried a case for thirty-three years so he's considerably surprised when Trial TV attorneys ask him to work a case before the Supreme Court.

They want him to be their mouthpiece because he's regarded by the people as a man of principles and honor. Those very principles force him to investigate the case of an autistic man that he is asked to represent. Boyd Davies can't speak or socially interact with anyone but he is brilliant at drawing pictures and it is this talent that leads the judge to believe that instead of arguing against the death penalty, his clients should seek a new trial. The higher ups at Trial TV have plans of their own and will go to extreme lengths to see them carried out.

FOGBOUND is a chilling thriller because the scenario seems so plausible. The octogenarian protagonist is smart, lives an active life and endears himself to the audience with his boyish enthusiasm. Joseph T. Klempner is a terrific storyteller who writes about human strengths and frailties within a legal thriller. This novel is a powerful indictment against the death penalty and after reading FOGBOUND, one can understand why.

Harriet Klausner