The Conviction: A Novel [Hardcover]

Robert Dugoni (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 12, 2012

In this gripping, high-octane thriller by critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni, a father takes the law into his own hands to save his son, trapped in a juvenile detention center from hell.

Lawyer David Sloane is desperate to get through to his troubled teenage son Jake. Still reeling from the devastating loss of his mother in a brutal murder, Jake has spiraled out of control and Sloane has barely been able to keep him out of jail. So when his old friend, detective Tom Molia, suggests that they take their sons on a guys-only camping trip, Sloane gratefully accepts.

What Sloane imagines will be the perfect excursion turns into a horrifying nightmare when the boys are arrested for vandalizing a general store late at night while their fathers are asleep. The next morning, before Sloane and Molia even realize they’re gone, their sons are tried, convicted, and sentenced by the presiding judge to six months in the county wilderness detention camp, Fresh Start. For the teenagers, a grueling physical and psychological ordeal begins.

As Sloane fights the conviction against the boys, he discovers that local judge Earl Boykin’s authority seems to extend far beyond the confines of his courtroom. Meanwhile, on the inside, Jake is forced to grow up quickly and soon learns the hard way that this detention center has a very different purpose than rehabilitating troubled youths.

With their legal options exhausted, Sloane and Molia will do anything to save their sons—even mount a daring rescue operation that could win the boys their freedom . . . or cost all of them their lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the best legal thriller writers in the business unleashes another stellar effort. . . . The names John Grisham and Scott Turow are mentioned when discussing the legal thriller genre. Robert Dugoni is as good, if not better.” —Associated Press

“Dugoni is at his best in the action scenes, which are the foundation of his narrative. Fans of John Grisham and Scott Turow will be pleased with this offering.” —Library Journal

“An exhilarating story that is crisply written and full of unexpected plot twists.” —Tucson Citizen

“Serves up the perfect mix of action, emotion and courtroom drama, so much so that The Conviction isn’t just the best legal thriller of the year, it’s one of the best thrillers period.” —Author Magazine

“Dugoni moves the thrill into the courtroom. Think Grisham. Think Baldacci. Or think Dugoni.” —Asbury Park Press

About the Author

Robert Dugoni has practiced as a civil litigator in San Francisco and Seattle for seventeen years and is a two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest. Visit RobertDugoni.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; 1 edition (June 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451606729
• ISBN-13: 978-1451606720
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A writer turned lawyer turned writer.
Robert Dugoni was born in Pocatello, Idaho and raised in Burlingame, California. Growing up the middle child in a family of ten siblings, Dugoni jokes that he didn't get much of a chance to talk, so he wrote. By the seventh grade he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Dugoni wrote his way to Stanford University, receiving writing awards along the way, and majored in communications/journalism and creative writing while working as a reporter for the Stanford Daily. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and worked briefly as a reporter in the Metro Office and the San Gabriel Valley Office of the Los Angeles Times.

Dugoni attended the UCLA law school and practiced law for 13 years in San Francisco. His longing to return to writing never wavered, however, and in 1999 he awoke one morning and made the decision to quit law and write novels. On the 4-year anniversary of his wedding day, he drove a u-haul trailer across the Oregon-Washington border and settled in Seattle to pursue his dreams.

For the next three years, Dugoni worked daily in an 8 foot by 8 foot windowless office in Pioneer Square to complete three novels, winning the 1999 and 2000 Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference Literary Contests.

Dugoni's first novel, The Jury Master, followed and became a New York Times bestseller. Deadly Pleasures mystery magazine chose The Jury Master as one of three "Best of the Best" debut novels of 2006 and the Seattle Times likened Dugoni to a young John Grisham, calling The Jury Master, "A riveting tale of murder, skullduggery and treachery at the highest level."

Dugoni's second novel, Damage Control, reached number 8 on several national independent bookseller's lists. Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal called Damage Control "a page turner" with "a fast moving plot and a few twists that will surprise even seasoned thriller readers."

Wrongful Death, Dugoni's second novel featuring Dugoni's popular protagonist, David Sloan, received critical acclaim. Kirkus called it, "An entertaining thriller about a hotshot lawyer with good guys to like, villains to hiss, and windmills to attack.." And Booklist wrote, "Mixing the suspense of a Grisham legal thriller with the political angle of a Baldacci. Dugoni is knocking on the A-list thriller door."

June 2010, Dugoni released his third in the David Sloane series, Bodily Harm, which Library Journal chose as one of the top five thrillers of 2010. The Providence Rhode Island Journal wrote that Bodily Harm branded Dugoni as "The undisputed king of the Legal Thriller."

Dugoni's fourth in the series, Murder One, was released June 2011 and hailed as a cross between Presumed Innocent and Basic Instinct. Publisher's Weekly called it "the best yet in the series" and Library Journal again chose it as one of the top five thrillers of 2011. The Miami Examiner wrote, "Dugoni should be cloned."

The Conviction, the fifth in the David Sloane series will be released June 2012.

For more on Robert Dugoni and his novels, visit his website at www.robertdugonni.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dugoni's best yet, not to be missed. June 13, 2012

By Robert Pace

Format:Hardcover

The jury is back and the verdict is unanimous. Robert Dugoni is not the `next' anyone in legal thrillers, he's the new standard against which others will now be judged. If Murder One was his Master's thesis, then his latest David Sloane thriller, The Conviction, is his PhD; a dissertation in deception.
Sloane, the lawyer that never loses, finds himself reliving a horror from his recent past through the behavior of his step-son, who is suffering his own crisis of self-destruction brought on by witnessing his mother's brutal murder and coming perilously close to his own. In a last ditch effort to reconnect--and keep Jake out of jail--Sloane accepts an invitation to go camping with an old friend and his son.
Jake, reluctantly followed by the younger boy, runs afoul of local law enforcement in a small town in California's Gold Country. Whisked away, tried and convicted in a kangaroo court, the boys find themselves on the way to a juvenile detention center from Hell before the dads fully realize they are missing.
Now, the law Sloane has manipulated to his advantage for so long, becomes a ponderous impediment, and he must decide if he can do whatever it takes--legal or not--to rescue the boys before time runs out.
The Conviction, is a taut, riveting Tilt-A-Wheel ride that builds to a white-knuckle climax for readers. Dugoni is fully in command of his craft and does not disappoint. This book makes a compelling case that Robert Dugoni deserves a place atop the bestseller throne. All hail the new king of legal thrillers!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Read! June 14, 2012

By Badger Fan

Format:Hardcover

Other reviews lay out the plot for you in more detail, but in short a troubled teen gets himself, and a younger friend, into a bad situation. In a rush to judgment, they end up in a juvenile camp and the two dads have to figure out a way to get them out since the legal system seems stacked against them. I am not a lawyer (and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) so I can't speak for the legal aspects of the story, but for the entertainment value, this is Bob Dugoni's best book yet!

As a parent of two teenagers, it was hard to read this book at the beginning. Could this happen and what would I do if it did? While it may be hard to believe something like this could happen in the 21st century, Mr. Dugoni made you feel the sense of desperation that David Sloane and Tom Molia would feel as dads if it did.

Each of Mr. Dugoni's books build off the prior ones but you can definitely read this as a standalone book since he gives enough background on each of the characters to get you up to speed quickly. I have read all of Mr. Dugoni's books and he is getting better and better. This one draws you in deeper and deeper and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. And since Mr. Dugoni has not been afraid of "doing away" with main characters in the previous books, I didn't know how far he would go with this one. That sense of trepidation with each turn of the page is what makes The Conviction so good.

This is a great summer read even if you have not read his other books (but I recommend that you do.)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The one serious conviction...a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously." S. Butler June 21, 2012

By michael a. draper TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

In "The Conviction" Robert Dugoni deals with sensitive subjects of rebellious teenagers, parental relationships and the hold that drugs can have on a young person's life.

After a session at the local courthouse, Jake Carter is scheduled to attend a substance abuse program. His step-father, attorney David Sloane, doesn't know how to reach Jake. Jake has been impossible since his mother died.

David's friend, Tom Molia, suggests that Dave and Jake join him and his fourteen-year-old son, T.J. on a hiking and fishing vacation. David thinks that this might be a good way to keep Jake out of jail.

They rent a room in Truluck, California. The first night Jake and T.J. get caught after breaking into a local store and stealing liquor and a gun.

The boys are caught and given a quick trial, then sentenced to the Fresh Start Youth Training Facility.

The town is owned by Victor Dillon and there seems that there is nothing the two lawmen can do to rescue their boys. The judge is like a character from the old west who controls the town. The police department is hired locally and is equally uncooperative. The training program might be a good idea, but the more the men find out about it, the more uneasy they are.

With suspense keeping the reader's attention, we feel for the fathers and wonder what can be done with two men set against an entire town.

Sloane is the kind of parent many of us wish to be. He wants to protect his step-son but how will he be able to suceed?

Dugoni is a professional story teller and this smoothly plotted mystery is a joy to read.