The Great Divide (Marcus Glenwood Series #1) (Hardcover)

by T. Davis Bunn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Gloria Hall has gone missing in China, where she went to investigate and expose slave labor conditions. The prison camp she ends up in is a factory for a big American corporation. Marcus Glenwood is a formerly successful corporate lawyer who has retreated to a house on the wrong side of the tracks after an auto accident in which his two small children are killed. Gloria's sacrifice and Marcus's redemption are the larger themes of this moving and engrossing novel of international trade practices and personal salvation.

Marcus agrees to represent Gloria's parents in a legal battle to hold New Horizons, the world's largest manufacturer of sports shoes and athletic gear, accountable for the disappearance of their daughter. But his investigation is hampered from the beginning by his former colleagues, who represent New Horizons, and by powerful lobbyists and associates of the Chinese government, who will not hesitate to use any means possible--including murder--to keep their gruesome practices a secret. With his resources limited to a canny retired judge and the mysterious woman who was Gloria's closest friend, Marcus sets out on a David and Goliath-like battle against a mighty corporation with powerful political backers and corrupt trading partners determined to stop him.

In the wake of increasing political protest against the abuse of workers in third world countries who manufacture goods sold by American companies, the outlines of Bunn's plot are particularly timely. The theme of the burned-out lawyer taking on a mighty corporation and its anything-for-a-win legal minions, however, has been used by many others, most notably John Grisham, for nearly a decade. What makes this novel exceptionally powerful is its deep spiritual core. The scene in which Marcus painfully relives the accident that shattered his world and confronts the loving presence of the only force that can absolve his guilt and heal his soul is remarkable: "There within the church the shadow formed more clearly still, gliding on slippered feet. The shroud it carried wrapped him up so tightly that Marcus felt his hold on the church and the comforting noise slip away until he could scarcely hear anything save the frantic beating of his terrified heart. He sat there, trapped and helpless to do anything save observe the approach of his own eternal night." The secondary characters are as well drawn as the protagonists, and Bunn's writing has moments of real beauty and clarity. While the plot doesn't move as quickly as it might, and the sympathetic judge who presides over the courtroom leaves herself wide open to appellate review, neither detracts from the powerful resonance of this well written novel. --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly
Redolent of the grits and fatback of the Carolina tobacco belt and heralded as the Christian Book Association's bestselling author's crossover to mainstream fiction, this cracking good thriller features Marcus Glenwood, an ex-high-rolling, hard-boozing young Raleigh, N.C., corporate attorney, who--down on his luck--has come home to nearby Rocky Mount to lick his wounds, and to lovingly restore his grandparents' house. Marcus has hardly unpacked when he is retained by the parents of Gloria Hall, a local black grad student at Georgetown University. Gloria has disappeared inside China while investigating slave labor practices at the infamous Factory 101, a manufacturing partnership with mega-international sportswear manufacturer New Horizons. Unwittingly, Marcus finds himself caught up in a game of "don't blink" legal chicken with spiteful old enemies from his former firm, which represents New Horizons. Professional envy, political chicanery at the highest (and lowest) levels, racial bigotry, bribery, international intrigue, socioeconomic exploitation (political pressure is brought to bear on a black female judge) and a romance between emotionally scarred lovers Marcus and Kirsten Standstead, Gloria's roommate-- all flesh out the novel as the young Quixote takes on the establishment in and out of the courtroom. Glossing over background data, the plot sometimes lacks credibility--Kirsten's psychological scarring is pure soap and Gloria's parents, a statistics professor and a dean at a local black college, are broadly sketched--and there is a tendency to play fast and loose with courtroom protocol. However, the theme of underdog vs. the system is seductive and there are enough plot twists to keep even the most unforgiving of critics turning pages. Major ad/promo; national author tour. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (June 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038549615X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385496155
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,701,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GRIPPING, LEGAL THRILLER, June 21, 2000

By	Nick Gonnella - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Attorney, Marcus Glenwood is struggling to put his life back together after suffering a tragic accident, and a messy divorce.

Marcus leaves the corporate law firm he was working at to start over in a small town in North Carolina, rebuilding the house his grandparent's lived in. The simple life he is adjusting to will be disturbed when he is approached by Alma and Austin Hall. The Hall's daughter, Gloria, has disappeared. Gloria was in China researching slave labor practices that were in connection to a major sporting goods company.

Marcus knows the case is difficult, if there is a case at all but the Hall's desperation to find their daughter encourages him to look into the accusations the Hall's are making.

With the help of Kirsten Stanstead, Gloria's roomate, Marcus uncovers a web of deceit involving New Horizons (the sporting goods company).

Marcus must not only find Gloria, he must battle rival lawyers set out to destroy him, as well as people in high positions who will stop at nothing to cover up wrong doing.

"The Great Divide" is a fast-paced, gripping thriller that grabs hold on page one, and pulls you through to the climax. It has all the high drama, and interesting plot twists to make this a must read legal thriller.

T. Davis Bunn has written other books (none of which I have ever read), this new book will be his breakout bestseller. Bunn's style of writing compares to that of John Grisham, so all you legal thriller fans take note, Bunn is an author to watch.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch Out Grisham & Turow!, June 10, 2001

By	Jill Clardy "So many books, so little time...." (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Marcus Glenwood is rebuilding his life and legal practice after the tragic death of his young children and the divorce from his wife. He is asked to represent the parents of Gloria Hall, who believe she has been kidnapped in a prison-like shoe factory operated by New Horizons in China.

With little physical evidence and not much on which to build a case, Marcus goes to court against the massive New Horizons, which seems to have tentacles and connections everywhere. New Horizons will stop at nothing to keep their secrets intact, and Marcus is threatened, beaten and attacked in his quest to expose the reprehensible practices of this monolithic company.

The descriptions of labor practices in China paint a horrendous picture of inhumane treatment and are very timely in the current political climate. The legal intrigue surrounding Marcus' quest to reveal New Horizons' is fascinating in its details. But the real story here is the integrity of Marcus, Gloria's parents, the judge, and many other secondary characters who are deeply committed to doing the right thing.

Bunn is also a master at skillfully building believable and empathetic secondary characters. Long before the book is over, you feel like you know these people and would like to spend more time with them.

A fascinating story, well written, very entertaining, very informative. T. Davis Bunn has given Turow and Grisham some real competition in the legal thriller genre.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look out John Grisham!, May 7, 2001

By	C. Goodman "Book lover" (Midwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

WOW!

What a super book! This was the first T. Davis Bunn novel I had the pleasure of reading. It was a gift or I might never have discovered a wonderful book and author.

I fell in love right away with the author's pace and way of storytelling. I could hear the drawls of the friends Marcus made in the rural part of North Carolina. I could see his home, the trees behind it, and each of Bunn's characters clearly in my mind (this is rare for me to be able to picture and imagine a book so vividly!).

It scared me that this book, and the subject matter, could actually be true. New Horizons could be any number of companies located in the US. That makes it so real, and so scary.

If you aren't sure if you like legal thrillers, this is more than that. You CARE about the people in the book, worry about them, and get scared with them. The heartwarming hospitality shown by various southerners is just as I imagined it, the same as is the good ole boys network working against them.

Read this. You won't be disappointed.