As a favor to Susan Webster, a fellow member of a team defending Geller Pharmaceuticals against a claim that their product Insufort causes birth defects, Daniel agrees to work late to review documents concerning the drug’s testing and production. The documents are to be delivered to the opposition’s attorney the next morning. Daniel is unprepared for the volume of documentation involved - five big boxes worth. Somehow he gives each item at least a cursory glance before his eyes refuse to stay open any longer.

The next morning when the documents are reviewed by head attorney Aaron Flynn, Daniel’s fortunes take an extreme turn for the worse. Among the documentation items is a report by Sergey Kaidanov, a research scientist at Geller. According to Kaidanov’s research with Rhesus monkeys, Insufort appears to cause severe defects in the progeny of those pregnant Rhesus monkeys that received Insufort. Ergo Geller scientists must have known of the drug’s adverse effects and tried to cover it up.

Daniel’s failure to notice the report places his firm’s defense of Geller in an awkward position. Daniel is chosen as the scapegoat. His employment is terminated, leaving him with no income and considerable debt. He can’t believe that, first, only one study revealed the harmful effects of the drug, and second, that Geller, a highly successful, reputable company would choose to market the drug nonetheless.

Former cop Kate Ross, now legal in-house investigator, is intrigued by the case. Having had personal experience with the devastating effects of birth defects, (her sister’s daughter is afflicted), she is passionately against marketing suspect drugs to pregnant women. Though her prejudice is in direct opposition to Daniel’s regarding the case, the two young people become allies in the search for the truth.

Phillip Margolin has produced an exciting, complex tale which could be categorized as a legal thriller. It is that certainly, but it has much greater depth than the usual legal drama. The events that precipitate Daniel Ames’ termination from the law firm have their origin in events that took place in Arizona some twenty years before. The skill with which Mr. Margolin reveals the relationship between the happenings testifies to his talent as a writer. The reader learns early on which character appears in both scenarios and therefore, is most likely the uniting factor, but how and why, as well as the importance of peripheral characters gives the reader several puzzles to solve. Ultimately, the alert reader will discover the solution with some satisfaction in having related diverse clues.

There are ample scenes of violent confrontation, complete with vivid description. Those that are squeamish are hereby forewarned. In one scene Daniel meets Gaidanov in a cemetery at night. They are ambushed by an unknown person. An armed Kate arrives, managing in the dark in an unfamiliar place to wound the assassin without harming Daniel in the process. This requires more than a little willing suspension of disbelief. Possible, but not bloody likely.

A minor complaint with author Margolin’s otherwise intriguing puzzle format is the following, which, in my view, falls into the realm of not playing fair. “... he dialed a number he knew almost as well as his own. A moment later the call went through. “We’ve got a serious problem,” Flynn said speaking urgently into the phone.” He knows but the reader is left in the dark. Or again, “Oh, shit”, Kate said, and she suddenly knew why Gene Arnold had almost fainted when he saw Claude Bernier’s photograph.” She can see the photo, but, of course, the reader can’t and can only make an educated guess as to what she saw.

All told, Phillip Margolin’s legal mystery is a delight. One need not have a law degree or a legal background to follow the logic. The author does not get bogged down in the semantics of the law providing the lay reader with an enjoyable experience.

--Andy Plonka