Michael A. Kahn not only is an award winning author but an acclaimed lawyer. Kahn is listed as a “Super Lawyer” by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers and in the “Best Lawyers in America” in the categories of Intellectual Property Law, First Amendment Law, Entertainment Law and Media Law.
Kahn graduated from Amherst College, Northwestern University and Harvard Law School. According to his biography, he wrote his first novel as a dare from his wife who got tired of hearing him announce every-time he read a paperback mystery that he could write a better book than the one he just completed. She told him, “Write one, or shut up”.
The main character in Kahn’s book is Rachel Gold, a Jewish defense attorney working in Saint Louis. Sometimes male writers don’t do justice to a female lead character, but Rachel Gold holds her own with some of the best fictional female attorneys. The intellect, emotion and character all rang true for me.
In “Due Diligence”, Rachel’s rabbi boyfriend, recommends a new client for Rachel. But before she actually can meet this client, he ends up dead in a trash compactor. Rachel discovers that he was working on some top secret due diligence work for a pharmaceutical company with ties to a U.S. Senator and Presidential hopeful.
As the action progresses and bodies begin to pile up, Rachel is forced to go under cover and gets the help of a fellow law school colleague turned journalist. The action takes us into the caves and tunnels of Old St. Louis with intense action.
The book should be read on the basis of merely being an excellent legal thriller. But to me, the book was much more. I found myself fascinated by some of the legal aspects of getting a drug to market. The drugs in question were based on two species of the Peloto plant found in Costa Rica. One of the species was found on the Pacific side of the Monteverde Cloud Forest and the other on the Caribbean side near Tortugero. The legal and pharmaceutical aspects of the book are presented in an entertaining way and do not bog the book down with information overload.
I strongly recommend “Due Diligence” that was written in 1995, and is still available today, The characters are complex, the plot is compelling and you learn something as a bonus. Additionally, it presents good discussion material for book clubs. At the core of the story is the age old question of when and in what cases, if any, does the end justify the means.
Five starts out of Five.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please let me know about the Mysteries and Authors you enjoy. Post your comments here, or contact me at MysteryReview@yahoo.com.
You may be interested in the following articles: Things You Must Know About Mortgages
No comments:
Post a Comment