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FOGBOUND
by Joseph T Klempner
St MartinŐs Minotaur, November 2003
224 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 0312310676


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Octogenarian August Jorgensen, retired federal judge, lives in virtual seclusion on a New Jersey barrier island. He has no telephone, no TV, no radio. His only companions are his Labrador dog, Jake, and his catboat. He was never considered for the Supreme Court because of his strong and stated opinions about the death penalty.

He is approached by Jessica Woodruff, anchor for Trial TV, and her team to defend African-American Boyd Davis, soon to be executed for the rape and murder years ago of a young white girl. Trial TV views the forthcoming trial as a way of striking a blow against the death penalty.

After much persuasion Jorgensen agrees to take on the case. He visits Boyd in prison where he learns that Boyd is autistic and unable to understand what is involved and is unable to participate in his defense. His only means of communication is his extraordinary drawings. It is through these drawings that Jorgensen gains insight into the crime and Boyd's possible innocence.

He learns that Trial TV knows the truth and is using this trial and Jorgensen, feeling he will lose the decision; that Boyd will be executed , and then the truth will be revealed. This will give the death penalty foes fuel for their campaign for its abolishment. When Woodruff learns of Jorgensen's activities she attempts to stop him from trying the case. On a sail in his catboat he is stranded in a dense fog and run down by a pleasure boat. Is this an attempt on his life, or just a boating accident?

This is a legal whodunit with a plausible scenario. It is a chilling presentation of how a group of people will conceal and maneuver facts to further their own selfish agenda. The court room scenes are realistic and compelling. The efforts of Jorgensen to reach Boyd and discover the truth are enlightening, and rewarding. This is a strong indictment against the death penalty.

The relationship between Jorgensen and his Labrador, Jake , add a touching glimpse of the strong, almost human, bond between a man and his dog. The sequence of the two of them trying to survive in the fogbound waters is both chilling and realistic. You can feel the cold and the terror.

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer, December 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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