Dark Harbor [Mass Market Paperback]

Providing an exciting story that includes the highs and lows of Boston life, lawyer David Hosp's debut novel ranges from Beacon Hill to Southie, from a "white shoe" law firm to a ghoulish home "operating room," from security company offices to exploding trains, and from the Governor's office to the dark corners where associates of fugitive mob boss Whitey Bulger converge. Scott Finn, an orphan from Southie who worked his way out of juvenile detention and into a job at a prestigious Boston law firm, is devastated when his colleague and former lover, Natalie Caldwell, turns up dead on the Southie waterfront.

While police are investigating Natalie's death, Finn accepts the job of representing Huron Security in a major lawsuit, a case that Natalie was preparing when she died. Huron was in charge of security when a terrorist planted and detonated bombs on twelve rail cars, killing dozens of commuters, and a young widow has sued. When the governor of Massachusetts and his chief aide take an unnatural interest in Natalie's death and Finn himself is physically "warned," he knows he must investigate all aspects of Natalie's life if he is going to solve the case. Soon, he himself is under suspicion for her murder. An edge-of-your-seat conclusion worthy of the big screen ties up the loose ends and sets the scene for a possible series featuring Finn.

Although Hosp employs some melodramatic details at the beginning of the novel (the hand of a dead body reaching out "for help," and a man facing imminent death grabbing for the family photo in his pocket), he soon settles down and lets his plots and subplots develop more naturally. His depiction of Southie, the characters who populate it, the "presence" of real-life fugitive Whitey Bulger, and references to the trial of John Connolly, an FBI officer who handled Whitey and then went to jail for becoming "too close," set the scene and add realism and local color to the novel. Finn's own connections to Southie provide a bridge between the uptown characters, governmental offices, and the movers and shakers of Southie.

Occasionally, Hosp's clumsiness with key details--and the attempt to drop red herrings--are obvious and telegraph the reader that s/he is being manipulated. The inclusion of too-helpful friends and colleagues, along with Finn's own loose lips about crucial information, are the marks of an inexperienced author trying to control outcomes. Hosp does not have the literary flair or style of Lehane, but this Boston mystery, overall, is exciting, well-paced and clever, ideal for the beach, and great fun to read. Mary Whipple

Scott Finn was orphaned at an early age and had a rough upbringing, spending most of it trying to survive on the tough streets of Boston, yet he managed to pull himself out and now he's on his way to being partner at a big law firm. Life is good, that is until the day they find the body of his friend and former lover Natalie Caldwell floating in the Boston Harbor. He is grief stricken, and becomes determined to make sure they find who killed her.

The police think it's the work of a serial killer they named "Little Jack" because it seems to fit his MO, and after they apprehend him he confesses to all the murders, with the exception of Natalie's. The detective in charge of the investigation, Linda Flaherty, and her partner have doubts that he's lying about not killing Natalie, but because they are strongly pressured into closing the case no one wants to hear about it. Therefore, Flaherty conducts her own investigation and eventually finds out Natalie and Finn were lovers, plus it seems he was the last person to see her alive, so he becomes the focus of her investigation. Now he has to find a way to prove his innocence, and his former life on the streets may be the only thing that helps him. In the meantime, he is thrown in to replace Natalie in a high profile case defending a security company being sued for wrongful death in a terrorist bombing of a commuter train. It's quite a story because he finds out that it's possible Natalie made some enemies in high places while working the case, and he uncovers things he never expected. He fights hard to clear his name but the evidence keeps piling up against him and even though he knows someone is setting him up he can't prove it, until finally he's arrested and charged with murder. This story has great characters, nonstop action, and so many twists and turns that my attention was glued to the pages to find out what happens!

DARK HARBOR is in no way your usual legal thriller; it's better! I wouldn't be surprised if it makes the bestseller list, and fast. Newcomer David Hosp has a style all his own and I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of this great new author. I hope not anyway!!

When John Grisham introduced us to Bendini, Lambert & Locke, a Memphis tax boutique controlled by the Mafia, the idea of an in-house firm for the mob was hilarious. These days no one, least of all our hero Scott Finn, is particularly sure that organized crime doesn't just control the firm, but also the governor's office, the US Attorneys Office and the Boston PD.

Finn, who worked and fought his way out of the streets of Southie to the thick-pile carpets of Boston's Brahmin legal establishment, finds himself back among the thugs and characters of the world he thought he left behind. When a fellow associate and friend with benefits is killed by a copycat killer seeking to emulate "Little Jack" who was terrorizing the city Finn is drawn into the fray, where he acquits himself brilliantly while maintaining his place on the partnership track.

Finn even finds a new love interest in the cop who is trying, though not very hard, to put him away. And a childhood friend proves an invaluable ally as Finn attempts to clear himself and clean up the city in the process.

If it seems over the top, it is. But it is good fun too.