Neon Dragon (Hardscrabble Books: Fiction of New England)

From Publishers Weekly Fans of the film True Believer will best appreciate law professor Dobbyn's debut, a routine legal thriller with a similar plot. Michael Knight, a junior associate at a high-powered Boston firm, gets asked by a powerful African-American judge, Amos Bradley, to represent his son, Anthony, who has been accused of gunning down a beloved member of the city's Chinese community under cover of a New Year's parade. This assignment brings Knight to the attention of the firm's disgraced legend, Alexis Devlin, who has been keeping a low profile since he was alleged to have participated in jury-tampering to help a client. As the two attorneys search for the truth, Knight ventures into dangerous neighborhoods on the trail of some major league political and judicial corruption. Considering his curriculum vitae—Latino street kid, Harvard law grad and former federal prosecutor—Knight comes across as oddly naïve, while his ignorance of Chinatown's organized criminals doesn't ring true. (Mar.) Copyright ''© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist This debut novel by law professor Dobbyn marks the first long-form appearance of legal eagles Michael Knight and Lex Devlin, who've starred in several of the author's short stories. Every team needs an "origin story," and this is theirs: the case that first brought the newcomer and the veteran together. A man is murdered during Boston's Chinese New Year celebrations. The man arrested for the crime is the son of a judge, who asks Knight to defend the accused in court. With Devlin's help, Knight navigates the treacherous world of Chinese organized crime, drugs, and political corruption. Dobbyn, who knows his characters like the back of his hand, is an engaging writer, and readers who have followed the adventures of Knight and Devlin in short stories will give a small cheer that they've finally made the leap to the hardcover novel. David Pitt Copyright ''© American Library Association. All rights reserved Amid the flash and din of Boston's raucous Chinese New Year's celebration an elderly man named Chen An-Yong is shot while watching the parade from his Tyler Street window. Anthony Bradley, the young son of an African American judge is standing across the street at the time and is immediately arrested for the crime.Michael Knight is a young lawyer who is "going places," but even Knight is surprised when Judge Bradley asks him to defend his son in such a high profile and politically dangerous case. Luckily, Knight finds he has powerful support when a senior partner at his firm, the legendary Lex Devlin, becomes involved. Once the foremost criminal defense attorney in Boston, Devlin has mysteriously withdrawn from defense work in recent years. As Knight and Devlin investigate the incident and prepare their client's defense, the older lawyer's passion and ability come to the fore, leading Knight to consider anew the murky allegations that eclipsed his mentor's career.Before he can defend the young Bradley, Knight is forced to enter into the shadow world of gangland Chinatown, where Triads and Tongs rule through fear and intimidation, creating a nearly impenetrable wall of silence. From the halls of Harvard to the streets of Chinatowns in Boston and Toronto, Knight doggedly pursues an increasingly dangerous investigation that involves drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, and, ultimately, a corruption scandal that could bring down the most powerful people in Boston.

The first Devlin and Knight mystery

Publishers Weekly

Fans of the film True Believerwill best appreciate law professor Dobbyn's debut, a routine legal thriller with a similar plot. Michael Knight, a junior associate at a high-powered Boston firm, gets asked by a powerful African-American judge, Amos Bradley, to represent his son, Anthony, who has been accused of gunning down a beloved member of the city's Chinese community under cover of a New Year's parade. This assignment brings Knight to the attention of the firm's disgraced legend, Alexis Devlin, who has been keeping a low profile since he was alleged to have participated in jury-tampering to help a client. As the two attorneys search for the truth, Knight ventures into dangerous neighborhoods on the trail of some major league political and judicial corruption. Considering his curriculum vitae Latino street kid, Harvard law grad and former federal prosecutor Knight comes across as oddly naïve, while his ignorance of Chinatown's organized criminals doesn't ring true. (Mar.)

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

This explosive first novel brings to life the legal detective team of Michael Knight and Lex Devlin who pursue an investigation that involves drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, and, ultimately, a corruption scandal that could bring down the most powerful people in Boston.