I’ve reviewed at least eight novels by Robert Dugoni, most of which I’ve commented about very favorably. The Conviction does not stand up to the author's prior efforts. This is meant to be a thriller about the never-loses lawyer, David Sloane. Written in 2012, the story surrounds Sloane and a friend choosing to take their boys on a wilderness hike. The story surrounds the boys running afoul of the law in a small California town which has been purchased in its entirety by a very wealthy man who wants to run a tight ship with regard to even the pettiest of crimes, or really, just bad manners. The boys are arrested for sneaking out at night and breaking into a small store at night, and before Sloane and his friend can even wake up the next morning, the boys have been tried and sent off to a juvenile boot camp respectively for 6 months and 12 months. Then Sloane and his friend are arrested for being rude to the judge who had sentenced the boys.
I thought the story was ridiculous. Those of us who love thrillers and murder mysteries must suspend judgement to some extent regarding the circumstances that we’re reading about, but the stories can’t go too far away from reality to keep us interested. This one crosses that line the wrong way. I got to the one-quarter mark of the book and decided I had better things to do with my time.
I’m not recommending this one. Good authors can’t write a winner every time, and this is just one of those books that does not qualify.
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