Publishers Weekly
Klempner (Irreparable Damage) combines courtroom maneuverings, reality TV and amateur sleuthing in ways that at first seem predictable but are in fact quite subtle in this sterling legal whodunit, with its courageous and memorable hero. When the clever folks at Trial TV decide to pry octogenarian judge August Jorgensen out of retirement to argue a hopeless death penalty case before the Supreme Court, they get much more than they bargained for. Jorgensen is a staunch opponent of the death penalty, but he's also happily retired in a decommissioned lighthouse on a New Jersey barrier island and not eager to re-enter service. However, the case of Wesley Boyd Davies, who is due to be executed by the state of Virginia for a young girl's rape and murder after the appeal process has been exhausted, has an irresistible hook. The thin legal grounds Jorgensen is supposed to defend before the Supreme Court aren't strong enough for him, so he decides to do a little exploring on his own. The autistic Davies is unable to participate in his own defense, his only means of communication, and an iffy one at that, being the extraordinary drawings he sometimes produces. The present nine Supreme Court justices play themselves in the nail-biter of a denouement. Jorgensen, with his dog, Jake, and his catboat, which he sails singlehandedly, comes across as a credible and engaging character. A former defense attorney, Klempner deftly handles the death penalty issue at the heart of this highly entertaining novel. Agent, Bob Diforio. (Nov. 24) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A retired judge is lured from his South Carolina hermitage to handle one last appeal for a Death Row inmate. Sound familiar? Wait, you can predict even more details, as the judge himself instantly succeeds in doing. Hon. August Jorgenson was a celebrated opponent of the death penalty before he stepped down and into the hermit-like oblivion of his Outer Banks lighthouse (no computer, no phone, barely any mail). The advocates pressing for his involvement, director/anchor Jessica Woodruff and her colleagues at the upstart Trial TV network, are more interested in ratings than justice. The accused, Wesley Boyd Davies, is an autistic African-American, a prodigiously gifted artist who can speak barely a word, convicted 15 years ago of raping and killing his 11-year-old neighbor Ilsa Meisner in execution-happy Virginia. A parade of lawyers has run methodically through every last grounds for appeal save one: "Could a competent, sane, non-retarded individual, who was nonetheless incapable of understanding the connection between his criminal act and his execution, be put to death without violating the Eighth Amendment?" It all sounds like pretty recondite stuff until Jorgenson, agreeing to argue the case before the Supreme Court, finds evidence that strongly suggests his client is innocent, with confirmation (though no evidence he can take into court) readily available. The discovery would make Boy Davies's day if he could understand it, but there's no joy at Trial TV, where Jorgenson's claim of actual innocence, which could fatally undermine their crusade against capital punishment, turns the grizzled justice into a potential liability. Wonder what will happen next? For Klempner (IrreparableDamage, 2002), any point worth making is worth beating to death, and the early stages of this opus, which seem determined to mine the fog for every metaphoric possibility, are slow-going. Once the story kicks in, however, it proceeds to its foreordained conclusion with pleasing brio.
