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A review by claudia_is_reading
Howtown by Michael Nava
5.0
Henry Rios, lawyer.
In this story, we see Henry as a lawyer, having to go back to his hometown to defend the brother of his teen years crush. Nor the case or the circumstances make this an easy task.
The story is great, showing us Henry acting on behalf of someone who despises, and whose crime is mostly to be a very sick man: Henry's client is a paedophile. But that's not the official reason for his imprisonment, he has been charged with murder. This makes for a very interesting read, beyond the mystery of who really killed McKay, who wasn't a nice man, either. It touches a lot of themes that are. at least, controversial: the right to a thorough defence; paedophilia, particularly in regards to its status as incurable; vigilante's justice, corruption...
It's a book that is really hard to get through; there were moments, particularly during Paul and Henry's conversation when Paul was trying to explain that his was a sexual preference, not a sickness, that made me utterly upset. And the rest of the characters are mostly unlikeable, too. But it is really, really good. The way in which law, ethics and moral are constantly addressed is fascinating, Henry's investigation, flawless. The resultant book is, at least until now, the best one in this series.
And yes, Thom Rivera's narration is perfect.
In this story, we see Henry as a lawyer, having to go back to his hometown to defend the brother of his teen years crush. Nor the case or the circumstances make this an easy task.
The story is great, showing us Henry acting on behalf of someone who despises, and whose crime is mostly to be a very sick man: Henry's client is a paedophile. But that's not the official reason for his imprisonment, he has been charged with murder. This makes for a very interesting read, beyond the mystery of who really killed McKay, who wasn't a nice man, either. It touches a lot of themes that are. at least, controversial: the right to a thorough defence; paedophilia, particularly in regards to its status as incurable; vigilante's justice, corruption...
It's a book that is really hard to get through; there were moments, particularly during Paul and Henry's conversation when Paul was trying to explain that his was a sexual preference, not a sickness, that made me utterly upset. And the rest of the characters are mostly unlikeable, too. But it is really, really good. The way in which law, ethics and moral are constantly addressed is fascinating, Henry's investigation, flawless. The resultant book is, at least until now, the best one in this series.
And yes, Thom Rivera's narration is perfect.