THE GUILTY BY GABRIEL BOUTROS - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A LAWYER CROSSES THE LINE

TITLE : THE GUILTY
AUTHOR : GABRIEL BOUTROS
ISBN : 9781479277759

The Guilty, is loosely based on a double murder that shocked Montreal in the 1990’s. 

                                                                     The Guilty is a story of a successful criminal lawyer, Robert Bratt, who is inherently an honest man but has mislaid his priorities somewhere along the course of defending criminals.

 The book opens up to the turmoil and anguish that Robert is facing in his life. Expressing his frustration and confusion over nearly losing his only child, Jeannie, to his profession, Robert finds himself questioning his past choices and decisions.

In the midst of all this, though Bratt does not want to but thanks to his legal partner, finds himself defending Marlon Small, a young man of Jamaican descent, accused of a double murder and an attempted murder. On top of it, he finds his lady love, Nancy Morin, in the opposite camp and refusing to have anything to do with him till at least the end of the trial. To his chagrin he also finds his ambition of becoming a judge of Superior Court hinging on the outcome of the Small trial.

The ironic twist comes in the story when Bratt has everything, the trial, his relationship with his daughter and his love life, moving in the positive direction. Robert comes across something which shakes him up and forces him to take stock of his life. Bratt finally takes a decision which alters his life on a monumental scale.

                                                            All this put together makes an interesting read. The story is fast paced and gripping, especially once it reaches the trial part.One can feel Bratt’s moral dilemma and it is easy to empathize with this legal eagle. 

Gabriel Boutros, the author of The Guilty, has practiced criminal law for twenty four years and as a consequence his professional experience shows in the story.

If you like reading court room drama then this is your book. 

Devil's Ether by RR Chelra

                                                                                                                                                                                  
TITLE : DEVIL’S ETHER

AUTHOR : R R CHERLA

ISDN : 978-93-5067-259-4

I read this book on my husband’s insistence and I am mighty glad that I read it . It seldom happens that you come across a sci – fi novel which  happens to be an author’s debut book but also turns out to be a riveting and thought provoking piece of work.

R R Cherla’s Devil’s Ether is a  sci- fi set in the United States of America. Written against a backdrop of  international intrigue and a internet connected world, this book takes you to a world where there is no limit  to what the top bosses of the intelligence agencies might do to achieve their own personal  interests. The way they violate the privacy of individuals without a second thought using the social mediums is scary. It has the main protagonist Sara Sheppard trying to save her husband, Jim, who happens to be the administration’s biggest critic, from the clutches of  supposed paranoia . Little does she realize at that time that it is Jim who is trying to save her and their daughter. As the story unravels, Sara finds out how her husband’s privacy has been violated by the intelligence agencies and how they are playing with his mind. The way she gets CIA agent Jeff Brandon’s help, who discovers at that stage that he still has a conscience which does not allow him to support his bosses anymore is interesting. The riveting story has a lot to offer and keeps you glued to the book.

The story is fast paced and definitely holds your interest till the very end. The helicopter chases and the sharp shooters lend the story a Hollywood flavor. While reading the book I could feel the adrenalin rush and could visualize the scenes as if I was watching a movie.This itself says how well the story has been put into words.

However, I feel, the author could have held himself a little from going into such in depth technical details because either a sci – fi is one’s cup of tea or it is entirely out of one’s range.

In my opinion, Mr. Cherla has done a commendable job especially as Devil’s Ether happens to be his debut book. The book portrays the depth of research done by the author. The book is definitely strongly recommended to all  action and sci – fi fans.