Neon Dragon

From Publishers WeeklyFans 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 BooklistThis 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 PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved