The January Corpse

This exceptional first mystery is driven by a baffling plot and comes to a surprise ending that passes the Holmesian test: after the impossible is eliminated, that which remains, however improbable, is the truth. Seven years before the story opens, fledgling attorney Daniel Wilson had disappeared, and his bullet-pocked and bloody car was found by his sister Lisa in the woods near the place where they had planned to meet later that evening. Now Dave Garrett, a disbarred lawyer turned PI, is called in to help the estate have Wilson declared dead so the survivors can collect his insurance. Defying mob warnings to lay off, escaping two sets of gunsels sent to maim or kill him, penetrating a fog of deceit and lies laid down by Lisa, her mother and Wilson's law partner, the brave, able, cynical Dave, after a night in Lisa's arms, comes to a startling conclusion worthy of a Scott Turow. Like Turow, Albert is a lawyer. He promises more adventures for his appealing sleuth. (Dec.)