Dead Peasants

A strong premise—murder-for-profit centering on subjects of “dead peasant” insurance policies—isn’t enough to redeem Thompson’s contrived, heavy-handed legal thriller. After winning a monster award in a wrongful death civil suit, Texas plaintiff’s attorney Jack Bryant retires to Fort Worth in the hope of spending time with his college football player son. To keep busy, Bryant offers his legal services for free in a run-down part of town, and ends up representing recently widowed June Davis. Mrs. Davis has discovered that, shortly before her husband’s death, his former employer at a failing auto dealership took out an insurance policy on his life valued way beyond her spouse’s earning potential. The reader already knows that a shadowy figure known only as “Boss” hired a hit man to rub out Mr. Davis and several other former employees, and make it look like accidents, to yield a financial windfall. Thompson (The Trial) doesn’t use his impressive legal experience to its best advantage in this minimally suspenseful outing. Agent: Ken Atchity, AEI. (Oct.)