THE AMENDMENT KILLER is a book with heft that feels like it’s flying by, written by someone who appears to know his subject in detail, and uses that knowledge to weave a fantastic tale. It’s full on, fluid, and memorable.
America is facing a constitutional crisis. Following the convening of a sizeable public committee aiming to curtail the personal perks of congress, which is broadly seen as unduly money-chasing and so undemocratic, “Amendment 28” has been introduced. The addition to the Constitution curtails personal perks without Congressional consultation. Congress deem that illegal.
In a landmark legal case invoking concepts centuries old, it’s the job of the Supreme Court to make a landmark decision, and in doing so decide if the new Amendment should stand or fall. We join the battle from a number of perspectives. That of the lawyers. That of a Supreme Court justice. That of a kidnapper, and that of the grandchild of the Supreme Court justice, the kidnapping victim.
This is a clever construction. Barak weaves a complex narrative, filled with educated-feeling courtroom narrative. It uses some clever parallels, such as in the TV coverage explaining the ongoing drama to the “general public” (and thus the reader). There are lots of added strands of drama, like the insulin shortage that threatens to prematurely kill kidnap victim Cassie, or the strange but believable connections that tie together the various strands of the story.
Can a typically liberal-leaning judge be “persuaded” to go over to the dark side, rule the amendment illegal, and thus save the various “benefits” that the amendment looks to cut off? Will he put his family ahead of the good of the nation, and solidify the power of a Congress seemingly intent on abusing it?
The strengths and weaknesses of the lawyers’ cases were expansive, and carefully thought out. The multiple perspectives work well, too. As a reader we have just enough to understand the differing angles of each person involved, while the gorgeous twists and turns in other corners keep you charging on.
–James Hendicott for IndieReader, IR Approved, Mystery/Thriller, October 5, 2017
