Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bomber Bombs-David Champion

Bomber Bombs
David Champion
Alfred A. Knoll, Nov 1 2010, $
ISBN: 9781888310498

Cal Southern alumni football booster club honcho Clarence “Dixie” Dixon wants to hire the best defense attorney on the West Coast Bomber Hanson to defend ten players accused of rape. Dixie drives to Angleton to explain that the guys put up a hundred each for a stripper to perform. Mimi Parquette persuaded District Attorney Web Granger she is telling the truth. Dixie fears that if the boys are convicted of being boys, the team would lose its national ranking and fire Coach Eddleman.

Bomber assigns his son Tod to do the leg work before deciding to accept the case though he hates football as a barbaric endeavor. At trial, Judge McKorkle clearly shows his favoritism is towards the prosecution who brought a looker to sit at his table. Bomber collapses in court and is rushed to the hospital. The defendants, the judge, the D.A., the paying client, the coach, mom, and his girlfriend Joan expect Tod to take over the defense; everyone that is except stuttering unconfident Tod.

This is an entertaining legal thriller that is taken from the recent headlines (the story line references the Duke Lacrosse team). Tod tells the tale even when the “Bombastic” one takes the lead. The sports cast are three dimensional people though to a degree stereotypical while Bomber’s family, associates, and the other side enhance the differences between father and son. Although a ploy used by Bomber seems inappropriate even with his late rationalization, readers will relish this exciting entry (see Easy Come, Easy Go) as Tod comes off the bench to run the team’s defense with a strong offense.

Harriet Klausner

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