Attorney Hyman Kazan, the hero of Steve Hamilton’s A SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR, is a fish- out-of-water…who drinks like a fish. He a Montreal ex-pat — an “East Coaster,” prosecuting cases in Vancouver, Canada’s West Coast — and his ex is having an affair with a judge Kazan thinks is a murderer. Author Steve Hamilton’s immersive prose and mournful atmosphere amplify this fish-out-of-water feeling. Kazan struggles with personal demons, drowning his worries in copious amounts of alcohol, and emotionally cycling between bristling self-confidence and feelings of worthlessness. These human flaws keep Kazan likable and relatable, even when he’s sulking around his waterfront mansion. The gloomy skies and mercurial weather of Vancouver act as a background character in this novel, often mirroring Kazan’s dark moods. Kazan’s turbulent relationship with his on-again off-again volatile lover Briar is the centerpiece of A SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR. Their relationship has gone south and Briar has taken up with Judge Smith, who may have helped a young man overdose. As Kazan builds his case against Smith, his relationship with Briar continues to unravel, leading to an explosive and tragic climax.
A SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR is a legal thriller built around a murderous love triangle. Or maybe it’s a relationship novel peppered with courtroom drama. The author’s shifting narrative makes this novel hard to place firmly in any one genre. Hamilton makes the stylistic choice to tell this story in present tense. While this works for action-oriented novels like Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games,” it makes for long slogs through internal monologues, and sudden viewpoint shifts and flashbacks can be jarring and confusing. Hamilton is at his best when he lets Kazan wax philosophical about life and death, justice and love. (“Love and justice mean something,” one character tells Kazan.) Despite being mopey and middle-aged, Kazan’s intensity and capable legal skill melts the heart of his pretty young legal assistant. Does he really have feelings for her, or is he trying to hurt Briar? And what is Briar’s motive for “sleeping with the enemy?” Hamilton finds the devil is in the details in A SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR.
A slow burn legal thriller blends with a doomed romance beneath gloomy Vancouver skies in Steve Hamilton’s A SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader