“Webb Hubbell writes thrillers for the thoughtful reader. Fun, intelligent, and filled with local color, the Jack Patterson books are more than mere escapism; they are an opportunity to reflect on the American criminal justice system. The series’s newest installment, The East End, is no different. Once you pick it up, be prepared to neglect everything else in the race to its conclusion, and then, to spend some time grappling with the troubling picture it paints.

“Those already familiar with Hubbell’s books will welcome the return of the wily attorney and his circle of iconoclastic colleagues. Summoned to face a new threat, they greet each other with a sardonic affection that the returning reader is inclined to share. Once the stage has been set, however, readers will quickly be swept into the book’s fast-paced suspense. The language is clean throughout, and the dialog is refreshingly lacking the cheesy overstatement so common in the genre.

“While the book is unfailingly entertaining, its most striking element comes from the author’s nuanced understanding of the inner workings of the justice system. Somebody once remarked that a good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, and Hubbell’s books bring this cynical view to life. Any sense one might have of the innate nobility or Olympian detachment of prosecutors and the law will be quickly replaced by the uneasy realization that most upright citizen can be entangled in suspicion and buried in the casual brutality of the prison system. The helplessness of the suspect in these circumstances feels like something much more than an author’s imagination. This backdrop of informed reality adds a dimension of credibility to the plot, and keeps the reader’s tension high.

“Smart, fast-paced, and insightful, The East End delivers a heart-pounding tale with depth and nuance. While there is no need to go back to read the previous installments of the series, readers of The East End will want to do so. Maybe those who’ve already read them will want to go back, too. Just for the fun of it. ” —J.F. Riordan, author of The North of the Tension Line Series and Reflections on a Life in Exile

For more information on The East End, click here.