Every writer knows that the key to a good thriller is suspense. It’s what holds the reader’s attention and is always the first thing that manages to convince someone to actually read the novel in question. David Myles Robinson’s expert use of suspense in Tropical Doubts depicts to his audience a gripping tale of friendship, suspense, and law and order.
Robinson is a New Mexico-based writer who writes thrillers based on the adventures of protagonist Pancho McMartin. Robinson’s third Pancho McMartin novel manages to be a fantastic story without relying on the previous books.
Robinson’s writing expertly paints Pancho McMartin as a macho, overconfident, struggling defence lawyer whose previous three cases have all been misses. He finds a chance of redemption when his friend Giselle is nearly killed in a botched surgery. Her husband, Manny, announces that he is suing the hospital for medical malpractice and pleads with Pancho to take his case. But when one of the star defendants is mysteriously murdered and Manny is framed for the crime, McMartin’s simple medical malpractice case is suddenly thrust into a wild and unpredictable murder trial that threatens to push him over his personal and professional limits.
Robinson’s book also manages to convey his thoughts about the American legal system. Being a trial lawyer himself, he uses that experience to craft some of the best-written court scenes I have read for quite some time. He does this by really zooming in on how the characters are feeling.
For example, during the course of the book, you can tell that McMartin is always willing to put his friends before his case. If a writer manages to show how much their character cares about someone they have a personal connection with, chances are the reader will fall for them as well.
Well-dramatized suspense, compelling character development, and strategic unpredictability make Tropical Doubts a riveting thrill ride that manages to hold its own against its predecessors by staying in the present book rather than focusing on what has come before.
I quite enjoyed this book, and I’m eagerly waiting the next Pancho McMartin novel that Robinson cooks up.