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A review by ncrabb
Proving Ground by Peter Blauner
3.0
Someone murdered David Dresden. He had been an ultra-liberal civil-rights attorney throughout his life, and he was a tough defense attorney in the courtroom.
His son, Natty, is a troubled young man. He formerly served in Iraq and came home dealing with serious PTSD as a result. Shortly after his dad died, he went to a bar and apparently blacked out while nearly killing a fireman in a fight. Agreeing to straighten up his life if it means he can stay out of prison, he joins his dad’s law firm and serves as an unpaid investigator into his dad’s murder. The father and son experienced a strained relationship, and that worsened when Natty signed up to fight after the terror attacks in 2001. As the investigation into who killed David Dresden heats up, Lourdes Robles joins forces with an aging detective on the force in an attempt to untangle the investigation. Suspects include everyone from Natty to FBI agents.
Because of his PTSD, his relationship with everyone around him is wobbly at best. The one man he loved best as a kid, his parents’ friend, Ben, falls under Natty’s suspicion for a variety of reasons.
The female Latin cop who is supposed to be a character star of the book isn’t. Blauner developed her poorly, and she feels like an also-ran in many respects. I was much more fascinated with Dresden’s female court-appointed psychologist than I ever was with Robles.
That said, this is far more than a conventional police procedural. Blauner describes Dresden’s PTSD in ways that feel remarkably authentic to me.
His son, Natty, is a troubled young man. He formerly served in Iraq and came home dealing with serious PTSD as a result. Shortly after his dad died, he went to a bar and apparently blacked out while nearly killing a fireman in a fight. Agreeing to straighten up his life if it means he can stay out of prison, he joins his dad’s law firm and serves as an unpaid investigator into his dad’s murder. The father and son experienced a strained relationship, and that worsened when Natty signed up to fight after the terror attacks in 2001. As the investigation into who killed David Dresden heats up, Lourdes Robles joins forces with an aging detective on the force in an attempt to untangle the investigation. Suspects include everyone from Natty to FBI agents.
Because of his PTSD, his relationship with everyone around him is wobbly at best. The one man he loved best as a kid, his parents’ friend, Ben, falls under Natty’s suspicion for a variety of reasons.
The female Latin cop who is supposed to be a character star of the book isn’t. Blauner developed her poorly, and she feels like an also-ran in many respects. I was much more fascinated with Dresden’s female court-appointed psychologist than I ever was with Robles.
That said, this is far more than a conventional police procedural. Blauner describes Dresden’s PTSD in ways that feel remarkably authentic to me.