Sydney Bauer, whose debut novel Undertow attracted rave reviews, is the pseudonym of Sydney-based TV executive Kimberley Scott. Thankfully, her ambitious new novel shows no sign of the dreaded second novel syndrome—quite the opposite. It confirms that she is a highly talented and supremely confident writer in a genre lacking new ideas. Like last year’s Undertow, Gospel is set in Boston, and re-introduces attorney David Cavanaugh. It’s 12 years on and Cavanaugh has no choice but to represent the murderer of the popular US Vice President. Soon, three other people involved in the case are also dead, and Cavanaugh’s investigations uncover a plot involving people in high places selling illegal drugs not only to accumulate vast profits, but also to extort political support. The twists and turns of the complicated but brilliantly constructed and carefully controlled plot require concentration. However Bauer never overburdens the reader with unnecessary detail, seamlessly combining elements of forensic crime, courtroom drama and intelligent political thriller into almost a new genre of her own. She writes deceptively readable prose, slick without being glib, and has a sure ear for dialogue. Obvious comparisons with John Grisham are unfair. Unfair to John Grisham. Sydney Bauer is better— much better.

Graeme Moore is a freelance writer and online bookseller

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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