David Sloane is in private practice and has just won a wrongful death suit for a family who lost a young son to sepsis. A reclusive toy inventor stops him in the street on the way to the verdict and tells him that a toy being produced by the Kendall Toy Company will kill many children if he does not act and gives him a statement to that effect and his toy design files. He later goes to visit the man and finds his apartment ransacked.The file folder contains drawings of a toy called Metamorphis. David is married to Tina, his former secretary, and serving as the father of her son, Jake. They live in a house on a beach near Seattle. David sees an article about another young boy who died of sepsis with the same symptoms and discovers they both have a connection to focus groups run by Kendall Toys. He decides he must try to prevent any additional deaths from this toy so sues the toy company to get them to do an independent safety check of the prototype. The next thing he know is that a man shows up at his house looking for the file. David is shot and his wife, Tina, is killed. It is the same man who has compromised Arthur Payne, an official of the Product Safety Commission and has threatened to kill his family if he does not green light the Chinese toy factories that he recently inspected. The other thread is David's quest to get custody of Jake, Tina's son. ( )

After three books, I think I've decided that I would want David Sloane as my lawyer, since he always wins. But I wouldn't want to hang out with him. It's not that he's not a nice guy. He's terrific. The problem is that the people around him tend to get shot or abducted.

Such is the case in Robert Dugoni's latest Sloane story, Bodily Harm. In this one, Sloane and his friends and family get caught up in a medical malpractice case that turns into intrigue around the safety of a new toy and power struggles within and between the toy companies.

The story begins a bit slowly, just setting up the situation with a bit of mystery. But once it takes off, Dugoni keeps you turning pages in true thriller style trying to keep up with what's happening and why. The writing is crisp and clean. Characters and locations are vivid. The ending is a real twist that I didn't see coming (but should have).

But that twist is really a bit of an authorly cheat involving withheld information. Likewise, there several scenes where the reader is left guessing about the point-of-view until the end of the scene or later. But these are really just minor quibbles and would have only knocked off 1/2 star if I could have done so.

Fair warning to the reader (semi-spoiler): the toy safety issue is based on an actual case of children dying after swallowing powerful magnets. The medical and family factors are discussed repeatedly. There is also a shocking early scene where someone close to Sloane is shot. ( )

A good mystery...focusing on the toy industry. Side car issue is the family drama. The two stories transition nicely between one and the other. The first story line is about correcting a wrong, which (if we're not psychotic) hits us all where we feel it. The reader will find a smooth, well written, thriller that moves along with action and suspense. ( )

BODILY HARM is a book in Robert Dugoni’s David Sloane series. I’ve read other books in this series, but I haven’t read any of them in order. So I went backwards to read this one. But the mark of a good series is when any one book does not depend on another; it can be read as a standalone. And BODILY HARM, as with the other books in this series, can stand alone.

Sloane is a lawyer, and this book is a legal thriller. He is dealing with two cases here. One is a custody issue; he wants to adopt his wife’s son. The other begins with the end of another case, which he won. Now he discovers that he shouldn’t have.

The latter case is involved with twists and turns that make it a satisfying mystery and thriller. I’m not easy to satisfy, so don’t take this as blasé. I’m impressed.

Yet, Dugoni has neglected the Sloane series since, I believe, 2012, in favor of his Tracy Crosswhite series even though the Sloane series is so much better. Dugoni should give Crosswhite a rest and return to Sloane. I want a comeback. ( )

From The Book:
Bodily Harm opens with a big win for David Sloane and his new partner, Tom Pendergrass, in a malpractice case centered on the death of a young child. But on the heels of this seeming victory, an unlikely character—toy designer Kyle Horgan— comes forward to tell Sloane that he’s gotten it all wrong: Horgan’s the one who’s truly responsible for the little boy’s death and possibly others—not the pediatrician Sloane has just proven guilty.

Ordinarily, Sloane might have dismissed such a person as a crackpot, but something about this case has always troubled him—something that he couldn’t quite pinpoint. When Sloane tries to follow up with Horgan, he finds the man’s apartment a shambles— ransacked by unknown perpetrators. Horgan has vanished without a trace. Together with his longtime investigative partner Charles Jenkins, Sloane reexamines his clients’ son’s death and digs deeper into Horgan’s claims, forcing him to enter the billion-dollar, cutthroat toy industry. As Sloane gets closer to the truth, he trips a wire that leads to a shocking chain of events that nearly destroys him. To get to the bottom of it all and find justice for the families harmed, Sloane must keep in check his overwhelming desire for revenge.

My Thoughts:
It's a story about correcting a wrong when what you thought you were doing was the right thing to do. It's a story about doing the "right thing" bringing tragedy and heartache. It's a story about good people helping other people even in the face of personal grief. Be warned that it will break your heart in many ways.

Also the reader will find a smooth, well written, thriller that moves along with action and suspense on every page. The character development, that of the friendship between Sloan and Jenkins, is excellent. Thirs book in the David Sloan series and I'm looking forward to reading number four. ( )