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I probably should not reveal a trade secret here, but there are more Victor Carls practicing law than there are Perry Masons. The creation of William Lashner, Victor Carl is a rumpled knight whose considerable legal acumen is matched neither by his office management skills nor his personal habits. MARKED MAN, the sixth installment in the Carl series, fully supports Lashner's ongoing argument that a dramatic novel can be deep, funny, tragic and exciting without sacrificing any of those qualities to another.
In MARKED MAN, Carl wakes up after a night of drinking and discovers that he has a tattoo on his chest. It's not like such an occurrence is totally unheard of; it's just that the tattoo is a name he does not recognize --- Chantal Adair. Intrigued, he wants to find this mystery woman and begins nosing around a bit; the more he finds out, the more important it becomes to track her down.
Meanwhile, Carl is retained to help an elderly woman on her deathbed locate her son, who has been missing for nearly 30 years. Finding him is easy enough, but he has good reason for wanting to stay hidden. Long ago he committed a crime, but is still facing fallout from it --- not only locally, but also from the FBI and by some unknown folks who aren't as restrained and polite as the Feds.
All of this would be more than enough for Carl's plate, but he has additional problems. Beth Derringer is having a life crisis that may bring an end to their law firm. She also has a client with a rough past who is seeking joint custody of her daughter. What Lashner accordingly sets up, in a subtle and brilliant manner, are three separate plotlines, two of which converge and all of which ultimately will share a common theme with different yet bittersweet endings. Carl is a bit of a smart aleck, and some of his remarks are extremely funny --- at one point I was phoning my wife to read a couple of them to her at the office. But MARKED MAN is by no means a comedic novel; there are few winners here.
Lashner sustains and accelerates the momentum of a series that only recently has received the popular acclaim it has deserved from its inception. Its ultimate conclusion marks a turning point of sorts, one that will have readers wondering what will come next. The only certainty is that no one will be disappointed. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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