Title: Crash Course: To Hell in a Handcart
Author: Alan Barrington
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-5246-3517-6
Pages: 282
Genre: Fiction, Legal Thriller, Mystery
Reviewed by: Suzanne Gattis
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Pacific Book Review
Crash Course: To Hell in a Handcart is a legal thriller that keeps the reader begging for more. Filled with interesting cases, love affairs, murder attempts, and unexplained lapses of time, it is filled with action and unexpected twists and turns. Written with a unique approach, I can easily see this novel standing out from its counterparts in the mystery section of any bookstore.
The story follows the solicitor Alan Barrington, who is not the typical wealthy lawyer that you so often read about, as he defends and represents a wide variety of clients and cases. He takes what clients he can, with cases often originating from late nights at the local police station. The major crime of this story is a murder charge brought against Craig Williams, a client that cannot aid in his defense, as he doesn’t remember a thing about that night. A major part of the plot is uncovering the events that led up to that tragic night. While I found hearing the stories of various clients kept the book flowing and was interesting reading material, I would have liked a little more of the focus to have been on the William’s case throughout the book. I felt as though there were long stretches of the book where it was out of sight, out of mind.
The reader also gets to know Mr. Barrington on a more personal level, as we are introduced to his destructive marriage with his wife Samantha and his love affair with Amanda. Pointing out that this man had faults of his own added depth to the story and made it seem more realistic. Was Mr. Barrington a good guy or a bad guy? It was up to the reader to decide. During the course of the book, it also becomes evident that Mr. Barrington’s personal life is in great danger; someone is trying to kill him. This mystery alone keeps the reader on their toes. As a side note, there were subtle clues as to who was trying to kill him but I believe this part of the storyline could have benefited from a little more attention.
Intertwined throughout the story are “current” day events, which help establish what was happening at that time around the world and help develop a strong setting for the novel. The excerpts, which at first seemed a little out of place, became welcome tidbits of information scattered throughout the story line. Overall, I think this approach was unique and added extra depth to the novel. Crash Course: To Hell in a Handcart is a well-written legal thriller, full of interesting cases, plot twists, and literary style.
