Title: The Summit Syndrome
Author: Owen H. Dean
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 9781546282761
Pages: 248
Genre: Legal / Fiction
Reviewed by: John Murray
Pacific Book Review
Alan Benedict has settled into a good life with a family and a promising career as a copyright attorney in South Africa, until his wife is tragically killed, leaving him adrift. In an attempt to recover and move on with his life, Alan decides to relocate to Cape Town and leave everything behind including his law career. Life settles down and Alan begins to adjust but is drawn back to work with a case involving a plagiarized book. Surprisingly, the case spurs him into action and he doggedly throws everything he can into it.The title is a direct reference to Alan’s work ethic. Once Alan begins a case, he stops at nothing to finish with a victory. However, over the course of the novel it becomes clear that isn’t exactly true. Alan wants to win and solve the plagiarism case, but not at any cost. While he will dedicate himself fully and use all resources, he has clear moral and ethical boundaries he won’t cross. That actually plays a large role in the case as one witness attempts to seduce him in the hopes of preventing evidence from becoming admissible.
The bulk of the novel is obviously about the court case. While the case isn’t exactly thrilling or full of twist and turns, it is intricately detailed and explained. This is true of both in court dialogue and behind the scenes evidence gathering with the entire aspect of the case laid out from Alan’s point of view. This is both a good and a bad thing. The level of first-hand knowledge is deep and laid out with professional exactness. However, the nature of the case makes for a rather bland and uneventful series of events. It’s clear from the start the book was plagiarized and the author is guilty, evidence is found easily and the book ends.
A minor quibble is the decision to format courtroom dialogue entirely differently than the rest of the book without clear demarcations. These sections read like scripts without enough scene or movement details present in the surrounding sections. While it was distracting at first, it doesn’t hamper the enjoyment of the book but could be easily remedied.
A more interesting subplot is the burgeoning relationship between Alan and his newly hired assistant, Toni. The two have had ups and downs before meeting each other. While they obviously both connect on the first meeting, neither rushes anything. Their relationship spans the novel with a realistic pace that encourages readers to root for them.
With an intricate dive into copyright law, The Summit Syndrome paints a vivid picture of a man re-focusing using his work to reconnect to his life. The actual case isn’t the star of the show, but rather it is his attempts to find himself and learn to love again. Fans of legal dramas and romances will find a worthwhile story here.
