Dark Harbor by David Hosp - A Review
David Hosp's Portrayal of Post 9/11 America
When former assistant DA, Natalie Caldwell, is found in Boston Harbour with her heart cut out and wearing a red choker with a gold cross, it is immediately assumed, by city officials and media alike, that she is the seventh victim of a serial killer that has been terrorising the city's streets for the last two months.
Detective Linda Flaherty, in charge of the investigation, is not quite sure though, particularly when the autopsy shows a difference in the killing method. While the previous six victims have been cut with surgical precision, this one has been hacked. Flaherty suspects a copy cat killer, and begins to look at the last man known to have seen Ms Caldwell alive, friend, colleague and ex-lover, Scott Finn.
While Detective Flaherty investigates Mr. Finn, he is doing some investigating of his own. Finn, a lawyer with one of the city's most prestigious firms, is handed a case that should finally make him partner, a case that had belonged to Ms Caldwell. At the same time, if Natalie was not a victim of a random killing, then Finn wants to find out who did it and why.
Preparing his case, to defend the firm’s largest client, Huron Security, against charges of failing to supply adequate security on the train services, Finn uncovers further nastiness. The firm, helped by the State Governor in its negotiations, is defrauding the government of millions of dollars a year, something he believes Natalie also discovered, which now puts him in danger.
Dark Harbor, by David Hosp, deals with greed at corporate and governmental levels, greed of such magnitude, that the very fabric of our society is being eroded. Where big money is involved, too often a sense of conscience, integrity and justice become of little worth.
Hosp also goes into the mind of the terrorist, a very real threat since 9/11. In this case, a Tunisian immigrant bombs a train as reprisal against arrogant American imperialism. For too long, America and the West have invaded other lands and other cultures with impunity, now it is time for the payback. And then there is the serial killer, a man killing whores to allow entry for the seven horsemen of the apocalypse.
Dark Harbor is David Hosp's first novel and if it is any indicator of worth, then Hosp is a major talent well worth keeping an eye on. All the elements of his novel are so finely woven, once that first page is opened, it's difficult to put the book down.
Warner Books
June, 2005
ESBN: 0-446-57693-X
Dark Harbor by David Hosp - A Review
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