“This debut novel by law professor Dobbyn marks the first long-form appearance of legal eagles Michael Knight and Lex Devlin, who’ve starred in several of the author’s short stories... Dobbyn, who knows his characters like the back of his hand, is an engaging writer, and readers who have followed the adventures of Knight and Devlin in short stories will give a small cheer that they’ve finally made the leap to the hardcover novel.”
Booklist
The first Devlin and Knight mystery
This explosive first novel by veteran short story mystery writer Dobbyn brings to life the legal detective team of Michael Knight and Lex Devlin, who have been featured in a dozen short stories in such magazines as Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen ‘s Mystery Magazine. Amid the flash and din of Boston’s raucous Chinese New Year’s celebration an elderly man named Chen An-Yong is shot while watching the parade from his Tyler Street window. Anthony Bradley, the young son of an African-American judge is standing across the street at the time and is immediately arrested for the crime.
Michael Knight is a young lawyer who’s going places, but even he is surprised when Judge Bradley asks him to defend his son in such a high profile and politically delicate case. Luckily, Knight finds he has powerful support when a senior partner at his firm, the legendary Lex Devlin, gets involved. Once the foremost criminal defense attorney in Boston, Devlin has mysteriously withdrawn from defense work in recent years. As Knight and Devlin investigate the incident and prepare their client’s defense, the older lawyer’s passion and ability come to the fore, forcing Knight to wonder about and delve into the murky allegations that eclipsed his mentor’s career.
But before he can defend the young Bradley, Knight is forced to enter into the shadow world of gangland Chinatown, where Triads and Tongs rule through fear and intimidation. From the halls of Harvard to the streets of Chinatowns in Boston and Toronto, Knight doggedly pursues an investigation that involves drugs, prostitution, human trafficking and, ultimately, a corruption scandal that could bring down the most powerful people in Boston.
"Fans of the film True Believer will best appreciate law professor Dobbyn’s debut..."
Publishers Weekly
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Hardscrabble Books
University Press of New England
268 pp. 1 illus. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2”
Fiction / MYSTERY
$24.95 Cloth, 1-58465-614-X
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“If you like full-speed ahead legal thrillers, you will love Neon Dragon. John F. Dobbyn has created an extraordinary hero in former prosecutor Michael Knight, an up-from-the-streets kid with two Harvard degrees behind his shingle. The dialogue exchanges crackle, and the humor is truly funny. Run—don’t walk to buy this terrific first novel.”
Jeremiah Healy
Author of Juror Number Eleven and The Only Good Lawyer
“Neon Dragon lit up my evening. This legal thriller had everything; people I cared for, suspense that kept me on edge, and the rich background of Boston’s Chinatown. A notable debut.”
Robin Hathaway
Author of Sleight of Hand
In Boston Michael Knight works as a third year associate attorney at Bilson, Dawes, Leftbridge & Sykes law firm. Thus he is shocked when African-American judge Amos Bradley, expected to be named to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court soon, asks him to represent his son Anthony, who is accused of killing sexagenarian Mr. Chen An-Young during a New Year's parade. The shooting has angered the Chinese-American community as Mr. Chen was a well respected grandfather.
Knight visits the incarcerated Anthony at the Suffolk County prison where he finds his client articulate and grateful. Anthony insists he is guilty of only agreeing to go with his friend Terry Blocher to attend the Chinese New Year gala. At the office, attorney Alexis "Lex" Devlin offers to help Michael with the case; Alexis was the top gun until a decade ago when a jury-tampering charge forced Lex into "hiding". The case looks hopeless on the surface, but with Knight following clues that take him into nasty neighborhoods, he believes he can prove his client's innocence that is if he stays alive long enough.
The protagonist knew nothing about government corruption or Chinese organized gangs in spite of being in the prosecutor's office for four years before he joined his current firm and grew up in the city. Knight is a terrific protagonist who, with his mentor, makes for a delightful Bostonian joy ride. The story line is fast-paced and includes some fun references to Beantown literary sleuths. However, it is the courtroom that makes this a fine legal thriller as fans of the sub-genre will enjoy the teaming of Michael and Lex.
Harriet Klausner
John F. Dobbyn is a Professor of Law at Villanova Law School and the author of numerous legal books and short fiction. A native of Boston, he received his J.D. from Boston College Law School and LL.M. from Harvard Law School. He practiced law at Burns & Levinson in Boston before going into teaching. This is his first novel.
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