Line of Vision [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Marty Kalish is in love. But Rachel Reinardt, the object of his desire is married. They only meet in private, being very careful that no one even suspects something is going on between the two of them. Every Thursday Rachel has a special show for Marty. He will hide in the backyard of their house and she will strip for him in front of a window. But on one of these Thursdays the show is different. Rachel's husband, a busy heart-surgeon, is at home, he is drunk and he is threatening Rachel. Marty, knowing that Dr. Reinardt tends to violence when drunk, doesn't think twice, but jumps to the rescue. At the end of which the doctor is dead and Marty has a body on his hands.

What follows now is a mixture of Crime And Punishment and courtroom drama. Marty hides the body and the murder weapon, while Rachel plays the grieving wife whose husband was first shot and than abducted by a mysterious intruder. Marty, who is also the narrator of the book, tries to set up an alibi and to react like any innocent person would when news of the crime hits the town. While he goes through the motions we are privy to his thoughts and feelings, his doubts and most of all his determination to not let any harm come to Rachel. The police finally catch up with Marty and this is where the courtroom drama starts. Marty is still reluctant to implicate Rachel in any way even though it makes his defense much harder.

"Line Of Vision" is not your usual courtroom drama. Yes, a lot of the action takes place in the courtroom, but the really important things take place outside, in conversations or in Marty's head. Marty is a unique protagonist. Definitely not a knight in shining armor, yet ready to face the death penalty in order to save his love. Sometimes he seems like a lovestruck teenager, at other times he is very quick to think his way around sudden obstacles. What Marty has actually been up to isn't disclosed until late in the book. The author drops a number of hints now and then in addition to short flashbacks, but I was able to guess at only a small part of what was coming.

Four stars because the book was a bit slow for the first 100 pages, the rest of it was top quality, suspenseful and very entertaining.

"Line of Vision" ist der Debütroman von David Ellis, der 2002 auch gleich den "Edgar Award" in der Kategorie "Best First Novel" erhielt. Es ist eine Kriminalgeschichte, erzählt vom Protagonisten Marty Kalish aus der Ich-Perspektive, die letztendlich aus vier Teilen besteht: Teil eins dient der Einführung in die Geschichte und schildert den Vorfall (Kurzsynopsis: der erfolgreiche Immobilien-Investment-Banker Marty Kalish hat eine Affäre mit der attraktiven Gattin eines bekannten und respektierten Herzchirurgen. Diese wird von ihrem Ehemann regelmäßig missbraucht. An einem Abend ist Marty an ihrem Haus und bekommt mit, wie die Sache zu eskalieren droht. Er greift ein und der Ehemann kommt zu Tode. Marty verbuddelt die Leiche und hat Todesangst vor dem Gefängnis. Auf der anderen Seite ist er aber unter allen Umständen entschlossen, Schaden von seiner Geliebten abzuwenden. Die nächsten Wochen werden zu einer nervlichen Zerreißprobe. Dann steht plötzlich ein Detective vor seiner Tür...). In Teil zwei erzählt Marty von den Ereignissen nach dem Vorfall bis zum Beginn seines Prozesses. Teil drei schildert ausführlich den Verlauf des Prozesses und in Teil vier bekommt der Leser schließlich klassischerweise die Auflösung des Falles präsentiert.

"Line of Vision" ist sicherlich ein gelungenes Debüt. Es ist eine Geschichte, die klassische Crime Story-Elemente mit dem Genre des Gerichtsthrillers verbindet. Ellis hat einen angenehmen und flüssigen Schreibstil. Die Schilderung in der Ich-Perspektive ist gut gelungen. Marty wird einem trotz (oder gerade wegen) seiner Fehler schnell sympathisch und man wünscht sich einen guten Ausgang für ihn. Ellis setzt einen Schwerpunkt der Geschichte auf die Emotionen, die Marty während und nach dem Vorfall erlebt. Dies ist die größte Stärke des Romans. Desweiteren ist der Krimalfall insgesamt gut ausgearbeitet. Bis kurz vor Schluss bleibt wirklich unklar, wie der Vorfall im Detail wirklich ausgesehen hat und wer nun die Schuld trägt. Dennoch ist die Auflösung nachvollziehbar und wirkt nicht künstlich. Eine gute Arbeit! Etwas kritisieren muss ich die Länge des Romans. Vor allem im zweiten Teil gibt es doch einige langatmige Passagen, die man zu überstehen hat. Die Spannung kann nicht durch die ganze Geschichte aufrecht erhalten werden. Eine deutliche Straffung wäre wünschenswert gewesen.

Rarely do first novels have original, well-developed plots. Line of Vision has one of the best plots I have ever read in the legal thriller genre. If the character development were as strong as the plot, Line of Vision would be one of the great legal thrillers of all time. In the end, the book successfully transcends the amazing plot to raise fundamental questions about human motivation that will haunt you.

I was attracted to Line of Vision after learning that the book had received the Edgar award for best first novel. Since I had found many other fine writers this way, I was looking forward to the book. My high expectations were greatly exceeded. The plot complications reminded me of first-year classes in evidence in law school while the complexity of the issues addressed exceeded most law school articles I have read. Those who like their thrillers to be intellectually challenging will adore this book!

Marty Kalish is the book's protagonist and narrates the story. He is the exception to the rule that Mr. Ellis did not do enough character development. You will get to know Marty Kalish quite well, and will find yourself engaged by his struggle to avoid harm to those he loves and himself.

Marty is at that stage as an investment banker where he will soon become a partner . . . or work on in oblivion elsewhere. As a bachelor, he lives his work . . . until he meets the intriguing wife of a prominent surgeon. Marty offers her a ride home, and one thing leads to another. As the book opens, Marty is standing outside her house waiting for a weekly treat -- her naughty modeling performance before an undraped window while her husband is away operating. But something's wrong. She's not doing her thing. Instead, her husband is at home . . . and attacking her. Marty races to the rescue. Someone calls the police. When they arrive, they find a dazed wife and a missing husband in a living room filled with blood. Marty meanwhile is out using his wits and his brief law school experience to create a false trail that leads away from his beloved and himself. But he makes little errors based on his out-of-control emotions, and is soon under suspicion. The story shows how he deals with that suspicion and ingeniously unveils the answers to unexpected secrets that he uncovers along the way.

This book is not for the meek and mild. Marty does some pretty reprehensible things, and is mainly looking out for his own pleasure (and hide). But justice is done in the end, much like happened in the great noir thrillers of the 1940s and 1950s.

As I finished the book, I was reminded to try to step outside of my own perspective to see what is happening from the view points of others . . . if I want to understand what is really happening . . . rather than what I want to believe is happening.

Very nice job, Mr. Ellis!