Reviewed by Sarra Borne (Rating 4 av 5)
» Front Street Reviews www.frontstreetreviews.com

"Bloodied Ballys don't prove murder"

Veteran criminal attorney Patrick Hyde's debut novel introduces us to defense attorney Stuart Clay. It begins with the discovery of a headless body in a parking lot. When Cleveland Barnes, a mildly deranged homeless man, is found wearing the dead man's bloodied Bally loafers, Clay is assigned to convince the court that Barnes is innocent of any crime worse than robbing a corpse. As he says in his first press conference: "Bloodied Ballys don't prove murder"

Clay, with the assistance of investigator Cindy Oh, immediately begins to research the backgrounds of both the deceased and the accused. They soon discover that nothing is as it seems. Is Barnes really as odd and detached from reality as he seems to be? What are the New Columbians? Who is the pretty blond woman that left the club with the victim moments before he became a corpse? Why does a Mafia Consigliere insist on having a chat with Clay at gunpoint? Clay and Oh find some answers but mostly discover more and more questions. As they attempt to answer everything, they are led under bridges in the dead of night, into conflicts with one of the FBI's most wanted, and on a tour of a vividly depicted sex shop before they finally stumble upon a fatal mis-step.

The author takes the reader on quite a journey through the court systems and seedy underbelly of Washington D.C. in the pages of this book. His descriptions are very realistic and compelling, and the twist ending is well conceived. Very noir in style, The Only Pure Thing is reminiscent of an earlier era of crime authors, such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The legal jargon was a little distracting, as the reader has to remember or guess at several acronyms and their meaning throughout the story.

Obviously familiar with his setting, the author pulls from his twenty plus years of experience as a criminal and labor lawyer to tell his story. A nicely put together piece that will hopefully be repeated in additional books featuring protagonist Clay. This reviewer looks forward to reading any such future endeavors.

Very interesting characters (Rating 4 av 5)
» armchairinterviews.com

Set in Washington D.C., we're immediately taken into the life of lawyer Stuart Clay as he takes on a new murder case and his client, Cleveland Barnes, is a homeless street person accused of murder.

What is the deal with Cleveland Barnes? And what is his connection to the mafia? Clay works day and night to find the clues and evidence to free his client, and ends up stumbling onto more than he bargained for.

Working with his private investigator, Cyndi, Clay unearths details involving several different parties, from mafia ties to Mexican leaders. After a couple of days and a couple more murders, Clay gets his client released...but only to discover another twist! Clay suddenly finds himself tied up somewhere, facing the real murderer. Can he figure it all out before he gets himself killed?

I absolutely loved this book! Mystery/crime isn't normally my genre of choice, but this one had me from the beginning. Hyde jumps right into the story and takes the reader on many different paths to figure out the storyline. I was amazed that the entire book covered only four days! So much happened in those four days, though, that it made the book very enjoyable.

There was a lot of legal jargon that could have been left out, but it was easy enough to skim over without losing anything in the story. Hyde has a knack for being descriptive without being gory, which I appreciated. The murder scenes were told in a way that the reader definitely gets the picture, but isn't grossed out.

Attorney Stuart Clay is definitely a person I would come back to revisit and reread!

Armchair Interviews says: Good, good read.

This is one legal thriller not to be missed! (Rating 5 av 5)
» Reader Views

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (8/06)

"The Only Pure Thing" introduces DC attorney Stuart Clay. He has to represent Cleveland Barnes who is a homeless man that is found wearing the bloody shoes of a recently decapitated man. That man's head was found sitting on top of a parking meter and his shoeless body was found nearby. Clay is determined to prove the innocence of Barnes. His investigation takes him through some of the seamier sides of town and provides him with some interesting experiences, especially when he has to interview a hooker.

Clay believes that the mob is involved with this murder. Cleveland Barnes, the accused, is a mentally ill homeless man. He is not unpopular among the homeless. He seems rather benign. Barnes believes that he recognizes Clay from an experience they supposedly shared in the 1800's.

When Clay's investigation results in him being severely beaten and drugged, the case gets more intense. Then, someone close to him and involved with the case is murdered. He works harder than ever on trying to free Barnes. He gets beaten and drugged again. He refuses to admit defeat. Making this case more interesting is that the opposing attorney is his ex-fiancé and the arresting officer is one of his best friends. The personal aspects of these situations introduce some interesting dilemmas into the case.

The author's more than 25 years of experience as an attorney really gave him a lot of background information to make this mystery very real and believable. His descriptive scenes are also very realistic. When Clay was being attacked, it seemed so painfully realistic; I was cringing in my seat. He also adds some quirky details to the case that make it even more interesting. There is an explosive twist at the end that totally surprised me. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series to see what Hyde has in store for Clay. I think that Patrick Hyde will become an author whose name will be easily recognized and appear frequently on the bestsellers lists.

"The Only Pure Thing" is a great book for fans of legal thrillers. You will absolutely love this story. Readers groups will have some lively discussions about this case.