David Sloane is still dealing with the death of his wife and now with the acting out of Tina's son Jake who is now 16 years old. Sloane and Jake and Detective Tom Molia and son TJ plan to go on a hiking trip in the California mountains in order to bond. Unfortunately, Jake is rebelling and ends up getting himself and TJ in very big trouble stealing and vandalizing in the town of Truluck, California. They run into even more trouble when they are convicted by Judge Earl Boykin and sent to Camp Fresh Start to reform them. Their constitutional rights and those of their parents are trampled. The camp charges $6,000 per month and abuses the boys both mentally and physically while saying that they do not do this. Sloan and Molia decide they will stop at nothing to rescue their boys. Unfortunately, Judge Earl and Victor Dillion, the owner of most of Truluck, will also stop at nothing to shut down their investigation. They both have big secrets. ( )

Another top-notch thriller from Robert Dugoni. Just when you think nothing worse can happen to David Sloane, Dugoni turns up the heat again.

This time, Sloane and his stepson Jake head into the backwoods of Northern California for some father-son time. Sloane hopes he can find a way to connect with Jake, who's spiraling into more and more trouble, before it's too late. They are joining Sloane's old friend, detective Tom Molia ([b:The Jury Master|215669|The Jury Master|Robert Dugoni|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172778994s/215669.jpg|2650785]), and his son TJ. But Jake quickly finds a way to get himself and TJ into real trouble with the local law and with Judge Earl Boykin, a modern version of Judge Roy Bean.

When Sloane and Molia discover the boys have been sentenced to the detention camp Fresh Start, without benefit of legal or parental representation, they protest. But their pleas fall on deaf ears and they find themselves in legal hot water as well. Sloane rallies the troops and starts digging into the backgrounds of the judge, the camp, and the bigshot in town, Victor Dillon. Of course, their poking around only turns up the heat on both them and the boys. Pretty soon a legal pickle turns into a fight for their lives.

The action never lets up. The writing is relentlessly clear and precisely paced, with tangible settings. The situations are unbelievably believable and populated with an unpalatable cast of great characters, from the egotistical judge to the sadistic head guard to the quietly helpful locals. This is a book that is hard to put down. Once you pick it up, you have to read it to the end.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review. ( )

This action packed book is so well paced, building action upon action. Our hero, David Sloane, a friend and their boys go on a camping trip and adventure ensues. As I read the reviews, some believe it couldn't happen like this but, I suspect, they've never seen a chain gang in the South! The book is a tad long and I found myself wondering when the big climax would come. But, come it did and with a passion. David's new sidekick, a cop, contributes nicely to the action. Fine book. Good read. ( )

After lawyer David Sloane and Jake, his stepson, witnessed the murder of his wife and Jake’s mother, Jake moved to live with his father. Jake began doing poorly in school and getting into trouble with the police. He was sentenced to rehab to work on his addictions and anger problems. Sadly, he didn’t follow through with his obligations and was going to be sent back to the juvenile detention center. David convinced the judge that he would be able to care for Jake if he moved back with him.
Now 16 years old, Jake didn’t want to go back and started breaking rules almost immediately. David’s new wife convinced him to let some small things slide and focus on major issues. Soon afterwards, a long-time friend and detective Tom Molia suggested they take his son, TJ, and Jake on a camping trip to northern California..
That plan fell apart the first night. TJ and Jake went into the town, allegedly to get some snacks for the night. Jake’s real mission was to buy some cigarettes and beer while TJ, without knowing his role, distracted the store owner. The owner immediately realized that Jake’s ID was fake and not only refused to sell him his items but also refused to return the fake ID. Jake and TJ snuck out and returned to the store, broke in, retrieved his ID and stole some items including a gun.
The store had an alarm system and the boys were quickly captured.
Then the nighmare really began. They were taken into detention by the police and appeared before the judge early the next morning. The fathers were never notified and by the time they got to the court, their sons were on the way to a county wilderness camp. They could have no visitors or phone calls for 30-days.
The camp was run by sadists who had no idea of how to rehabilitate children and teenagers. It usually operated at full-capacity and parents or the government are charged $6000 a month while they were held there.
THE CONVICTION goes into detail about how the inmates were treated as well as investigating the background of the judge (the fourth member of his family to have held the position) and the story of the man who owns most of the property in the town.
It also focused on what David and Tom went through to try to get their sons back.
I was ready to quit reading soon after the camp descriptions started. I found the situations sick and totally unrealistic. But I stuck to it, confirming those feelings, but wanted to know how they got out of it. It had some interesting twists and showed character development. On the whole, the ending was satisfying. ( )

Maybe his best yet! This action packed book is so well paced, building action upon action, that I found myself caught up in the feeling of urgency to move quickly through the book. The scenes from the boot camp were distressing and felt real; the urgency of the dads trying to save their sons was equally as well drawn. While there is lawyerly stuff throughout, this felt more like an action story until the end when the law is used to "win" again.

An excellent, fast moving read. I love a good mystery/thriller to serve as a break between more weighty stories, and this one is perfect for that! ( )