When No One is Watching

On the way home from a company celebration in downtown Chicago, Danny Moran and his law partner and best friend Blair van Howe are involved in a car accident that turns fatal for the driver of another vehicle. Although Blair was driving, he manages to frame his Danny for the accident and flees the scene. Danny, remembering nothing of the accident, takes full responsibility for the death and pays with his law career, marriage, and jail time. Blair continues on his path as a successful politician while shunning his former partner and friend. But one police detective has his suspicions about what really occurred that night and is determined to prove it and see that justice is done.This book had a little bit of everything: a mystery and police procedural; the shady side of politics; the despair of alcoholism; justice and responsibility; and the resiliency of the human spirit.Of the two main characters, Danny Moran seems almost too good to be true with the exception of his alcoholism. He's a brilliant attorney, a loving father, and a friend and mentor to many. On the other hand, Blair van Howe is what many would consider a stereotypical politician who has a major skeleton in his closet and will do anything to keep it hidden all the while running his campaign and public life as a crusader for truth and justice. The contrasts between the two former friends widens as the story develops over the decade that passes after the accident.The police detective, Vic Slazak, is shown to be a determined investigator who runs afoul of the corrupt Chicago political system. His single-minded devotion to duty and justice makes him almost like a lone avenging angel despite being threatened with death by thugs within the police department.Overall the book is somewhat like a morality play with a touch of police work and a not very subtle message, yet works due to the slow and steady progression of each character to cope with his situation in life in whatever way his personality can manage.The author has provided a list of suggested discussion questions about the details of the book at the end which seems a bit presumptuous to me, but may be of some value to book clubs or discussion groups who cannot come up with their own lists.Recommended as a refreshing change from the ordinary mystery stories.

This book was a gem. The characters portray basic goodness and evil and demonstrate that society's perception of individuals is sometimes wrong. The book was entertaining from the first page to the very last page with many twists and turns in the plot.

I enjoyed the first half of this book. It held promise of being a kind of nutshell saga in the style of Archer or Grisham, and was well peppered with realistic tales of political corruption.But then it became "preachy". Alcoholics Anonymous does fine work, and a couple of pages to remind me of that would have been fine; but it went on and on and on. Then in the final quarter of the work Danny emerges as unbelievably pious, so turning the book into a modern version of a Victorian Morality Tale. To cap it all, there is a post script of questions for students, as if this was not a simple novel at all but a textbook for young seminarians. So a good idea went badly wrong.There's also at least one serious inconsistency. Danny is said to be very meticulous about one thing; knowing he can get badly drunk, he never, ever, drives his car after drinking. And yet, he's found in the driver seat after causing an accident. So when the hangover ends, why does he not question the story that he was driving? - he does, after all, have the presence of mind to refuse to take a sobriety test, even while heavily under the influence; so why, after sleeping it off, does he not challenge the evidence and explore the possibility that someone has set him up? Instead, this hotshot lawyer turns himself into a punch bag. I don't believe that.One incident, however, I like a lot: having concluded (mistakenly) that he had caused a death, Danny lays out his net worth and invites the victim's wife to take what she wishes. That reflects a long-neglected practice from medieval Iceland. If, there, someone should kill a man (by accident, or in a brawl or even deliberately) he would go to the man's family to negotiate recompense. In only a few cases was it necessary for a court to intervene and set terms. There was no criminal trial. That was a proper justice system, unlike our own.

I enjoyed this book on so many levels. There were some heavy moral issues presented. Blair Howe had killed a man in an accident while speeding. His best friend and partner Danny Moran was in the passenger seat blacked out from heavy drinking. Blair puts the unconscious Danny in the driver's seat and walks away. Danny will subsequently be charged with the crime and in addition to sinking deeper into his alcoholism; he loses his wife,is disbarred and becomes a pariah in the community. When he hits rock bottom the steadfast love and support of his teenage daughter and AA help him to turn his life around. He still suffers tremendous guilt for a crime he did not commit but he goes on to help so many others. Blair meanwhile with the help of his father in law manages to cover up that he is the real culprit. The homicide detective who knows that all is not as it seems is threatened and forced to retire. Blair goes on to run for the senate and then governor of the state. He is a rising star in his party and to cap off his career is slated to run for president. You are kept on edge wondering if Blair will ever have to face and pay for what he has done. His crime is particularly egregious because Danny was a loyal friend who had helped him through law school and was the real brains in their very successful law practice. Even when Blair turned his back on him Danny's loyalty remained steadfast. The moral question was that yes Blair had done a lot of good in his political career but did that absolve him from what he had done not only to his friend but to the victim's family. Was a man capable of what he had done worthy to become president? The ending brought tears to my eyes. It is a book really worth reading.

This isn't a terrible book (which is kind of damning it with faint praise) but it's not a great one either. I read to the end by speed (skim) reading certain parts (never a good sign) - and I really only wanted to find out if the "bad guys" got their come uppance and, if so, how.As a non-religious / tee total person I found it difficult to relate to (1) the drunks and AA meetings and (2) the aspect of praying and reading scripture. The writing wasn't quite good enough to draw me in fully and so what should have been quite meaningful passages went over my head as if someone was discussing what cereal to have for breakfast. To be fair, though, it would have had to have been a REALLY good writer to have got someone like me to love a book like this.I also found myself, at the end, reflecting on how so many people loved Danny and thought Blair had done a great job "helping lots of people" - and yet that wasn't really the over whelming feeling that I picked up. **SPOILER ALERT**I also was disappointed with how things turned out as I didn't think that Blair got the punishment I thought he deserved. That wasn't "one mistake" - that was being willing to throw your best friend under a bus, thereby destroying his life. That is a major character flaw in a man who is, one the one hand, so weak minded that his wife/father-in-law control everything he does and yet, on the other hand, we are expected to believe that he's Presidential material. I wasn't sold on that.I also felt like Danny forgiving him was a bit too twee. I certainly wouldn't have had it in me.

History has shown what money and blind ambition can lead to in US politics. It's dog eat dog and anyone who gets hurt in the climb to the top is merely collateral damage. I couldn't empathise with either the male characters, Blair or Sam. Danny, and his struggle against the demon drink also left me cold. Self-inflicted wounds don't elicit any sympathy from me, I'm afraid. As for the women, they were typically shallow and superficial. Merely window-dressing for their powerful menfolk. The opening chapters promised a good thriller, but it all deteriorated into a melodramatic quagmire and I found myself skimming through the second half of the story just to get it over with.

This was a very good story indeed. I really enjoyed it and he's one I'll definitely look for again. It kept my interest the whole way and was really interesting. I was screaming in my head for justice to be done !! Blair was a real piece of work but I wonder if he'd have been so vile if not for the input of others. I liked Danny a great deal, more so as he aged.Sadly, being the good old e-book format it had mistakes I see in almost all of them these days...mostly with missing hyphens or spaces (driver'sside/faceto-face/sixteenhundred-meter/wroughtiron),missing words like had or his and a few other punctuation mistakes. Irritatingly someone was called Derrick but then Derek a few pages later as well.These mistakes aside it is a cracking read and one I'd certainly recommend.

This was a free kindle book at the time of purchase. Thought I'd give it a go, despite not having much of a clue about American politics. I need not have worried about the politics side of the book.. Phew!A very enjoyable read from different character view points. I felt drawn into the characters and the final few chapters especially had me glued to my kindle, trying to ignore the world around me. I. Even think my other half would enjoy this. Shall look out for this author again.

A plot that is pretty well mapped out in the readers mind from the start running through to a fairly predictable end. This first sentence doesn't do the book justice though. The plot does carry a few twists and turns to keep the interest, however it is the story telling that wins four stars from me. The characters are really well crafted, it was easy to be drawn into what is actually a really well written page turner. A great choice for a holiday or even just a rainy weekend.