Book Review: O'Brien's Desk

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

O'Brien's Desk     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ona Russell
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical

In 1923, one of Toledo, Ohio's most prominent and popular judges is admitted to hospital. His health has once again broken down under the strain of his labours for the people of Toledo. Or has it? His trusted friend Sarah believes that there is more to Judge O'Donnell's collapse than is explained by the official reason, and that he will not recover unless the cause of his trouble is exposed and dealt with.

The story unfolds against a backdrop of clippings and stories about the real Judge O'Donnell. I am not, as a rule, fond of novels presenting fictional versions of real people, but this one lacks some of the more irritating aspects of such works. Possibly this is because I am unfamiliar with the story of the original Judge, and therefore have no expectations about his portrayal.

The vivid details make life in 1920s Toledo come to life. Some of the controversies, those over drug abuse and homosexuality for example, are reminiscent of current controversies but couched in the language of the time.

Although the detailed descriptions provide a fascinating portrait of the period, they do at times get in the way of the development of the plot. The story itself, perhaps because it is rooted in a real story which no one now alive fully knows, takes many unpredictable twists and turns, and is full of the ambiguities of real life.

As seems increasingly common these days, the text has some distracting errors. For example, a pretty young fortune hunter is described as both a widow and referred to as 'Miss Edwards' in the same paragraph. A book has a 'central tenant' rather than 'tenet', and a character is asked to be 'discrete' rather than 'discreet'.

Overall, this is an interesting portrayal of a time and place close enough to our own to appear familiar, but far enough in the past to be intriguingly different.

Cheryl - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM