Duty: A Novel - Softcover

Lane, Jim R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 188259360X ISBN 13: 9781882593606

Publisher: Bridge Works, 2002

Synopsis

A suspenseful story about a homosexual accusation in the military and a prosecutor's struggle with his conscience.

About this title

From the Publisher

Lieutenant Mark Palmer is the USS Modoc's legal officer when ordered by the ship's commanding officer, Captain Morgan Baxter Bennett III, to prosecute a veteran petty officer accused by a subordinate of homosexual harassment. Suspicion of murder suddenly is injected into the case when the accuser is lost overboard.

As Palmer pursues his investigation, he becomes dubious that the evidence supports the charges against the petty officer, Marion Arthur Lamm. Palmer risks his career by taking on his skipper and the prejudices of the Navy establishment. But Captain Bennett insists, amid threats to Palmer, that the prosecution move forward.

The suspense and conflict that envelop the protagonists are reminiscent of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Though Duty's setting is contemporary and the issues it addresses are as timely as today's headlines, at the heart of the story is a hero, Palmer, torn between different definitions of duty -- his conscience and moral principles on the one hand and his loyalty and dedication to his beloved Navy on the other.

A trial gets under way, pitting Palmer as reluctant yet conscientious prosecutor against Lamm's defense attorney, the deft and more experienced Lieutenant Larry Templeman. As the trial proceeds toward a climax, surprise testimony by witnesses for both sides adds to the tension. Lamm's fate is at stake, of course, but so is Palmer's personal and professional future

From the Back Cover

"A lively slice of life in today's Navy -- in the honorable naval literary tradition of Patrick O'Brian and Herman Wouk. The reader can almost taste the salt air and bad coffee."-Thomas E. Ricks, author of Making the Corps; Pentagon Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal.

"Duty is a salty and provocative work in the tradition of The Caine Mutiny that authentically exposes a skeleton in the U.S. Navy's judicial closet. The tension between an intimidating captain, who has violated the rights of an accused sailor, and the USS Modoc's self-searching legal officer is palpable. Add to this boiling pot the centerpiece trial in which novelist Lane explores the full range of Navy attitudes toward homosexuality and you have an engrossing psychological drama. Powerful stuff."-Robert B. Allen, Ph.D., master mariner; former Chief Mate of M/V Endurance; Lieutenant, U.S. Navy (Ret.); former chief psychologist at Abbie Lane Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"Duty has everything. The plot is riveting. The setting rings true with the authenticity that can only be achieved by an insider. The villain is alarmingly nasty and the minor characters are engaging and sympathetic. Best of all, this novel has a genuine hero, a man who fumbles and falters but ultimately triumphs. It is a memorable read. I enjoyed it from page one and was gripped until the last word."-Rosemary Aubert, author of the mysteries Free Reign and The Feast of Stephen.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bridge Works
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 188259360X
• ISBN 13: 9781882593606
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240