Friend of the Devil

After gambler and loan shark Jimmie Flambeau leverages Joth into an uncomfortable professional relationship, Joth and private detective DP Tran develop a high risk plan to deliver Heather from impending disaster. As nerves are frayed and lines are crossed, Joth stumbles on to a clue to a decades old mystery—and then ghosts from his past intrude.

“Irving’s writing reveals the twists and turns of the courts of law and the dark byways of the human heart.” —Barry Maine, Professor of English, Wake Forest University

James V. Irving was born and raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia (UVA), where he majored in English. He holds a law degree from the College of William and Mary and is a member of the bars of Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.After completing his undergraduate studies at UVA, Mr. Irving spent two years employed as a private detective in Northern Virginia, where he pursued wayward spouses, located skips, investigated insurance claims and handled criminal investigations. In his early years as a lawyer, he practiced criminal law, which along with his investigative experience and trial work, informs this fictional account of Joth Proctor, an under-employed criminal defense lawyer faced with spiraling personal and professional challenges which put his livelihood, and ultimately his personal freedom, at risk.Mr. Irving is a shareholder of Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C. in Arlington, Virginia, where he practices business law. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Arlington County and have one daughter, Lindsay.