By Ogova Ondego
Published April 12, 2024
If you thought John Grisham was the greatest spinner of legal thrillers, then you probably may not have heard of Dexter Dias and his thriller, Above the Law. Unlike Grisham who specialises in courtroom brawls, Dias appears to be conversant with the world of criminals, lawyers and the police all of which he presents convincingly.
A barrister specialising in criminal defence and cases involving corruption and abuse of power, Dias uses his profession to advantage. He revels in the slippery game that passes for justice. He almost succeeds in passing the message across that it would be easier to get justice on the streets among gangs than in a court of law.
Unlike the latter, the rules are clear on what should be done if someone breaks them in the former. In the courts of law, the outcome of a crime will depend on how well the lawyers and prosecutors handle the case.
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This paperback that costs US$6.95 (paperback) and US$10.55 (hardcover) online revolves around an eight-year-old pupil caught in the crossfire between rival drug gangs. While she lies dead in a London street, a senior police officer who himself is involved in the shooting charges an ‘innocent’ youth with the murder of the girl, Nicki Harris.
Although several people are aware that it was not the drug-dealing boy who shot the south London school pupil, they dare not challenge Detective Chief Inspector John Hogarth who uses legal and extra-legal means to cow anyone – police officers, lawyers, judges and criminals – into submission.
A man hellbent on breaking the law, Hogarth has ‘dossiers’ on most people who would have posed a threat to him. He uses this information to force them into line. With such a Mafia-like person being a guardian of the law, it looks like evil has triumphed over righteousness.
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But just when DCI Hogarth appears to have succeeded in denying the boy access to a lawyer, Andrea Chambers, who has not practised criminal law for a decade, turns up to represent the boy, Earl Whitely. And things hot up for Hogarth.
A man who will not stop at anything to uphold the law even if he has to break it in the process, DCI Hogarth threatens to harm lawyer Chambers and her family if she does not withdraw from the case.
When it looks like the DCI is about to be beaten at his own game, he resorts to methods bordering on crime; Whitely is strangled in a court cell while some people throw bricks in a flat Chambers occupies. A few minutes later, her son’s flat is set on fire. Although shaken this action, rather than deter her from pursuing the case, only fuels her quest to have Hogarth brought to justice for assuming to be above the law.
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As the reader gets to the edge of the seat under the gripping suspense wondering who will emerge victor in this war of nerves, the DCI switches a judge who is perceived to be liberal with one who is a staunch supporter of the police at the eleventh hour. But like an injured mother bear out to protect her cubs, Chambers goes for his jugular.
In an attempt to have his way, Hogarth resorts to biblical and patriotic arguments to convince others that whatever he is doing is for the benefit of Britain – to keep drug pushers out of Britain for the good of its children. In a Pauline-like manner of persuasive evangelism which almost converted King Agrippa in his own court, he quotes Leviticus 16 to suggest he is being used as a scapegoat to carry Britain’s sins.
Although the reader may despair while reading the thriller thinking it is much more difficult to get justice in a British court with the likes of Hogarth being the guardians of the law, it eventually turns out that truth always defeats falsehood no matter how long it takes.
