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The Defender
Bill Mesce Jr. Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Defender
"

Bantam, Oct 2003, 277 pp.
ISBN 0553802399

In November of 1944, the third Battalion's 103rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to take out and hold a German-held hill (#399) in the Huertgen Forest. Twice they tried and failed but on the third attempt were able to take the hill. When Captain Joyce ordered the men under his command to hold the hill, lieutenant Dominic Sisko said Major Porter ordered a retreat. When Dom and the men came down off the hill, Major Porter was nowhere to be found. Captain Joyce had Dom placed under arrest.

In December of 1944 in Belgium, Captain Courie is eager to prosecute the lieutenant on various charges. When word reaches Lieutenant Sisko's friend in Scotland about his troubles, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Voss rushes to Belgium to defend the young man he helped raise. As the hearing moves forward, Harry struggles to find evidence that would give Lieutenant Sisko a chance of being acquitted.

Fans of military legal thrillers will find THE DEFENDER a fascinating, shocking, and disturbing tale of what can happen to soldiers operating in the battlefield. The brilliant hero, who defends him, portrays the defendant of this enthralling courtroom as a victim. Voss gives hope to Sisko (and the readers) that somehow the accused will be found not guilty of disobeying a direct order. Bill Mesce Jr. has an excellent sense of place and time, as if he worked Judge Advocate General issues during WWII and is reporting on what he saw.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Defender
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Legal Thriller Yes
Legal Plotlets - military trial

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - a lawyer creature
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Europe Yes

Style
Person - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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