Melissa's Reviews > The Alligator Man

I’ve been reading James Sheehan’s work for a couple of years now, after being introduced to it when his publisher sent me one of his novels asking if I’d review it. I said sure, and now they send almost everything new that he writes, although The Alligator Man actually came to me via TLC Book Tours first. Apparently the Universe REALLY wanted me to read this book, because the copy from his publisher showed up a few days later.

The Universe was not wrong. The Alligator Man is a legal thriller that merges Sheehan’s consistently solid writing style with an entirely new set of characters, and I enjoyed it immensely. (Translation: this is NOT one of his Jack Tobin novels. It’s a one-off with new characters.)

Sheehan’s own experience as a Florida resident and as a law professor and director of the Tampa (Florida) Law Center serve him well for the ‘a’ plot of the book – the story of Kevin Wylie and his father Tom and their attempt to prove Billy Fuller’s innocence. The courtroom scenes pop the way few such scenes ever do, and the language feels authentic.

The ‘b’ plot – the reforming of the father/son relationship between Kevin and Tom – is well drawn, but not quite as compelling. I’ve read reviews referring to these scenes as ‘wooden.’ I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll confess that I felt like there wasn’t quite enough depth in those parts of the novel. Maybe that’s natural masculine reserve, or maybe it’s just my own perception.

This issue in no way impacted my engagement with the novel as a whole.

In any case, if you like legal thrillers, if you like courtroom drama, if you (like me) spent many hours of your lifetime glued to episodes of Law & Order, but wanted to go deeper, you will (like me) thoroughly enjoy The Alligator Man.