A Scandal of the Particular — Steve Hamilton

Vivid and intense, Hamilton's dark debut adeptly articulates the challenges and complexities of love and violence. Attorney Hyman Kazan is at his lowest point in life: with a struggling legal career and a failed relationship, Kazan is trying to find solace in alcohol. But when the body of a young man is found in downtown Vancouver, a link between the victim and Kazan's girlfriend's new lover, Judge Smith, soon comes to surface. As Kazan begins to look into Smith's role in the murder, sinister secrets come to surface, threatening to destroy whatever is left of Kazan's life. The narrative shuffles between sudden viewpoint shifts and flashbacks in the past, and the story becomes deeply disturbing as Kazan begins to dig deeper into Smith's role in the case. Hamilton's characters are fully fleshed-out, relatable people who will stay with readers: Kazan's portrayal as a tortured soul held fast by rage and trauma makes him an unforgettable hero. Underneath his rough veneer swirls pain and vulnerability. Kazan's inner turmoil plays out against the background of the gloomy skies and mercurial weather of Vancouver and the unraveling of his relationship with Briar. Hamilton skillfully evokes emotions as he delves into love, companionship, relationship upheaval, pain, regret, justice, mortality, and morality. This is a thoughtful, if diffuse, examination of love and relationships; how we drown ourselves more in misery in order to avoid the pain of a heartbreak. Imbued with passion and high-intensity emotion of a couple's volatile relationship, this deeply intimate, emotionally charged tale makes for a winner.