Fogbound

By: Joseph T. Klempner

Narrated by: David de Vries

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Once more, bestselling author Joseph T. Klempner combines thrills, vivid characters, and a plot that leaves the listener breathless.

A Lincoln Navigator carries three well-dressed people through the barren New Jersey salt flats. The trip is uncomfortable but necessary. Their target has no phone, certainly no email, and never answers his mail. But August Jorgenson is no country bumpkin. Before retiring, he was one of the most famous judges in the country, and only opinions like his fierce opposition to the death penalty kept him from a seat on the Supreme Court.

Now his visitors, from a reality show called Trial TV, have come to enlist his aid. They are excited about an idea they have that promises to strike a serious blow against the death penalty (and boost their ratings past those of Court TV).

The judge agrees to help. But as he digs into the facts of the case he becomes their enemy - an enemy who must be removed as a serious threat to their plans.

When his first novel, Felony Murder, was published, Publishers Weekly called Klempner "a writer to watch." Now, Klempner is better than ever - that rare novelist with both an insider's knowledge of the world he writes about, and a talent for intelligent, compelling storytelling.

©2016 Joseph T. Klempner (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

A great book. Great in many ways. I loved it.

I enjoyed this book more than I have enjoyed many others in a long time. The blurbs about it are true. It deserves a much, much wider audience. Mr. Klempner and Mr. de Vries make a wonderful team. The plot of the book is complicated but you follow it easily because it is so entertaining. Briefly, the book concerns itself with the death penalty and the condition known as autism. A young black man named Boyd Davies has been convicted of a murder of a child, and sentenced to death in the state of Virginia. The protagonist of the book, a seriously enjoyable hero, is an 82 year old former judge named August Jorgenson. He is recruited by a group of people who work for a TV program, so that he will give the argument before the Supreme Court which would be the last step for Mr. Davies before the lethal injection. Judge Jorgenson proves to be a fiercely independent, stubborn, principled man who eventually discovers that the TV people have cooked up a scheme so repulsive and Machiavellian that he refuses to participate in it. His life becomes endangered, as the TV people are ruthless in their pursuit of Nielsen ratings, willing to actually sacrifice Mr. Davies' life in order to accomplish their goal. The book will educate you about what autism is and is not. The issue of whether or not Boyd can understand the relationship between the crime and the likely punishment is one that you can really get your mind around. Boyd turns out to have an idiot-savant skill: he draws so brilliantly that his drawings are often mistaken for photographs. He does not speak, at all. We meet quite a cast of characters around Virginia and South Carolina as Judge Jorgensen streaks around the area trying desperately, against a harsh deadline, to find some evidence that might, on a very long shot, prove that Boyd is actually innocent of the crime. The book is written with great feeling for not only the legal issues involved but also for the characters that the author has created and placed in search of a resolution to these tough questions. The narrator, Mr. de Vries, is just excellent. He, too has great feelings for the story and for the people, and the entire book is full of his abilities to articulate the voices of these people and the ambience of the barrier island on which August lives, in a very old, rusty lighthouse. His only roommate is Jake, his dog. August has no modern conveniences of any kind: no landline or cell phone, no TV or radio, no computer, no access to the internet, etc. He lives a full life despite the absence of all of these things that we have become so utterly dependent upon. August may be 82, but I truly hope that there is a sequel to this book. An 88 year old hero!

This book is a MUST READ!!

This is a wonderful legal suspense mystery. I've never heard of Joseph T. Klempner before but am so very glad I did!
Start with a retired reclusive judge (August Jorgenson) living off of the Barrier Islands in South Carolina. He is anti capital punishment, add a woman who is a television personality for a reality trial tv show. Jorgenson is convinced to come out of retirement to represent before the Supreme Court a nonverbal autistic African American man who is sentenced to death. He's convinced that both he and the reps from the tv show are on the same side. Jorgenson decides to do some investigating on his own. He learns the truth of what happened the day an 11 year old girl lost her life. When he tries to tell Jessica Woodruff (trial tv anchor) he finds out that she already knows. Jorgenson comes to the horrible realization that they each have a drastically different means to the end and because of this his own life may be on the line if he's not willing to cooperate.
I would really like to say more but this book is much too good to give away any more. This author's style reminds me very much of earlier John Grisham books.
David de Vries does an excellent job narrating.
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!
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Dissertation on Autism with political bias

I read books to get away from the sometimes petty often vicious real world and political differences. It truly grates on my last nerve to hear people belittle and demonize others of differing opinions. That goes double if they do it in a spineless and covert way, unwilling to stand up and admit they are bent and have no intent of being fair. Agree with me, you’re the hero, disagree or even fail to agree, and you are the demon. This book sounded like a promise of an interesting legal battle. And to be fair, there may be one, in the ½ I didn’t read (listen to).
You do not have to be liberal or conservative to think that executing a person of some diminished capacity is wrong (or that it is just wrong, period). You do not need to be conservative or liberal to believe that there are varying degrees of diminished capacity and no clear line as to where the death penalty is immoral. This author would have everyone believe that Liberals are ALL against the death penalty and ALL are compassionate and care about those with impairments and disabilities. On the other hand, Conservatives are blood thirsty devils (Justices Rhenquist, Scalia, and Thomas for this story) devoid of compassion and rational thought anxious to see someone, anyone, convicted and hanged. It is a perpetual theme but cowardly. It is written in a sly way through slanted barbs rather than direct statements. At one point there is a mention of the Country having “…just suffered through an ‘actor becoming president’…” and how that had affected death penalty cases and the nation in terrible ways. Of course, that actor is President Reagan. It takes swipes at conservative Justices and individuals while lauding liberals or at least implying all attempts toward good and compassion are the work of Liberals.
To make the book less exciting, endless paragraphs are dedicated to descriptions and detailed essay style monologues about Autism that would make medical texts proud. I love learning, and I truly love when an author explains and educates a reader to provide background and insight into a main plot or idea in a book. It is always necessary to have a little of it as no one can appreciate or understand the story without it. And as serious and important as understanding Autism and other afflictions that adversely impact people’s lives is, I did NOT purchase this book to be lectured or learn about Autism. I also did not buy it because I was hoping to discover Mr. Klempner’s political opinions and biases. I wanted a good story about legal wrangling and “who done it” intrigue. Instead I got the author lecturing me and hiding behind the guise of a novel. If you are looking form more information on Autism and how a liberal sees the legal system, this is likely a good book for you. If you do not like thinly veiled insults of differing opinions, maybe not so much.

Narrator was superb!! Story and main character++

Maybe the first 30-45 minutes were a little slow but then once I got into the story, I HAD to know what was going on and how it would turn out. There are some MOST unlikeable characters in the book but the judge is wonderful. Different story and worth reading/listening to. But with this narrator, listening was the best!

Narration made this great.

It started a bit slow but i was interested so i kept going. The writing in this one is different, but not in a bad way. I wont lie it was sortv predictable towards the end, but the autism twist gave it a little flavor.

it would make a great movie though, i can almost see it

Anti-death pently book

Would you consider the audio edition of Fogbound to be better than the print version?

I did not read the print version, but the narration was excellent.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fogbound?

The incite into the character with autism

Which scene was your favorite?

Do not have one

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not necessarily

Any additional comments?

I thought the plot kept you involved though out the book. I was not disappointed with the ending.

Excellent legal thriller with great narration!!

It is a death penalty case against an autistic man before the US Supreme Court at the final challenge before the execution. August Jorgensen is a retired lawyer and 4th US Circuit Court Judge now in his 80's. He has been enticed by a TV network to represent the condemned man by a crew from Trial TV. The autistic man is actually innocent and Trial TV knows that and can prove it. What is going on here?

Fogbound is an excellent legal mystery/thriller with lots of twists and turns. The potential listener should beware that this novel is gratuitously political and it presents the Supreme Court as very political (especially Chief Justice Rehnquist). I have reduced my rating from 5 stars to 4 stars due to the political slant it puts on everything. The story itself deserves 5 stars without its gratuitous political slant it puts on everything.

I enjoyed Fogbound and recommend it. It is a wonderful story.

Great story and perfect narration

I looked forward to listening to this book on way to work and home. The characters were fantastic and developed very well. The book dealt with autism and allowed listener to understand disorder and the undiscovered talents that an autistic adult can exhibit. The ending was terrific and made you want to shout alive free and cheer for the old hero. I recommend this book for everyone looking for a wonderful read and narration.

A good mystery with an interesting main character.

The protagonist, August Jorgenson, is a former celebrated judge and outspoken advocate for the abolition of capital punishment. Now in his 80's and a widower, he has lived in relative isolation for the past 10 years in a remote lighthouse in Outer Banks, North Carolina, content to tend his garden and sail with his devoted dog Jake. He's an irascible but loveable main character. At times, the plot stagnates. To quote a Kirkus review, "For Klempner..., any point worth making is worth beating to death."

The prose is good, but there are events that I found unbelievable while others were hackneyed and to be expected. The epilogue was rather a nice touch though.

On balance, it was a good and easy book. The narrator David de Vries does an excellent job. Please see my review on Goodreads for details and spoilers.

Good story!

It started out a little bit slow, but once it got started I couldn't put it down!

Suspense

Simple brilliant story and well narrated. I wish it had continued for another 8 hours. Loved it!!

New author for me

Interesting take on the appeal process… thoroughly enjoyed the plot, reader … will explore more bt this author

really enjoyed this

really complex and demanding issues dealt with with compassion and a light touch. thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, the character of the dog was excellent. performance was brilliant will definitely be looking for more by both author and narrator.

Fogbound

Good story. Meandering and steady. I never got bored or wished for it to hurry up. I found it relaxing and enjoyable and I'll be looking out for other titles from this author.

Heartwarming, enjoyable, and thought-provoking

My first audio book from this author and, hopefully, not the last. The ending is probably predictable but that doesn't spoil the story in any way.
The author immersed me in home life by the lighthouse so I could almost taste the sea spray.
Besides the old guy versus the corporates, there is also an underlying theme of the rights and wrongs of the death penalty.
The book flew by and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Marvellous book, great narration.

What a delightful main character the Judge is. I loved the whole story from beginning to end , although it was very sad in parts. It would make a great movie .

Wonderful book

This isn’t my usual style of book but I absolutely loved it. The narration was excellent and the story was good too. It’s beautiful written and goes along at just the right pace. Nothing seems like fluff and filler in the book. I will definitely listen to more by this author

Interesting

Great narrator, interesting original and informative story. Did not need vivid detailed description of the offence. What makes an author feel the need to do this?

Pleasant listening

Good story, excellent narrator. New author to this one, but will gladly listen to more of his work.

OK but…..

Good performance and interesting story however the ‘hero’ and central character espouses the hypocrisy of the execution of innocent babies in the womb through abortion while arguing for the protection of convicted murders from capital punishment