The Bottom Line: Comedy and crime collide in Richard A. Danzig’s riveting new Chance Cormac series novel.
As PUNCH LINE opens, comic Verne Slater is performing at a small comedy club, testing new material related to the nature of gender identity. The ensuing laughs are accompanied by a few hecklers, but he handles them like a pro, working each public critique to his advantage – or so he thinks.
His life changes the moment he walks to his car and is stabbed four times by active duty New York City Police (NYPD) officer Roland Wolff. In Wolff, author Richard A. Danzig has created a believable antagonist who would have been wholly unimaginable until the modern era. As a child, Wolff was violently scolded by his father, who caught him dressed in his mother’s clothing. His father believed that people like him had no business even becoming a cop. Wolff went so far as joining the Vice Squad, arresting prostitutes and other sex offenders, in hopes that he might earn his father’s respect. But instead, his experiences changed him. He began the process of quietly transitioning to become a woman. Subsequently, he became a member of the Trans Action Group (TAG) steering committee, vociferously advocating for violence against people who threaten the trans community.
Now paralyzed, Slater soon hires Brooklyn attorney Chance Cormac to seek financial compensation and legal accountability. Danzig’s follow-up to series debut FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS finds Chance Cormac coming off a six-month suspension of his law license. The publicity he received for punching another attorney has only helped his reputation as someone who will truly lay it on the line for his clients. In a true act of metafiction, he’s spent his downtime time finishing and publishing a crime novel, which became a bestseller and was optioned for a TV mini-series. Nevertheless, the book finds Cormac in a more cautious mode, as he’s initially reluctant to take a high-profile personal injury case.
Fans of the series debut may cheer the continued presence of former paralegal and love interest Sally, who not only has a gigantic personal and legal mess to sort out, but who also harbors feelings of jealousy and betrayal (“It didn’t take you guys long to find my replacement…Chance must still have a thing for good looking law students”). The case, and her complex relationship with Chance, adds significant emotional drama to the story.
For fans of legal maneuvering, Danzig has filled the book with riveting subject matter, including precedents for father’s rights cases, the rights of sperm donors, liability of property owners, the impact of disclaimers and much more. The most fascinating legal aspect of the book by far is whether TAG could be held liable for the assault on Slater. But lest you think the final third of the book will consist entirely of courtroom drama, think again. Danzig unleashes several more surprises that readers won’t see coming.
