Hallows
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 49 |
Southern Utah/Book Review
The Hallows
by Victor Methos
Reviewed by Jay Winward
When I was a young boy, I spent many blistering summer days travelling throughout Southern Utah with my dad. From St. George to Manti, Kanab to Filmore, all year I looked forward to road trips in our Chrysler “riding circuit.” In those days, lawyers were generalists. My dad was a criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor. He did divorces and real estate disputes. He represented businesses, municipalities, and individuals.
I would sit in courtrooms with a yellow legal pad and G.I. Joe action figures. I visited the clerk’s office to buy twenty-five-cent candy bars from an unattended box of treats that relied on the honor system and a small jar with a slit in the lid. During the cattle call, I often daydreamed and doodled. When I paid attention, I learned the art of persuasion. I also learned the importance of collegiality.
I had a front row seat to courtroom instincts in action.
Those long-gone days in musty courthouses are nostalgic. I can’t drive through Kanab without thinking of late afternoon lunches at Houston’s Trail’s End Restaurant with the judge, clerks, and every attorney crowded around dimly lit tables. Or playing croquet in the lush green grass of Judge Tibbs’ backyard in between dockets. My childhood gave me an appreciation for the practice of law, the court system, and our beautiful state.
That’s why I was excited to learn that Victor Methos, a novelist and Utah Law alum, wrote a legal thriller set in Southern Utah. The Hallows tells the story of Tatum Graham, a big shot Miami lawyer who returns to his native Southern Utah to be a prosecutor. While I cannot relate to much of Tatum’s bling and bluster, I can relate to the path from defense attorney to prosecutor. I can also relate to practicing law in my native Southern Utah. Warning, the following contains spoilers: both predictable and bombastic.
The book opens with Tatum defending a man, Marcus, accused of strangling his girlfriend. Tatum exhibits Miami flare. He’s decked out in a pinstripe suit and a Rolex. He shows no scruples as he winks at detectives and prosecutors during his closing. When the jury leaves to deliberate, Tatum casually insults Sarah Pascal, a detective on the case and his ex-girlfriend, telling her how she and the “clowns” at the prosecutor’s table botched the investigation. Then in a quick...
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