Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni

 Book 1 of Robert Dugoni's Keera Duggan new legal thriller series follows the arrest of a millionaire for the murder of his wheelchair-bound wife.  Keera Duggan takes the case with the hope of helping revive her family's law firm.  She isn't sure of her client Vince LaRussa's innocence, but her role is to defend him and there are puzzles in the evidence that make her hope to find an alternative to LaRussa for the murder of his wife.

Her Deadly Game introduces several characters (besides Keera's family) that I imagine will appear in future books, both as supporters and as antagonists.

An interesting aspect concerns Keera, who was a chess prodigy in her teens.  She learned much about chess, strategy, and law from her father Patsy Duggan, the Irish Brawler and legendary lawyer.  Patsy, however, has always had a problem with alcohol which has only gotten worse and threatens the family law firm's reputation.  

An anonymous chess game Keera is playing online makes her think about the moves she needs to make in her case.  The strategy of chess helps Keera anticipate moves her opponent might make.

* Kerry is receiving emails from "Jack Worthing" that lead her and her team to background on Vince LaRussa.  The prosecutor in the case has a personal antagonism toward Keera and does his best to make things difficult.  Frank Rossi, detective believes in LaRussa's guilt but has questions about the prosecutors tactics.

Has LaRussa been set up...or is he guilty?

Almost everything in this engrossing novel was excellent.  I had quibbles about one thing, but let it go in the end because the rest of the novel was so good.   Can't wait for the next installment which is due out in October.

Legal thriller.  Thomas & Mercer.  Print length:  396 pages.  

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One book that I didn't finish last was Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.  I wanted to like it, but couldn't maintain interest.  If you've read it, what did you think?

A Mix of Genres

The Last Trial by Robert Bailey proved even better than the first book in the series.  I really liked The Professor, the first book, but somehow missed the second in the series.  This is a legal thriller, but most of the book is about the crime, the characters, and the attempt to discover evidence of innocence. 

The main characters, Professor Tom McMurtrie and Bo Haynes, will have you rooting for them and worrying about them as they involve themselves in a dangerous situation.  Rick Drake, McMurtrie's partner, plays a smaller part in this book because of a personal tragedy. 

Football fans will find a comforting element as both the fictional McMurtrie and Bo Haynes played for the legendary Bear Bryant.  Real players like Jo Namath and Kenny Stabler who also played for Alabama under Bear Bryant get a mention for verisimilitude.  

I really liked this one and will have to get a copy of Between Black and White.  

From the description:  Former law professor Tom McMurtrie has brought killers to justice, and taken on some of the most infamous cases in Alabama’s history. Now he’s tackling his greatest challenge.

McMurtrie’s old nemesis, Jack Willistone, is found dead on the banks of the Black Warrior River. Willistone had his share of enemies, but all evidence points to a forgotten, broken woman as the killer. At the urging of the suspect’s desperate fourteen-year-old daughter, McMurtrie agrees to take the case.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer


Legal Thriller.  May 8, 2018.  Print length: 400 pages.

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews was recommended by Literary Feline who has been following the series.  It was something of a palate cleanser after the drama of The Last Trial to switch to a light and fun romp with werewolves, vampires, other magical creatures, and a sentient Bed and Breakfast.

Dina is the Inn Keeper who manages the Victorian B & B (The Gertrude Hunt) for otherworldly creatures.  She's a feisty woman who wants her Inn to be a success, but has some difficulty abiding by the traditional neutrality of Inn Keepers-- especially when some monstrous creature begins killing neighborhood dogs.  

Dina has a back story that is introduced and will be influential in future books, but mostly this is a kind of mashup of urban fantasy and science fiction with a light touch and plenty of humor.

I look forward to Sweep in Peace.  Yep, Dina has a magic broom.  :)

Kindle Unlimited.

Fantasy/Science Fiction.  2013.  Print length:  235 pages.

Alter Ego by Brian Freeman is the 9th book in the Jonathan Stride series, but the first one I've read.  

A film crew is making a movie of one of Stride's old cases and Stride is invited to the set.  Watching the filming is a little problematic for Jonathan because it reminds him of the terrible case in which he was able to save only the last victim.

The actor playing Jonathan Stride in the movie is a Hollywood legend and the screenwriter is the son of the man convicted of the murders.  While Jonathan is initially impressed with the actor's apparent warmth, he quickly realizes that career and image mean more to Dean Casperson than anything else.  

When an intern goes missing from the set, Jonathan is asked to find her.  As events develop, there are actually two story lines that may or may not be connected and plenty of twists and turns.  

Alter Ego functioned perfectly well as a stand alone.   I'm interested in more about Serena, Cat, and Maggie Bei, but only because I know they have been part of earlier books.  Their characters are pretty well-defined in this novel, but since I liked them, I will be checking on earlier novels.  There is also a character that is evidently a lead in another series (Cab Bolton), but helps Maggie when she is in Florida.

Read in March.  

NetGalley/Quercus

Police Procedural.  May 1, 2018.  Print length:  400 pages.  

Testimony by Scott Turow

It has been a long time since I've read a book by Scott Turow, and I had forgotten how good his books can be.  Testimony is a complicated and complex novel.  Complicated because finding evidence and prosecuting war crimes often involves an intricate, convoluted maze that leads to unexpected discoveries.  Complex because of all of the human emotions and relationships involved.

This is not a courtroom drama, but the International Criminal Court's investigation of a war crime  makes Testimony a suspenseful legal thriller.  Bill Ten Boom, embarks on a new phase of his career when tasked with investigating an event that occurred ten years previously.  

During the turbulent conclusion of the Bosnian war, approximately 400 Roma disappeared from a refugee camp and none have been heard of since.  That much is beyond refute, but what happened to these people is still unknown.  No mass grave has been found, but friends and family members have not heard from any of the refugees from the camp in the ten years since that April night. The stories about the missing refugees are rife and opinions vary widely.  

Afraid of retaliation, the lone survivor of the camp, Ferko Rincic has only recently been persuaded to come forward to give his account.  Rincic testifies that he was in an outdoor privy when armed men in masks descended on the camp at midnight, herded the refugees into trucks, disgorged them into a cave, then set off an avalanche burying  the refugees alive.  In order for the ICC to prosecute the case, however, Ten Boom and his investigator Goos must discover evidence that the event actually happened.   

Only when factual evidence of the massacre is discovered, can the investigation move to determining who was responsible. 

There are plenty of twists and turns as Ten Boom and Goos plunge into a rabbit hole of partial information, deliberate deception, and inadvertent misconceptions.  Bosnia is still a dangerous place in 2015, and as Ten Boom and Goos investigate, their opinions about whom to believe and whom to trust change as the investigation progresses.  

(I wish Esme had been omitted from the plot; while she does offer more mystery, she really was not necessary and becomes a sort of side story.  Someone else could have been responsible for discovering Ferko Rincic.  She is my only quibble about the book--just a personal thing.) 

The information about the ICC in the Hague, the way the investigation is carried out, the aftermath of all of the ethnic violence in Bosnia, and the cover-ups --  make fascinating reading. This is another fine example of Turow's work, but it is also another of those uncomfortable novels that make us uneasy.  Black and white and shades of gray.

from the Author's Note:

"So how much of this is true?  Every novelist wants to answer that question the same way:  All of it--and none."

Turow says that none of the  characters represents "anyone who has lived" and that he altered actual occurrences  for dramatic effect, but he does list some of the sources of inspiration, often from Human Rights Watch Reports.  

Now, I have to go back and see if my library has copies of some of the books I've missed in the Kindle County series.

Read in February; blog post scheduled for May 1, 2017

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing

Legal Thriller/Crime.   May 16, 2017.  Print version:  496 pages.

The Murder Game by Catherine McKenzie Writing as Julie Apple

The Murder Game by Julie Apple (or Catherine McKenzie) sets up a an usual murder plot that takes years to come to fruition.  Yes, as several reviewers have mentioned, there is definitely a The Secret History vibe to the book, but TMG moves at a faster pace and doesn't get bogged down with all of the erudition of TSH.  

A combination of psychological thriller and legal drama, The Murder Game pulls the reader into the lives of four friends who were close-knit in law school, but have largely gone their separate ways since.   Apple/McKenzie quickly establishes that atmosphere of slight unease that continues to increase. 

Alternating chapters switch back and forth from the present to a decade or more earlier during the law school years, giving the reader some necessary background about personalities and situations. Was it just a game at the time of its conception? Julie's account obviously omits certain information that leaves both past and present somewhat ambiguous.   

The characters remain sort of clinical despite the details given to "warm them up," and yet that is precisely what is required in this type novel--a since of distance.

Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Oct.

NetGalley/Lawsome Books

Mystery/Suspense/Legal Thriller.   Nov.1, 2016.  Print length:  303 pages.

Three Thrillers

Rise the Dark by Michael Koryta is the second in a series, and I have not read the first.  It combines murder, conspiracy, the supernatural, and homegrown terrorism.   In Montana, a woman is kidnapped. In Florida, Markus Novak begins trying to untangle the events that led to his wife's murder two years earlier.  

Markus goes to Cassadega, Florida, the place his wife visited shortly before her death.  A small town whose inhabitants are largely psychics, mediums, and spiritualists, Cassadega has been mentioned in other novels and films about the paranormal and has the weird fascination that such a concentration of individuals who make a living from their "psychic" abilities can produce.  

The plot, however, moves back to the mountains of Wyoming and Montana, where the leader of a bizarre assortment of groups plan to bring down the electric grid.

Strangely, this novel with all of its murders and threats to the electric grid was not nearly as frightening as Ted Koppel's nonfiction Lights Out, which makes clear the catastrophic effects that an attack on the electric grid would produce.   

NetGalley/Little, Brown

Paranormal/Thriller.  Aug. 16, 2016.  Print length:  400 pages.

Wake the Devil by Robert Daniels has Jack Kale and Beth Sturgis trying to protect two doctors from the perfect assassin who leaves no clues and who changes his appearance.

The Sandman is on the "most wanted" list of several countries, but continues to outwit those who want to capture him, and once he accepts a mission, he will carry it through.  He has already killed one of the three doctors who are scheduled to testify in the court case.  Despite all efforts, the second doctor is murdered.

Wake the Devil is a fast-paced thriller with an elaborate plot.  Jack Kale continues to deal with severe panic attacks as he and Beth Sturgis try to protect the remaining doctor.

I  suspected the villain and was correct, but there are a lot of twists.

NetGalley/Crooked Lane Books

Thriller/Suspense.  Sept. 13, 2016.  Print length:  352 pages.

Infamy by Robert K. Tanenbaum featuring Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi is the 28th book in this long series!  I haven't read the previous books, but this one functions as a stand-alone.  

Brief description:  The “rock-solid” (Kirkus Reviews) prosecutor Butch Karp and his wife, Marlene Ciampi, return to solve the suspicious murder of a US Army colonel and battle corruption at the highest levels of the United States government in this novel by New York Timesbestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum.

Relying on plot more than characters, the book reads quickly.   Plenty of courtroom scenes balance the action as Karp lays traps for the defense who tries to keep the accused from revealing the conspiracy.

NetGalley/Gallery Books

Legal Thriller.  Sept. 20, 2016.  Print length:  368 pages.

Blood Defense and Missing, Presumed

Blood Defense by Marcia Clark.  I have really enjoyed each of the 4 books in Clark's Rachel Knight series, but this is a new series with a very different protagonist.  Both Rachel Knight and Samantha Brinkman are lawyers, but their personalities, their legal roles (Knight is a prosecutor; Brinkman is a defense attorney), and their approaches to the legal system differ drastically. 

Clark begins illustrating the difference between Rachel Knight and Sam Brinkman in the first chapter.  There is also an incident in the second chapter that could be dismissed as a "throw away," but something about "it" reminded me of Checkov's gun trope, and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Other subtle hints occur in the course of the book that explain not only that incident, but other events in the past.  

By the time I finished, I knew I'd probably eagerly read the next in the Brinkman series, but mostly to see if I  could decide whether or not I liked the characters enough to continue.    Reviewing the book without giving spoilers is difficult, but Clark's storytelling sometimes overcame my ambivalence about Sam and about some of the developments in the plot.  The twist at the end was one I had picked up on early and that Clark had hinted at throughout--and has a great deal to do with Sam's character.   

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Legal Thriller.  May 1, 2016.  Print length:  400 pages.


Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner.  

Beautiful post-grad student from wealthy, influential family is missing.  Lonely female detective (who spends a lot of time looking for a partner by trying internet dating) is determined to find her. 

I'm OK with a flawed protagonist, but Manon's desire for a partner is too desperate.  I'd rather feel empathy than pity. I also found it difficult to much to like about Edith, the spoiled post-grad student who is missing.  


The discovery of the body of a young black man provides the opportunity for a couple of side-plots and "the twist."  

The pacing is slow and the various plot lines didn't work well for me.

NetGalley/Random House

Police Procedural.  2016.  Print length:  400 pages.

The Price of Justice by Marti Green

The Price of Justice

Dani Trumball, a lawyer for an agency that seeks to help prisoners who have been incarcerated for crimes they claim they did not commit.  The main criterion for their aid is that the men or women they help are too poor to have had adequate legal representation at their trials.

 Amelia Melton requests that Dani take on the case of her grandson Winston Melton, a young man convicted of rape and murder.  Win has been in prison and on death row for seven years;  his death warrant has been signed, and he has 180 days left until his execution.

 Dani initially refuses.  The Melton's are billionaires; they have had the best representation available.  Dani believes the calling of the agency (and her personal calling) is to seek justice for those who haven't been able to afford the kind of help they needed.  She resents the idea that the Melton's money can commandeer her services.

Eventually, however reluctantly, the agency takes the case, and as requested by Amelia Melton, Dani and her team must take the lead.  

Dani isn't comfortable with the case--not with the original conviction, not with the last minute confession by Earl Sanders that he, not Win, committed the murder, not with the idea that the Melton's money may have bought the confession.  Even when she believes Win Melton, who still maintains his innocence, several things about the case bother her.

Several twists and turns keep the novel interesting as Dani's team work to discover what really happened seven years ago.  

Read in June; blog post scheduled for July 10, 2015.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Mystery/Legal Thriller.  July 21, 2015.  Print length:  271 pages.

The Fall by John Lescroart

The Fall

I've been reading Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series for years. Lescroart's characters are the main reason I continue reading; they are always well-developed and complex.  His ensemble cast includes Dismas Hardy, Abe Glitsky, Wes Farrell, Wyatt Hunt, Gina Roark and others. In different novels, different characters take precedence, but the network of friendships, intertwining careers, and cases keep the semblance of a real world with all of its interconnectedness, alliances, and collaborations.

Over the years, characters have changed, career paths have altered, and children have grown up.  This novel may indicate an important change because Rebecca ("the Beck"), Dismas Hardy's daughter now grown and an associate at Hardy's law firm, takes a prominent role.  Because Lescroart has allowed his characters to age and change as if they were real people, we may be seeing the initial steps in the changing of the guard.  

Plot:  The death of a young African-American woman adds to the increasing media pressure in San Francisco concerning failures in the arrest and conviction in African-American homicides.  There is plenty of incentive to solve the case quickly and avoid the media glare and the accusations of those with a political agendas.  The struggle between swift and thorough is felt throughout the investigation.  

Rebecca Hardy ends up defending Greg Treadway, middle-school teacher and CASA volunteer (Court Appointed Victim Advocate) for the victim's brother.  He had dinner with the victim shortly before her death.  Did the rush to find the killer cause the arrest of an innocent man?  

I admit that the reference to John Milton (especially since the title of the book is The Fall) clued me in on the killer early in the book, but I like that kind of thing.

Despite the fact that I love all the back stories of the various characters and having that feeling of reuniting with old friends each time, these books all function perfectly well as stand alones.  This isn't my favorite, but maybe I'm not quite ready for the changing of the guard, not ready to let my older friends in the series to begin taking a back seat to the younger generation.

Read in February; blog post scheduled for April 2o.

NetGalley/Atria Books

Mystery/Legal Thriller.  May 5, 2015.  Print length:  320 pages.

Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark

Killer Ambition     

This is the 4th novel by Clark I've read, and all I can say is that once again she had me from "go."

It feels repetitious to add anything about the characters in general since I've mentioned how much I enjoy them in all three previous reviews.  The characters are funny and smart, determined and loyal.  If you want to know more about them, read my previous reviews.

Clark once again creates a plot that grabs the reader when an acclaimed (and fabulously wealthy) Hollywood director's daughter is kidnapped.  Although initially it might seem as if Hayley is a spoiled Hollywood brat, the truth is that Hayley is the kind of young woman who makes her own decisions with empathy and ethics in mind.

Rachel Knight is involved from the beginning, and she has a special commitment to this case because of the disappearance of her own sister when they were kids.   It isn't long before the wealth and influence of Hollywood begin interfering, however, which is not only frustrating to Rachel and Bailey, but could mean that the guilty party may get off scot free.  

 (digression:  I've used that phrase all my life, and suddenly wondered where it originated.  Nothing to do with Scotland as I'd thought, nor does it refer to the Dred Scott case as some believe.  Scot was a term for tax, and the Church scot or Rome scot didn't have to be paid.  Scot free=tax free.

 "The first reference in print to 'scot free' is in the Writ of Edward the Confessor. We don't have a precise date for the writ but Edward died in 1066, which is a long time before Dred Scott."  via The Phrase Finder)

The courtroom plays a more significant part in Killer Ambition than in the other novels in the series, and Rachel must pull out all the stops to keep the guilty party from going free.  

Marcia Clark belongs with the best of the writers in the field; her entertaining characters and well-written and well-developed plots provide hours of reading pleasure.  If you like mystery, legal thriller, or police procedurals, don't miss the opportunity to read the Rachel Knight series by Clark.  It won't hurt to read them out of order (I did), as each one functions perfectly well as a stand-alone, but of course, it is even better if you can begin with the first one and follow through chronologically.

Guilt by Association #1
Guilt by Degrees #2
Killer Ambition #3 (this review)
The Competition #4

read in july; blog post scheduled for Aug. 9

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Legal thriller/Mystery.  2013.  Print length: 657 pages.

Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark

Guilt by Association  is the first in the Rachel Knight series.  I just recently discovered Marcia Clark's novels through NetGalley, and although I've read them out of order, I've enjoyed each and every one.  

Guilt by Association is the first in the series and introduces all of the major characters.  Since I didn't read these books in order, I already felt that Rachel, Bailey, Toni, and Drew are old friends. 

However, we are also introduced to another friendship-- a young lawyer named Jake, who has the kind of charisma to which everyone responds.  A good and trusted colleague, a talented lawyer, a young man with a promising future.  But when Jake ends up dead in a seedy hotel a seventeen-year-old boy, doubts about who he really was are suddenly raised.

Rachel is determined to discover the whys and wherefores that led to Jake being discovered in such compromising circumstances.  Regardless of what seems the logical conclusion of murder/suicide, Rachel pursues an investigation with hopes of clearing Jake's tarnished reputation.  The problem is that the case has been given to the FBI, and Rachel has been warned to leave the case alone.

At the same time,  the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl proves problematic.  The father has already decided who is responsible, but Susan Densmore, (who was unable to see her attacker) doesn't believe the young man her father wants arrested is responsible.  The father is rich and influential and manages to exert pressure on the DA's office.

As I've mentioned in previous reviews of books in this series, the dialogue is snappy and often funny when the girlfriends are together.  The characters have substance and feel fully present in their roles.  The plot lines are skillfully woven and absorbing.  Clark in my new "go to" author for mystery, characterization, legal thriller, and a suspenseful reading experience.

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Mystery.  2011; 2014.  Print length:  373 pages.  

The Keeper by John Lescroart

My goodness, I've been reading John Lescroart's novels for a long time!  The latest entry in his series about Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky is The Keeper, and I enjoyed it very much.  (Especially since I was disappointed in the previous one, The Ophelia Cut, I was so glad to find that Lescroart can still keep me involved.)

Hal Chase is a guard at the city jail, his wife is missing, and when homicide detectives visit him, he decides it is time for a lawyer.  Dismas Hardy is well aware that the circumstances look grim for Katie, Hal's wife, and that the usual suspect is, indeed, the husband.  However, Dismas entertains an intuition that Hal may not be responsible.

Abe Glitsky, former head of homocide, is now retired, at loose ends, and a little bored.  When Dismas brings him on as an investigator to find evidence of Hal's innocence, Abe has to admit that Hal would be his most likely suspect.  

When Katie's body is discovered and Hal's affair and the large insurance policy on Katie are revealed--well, things don't look good for Hal Chase.  

District Attorney Wes Farrell, Dismas' friend and former partner, is also concerned with suspicious deaths that have occurred in the jail.  What connections can there be between corruption in the jail and Katie's murder?  

Glitsky is now looking at the possibility of other suspects, and it turns out there may be more than would be expected.

Lescroart is in top form, pulling together a number of disparate threads in this tightly constructed plot.  As usual, his characterization is spot on, and the cast of characters, both familiar and newly introduced, feel genuinely human. 

I've been reading this series for about twenty years, and have rarely been disappointed.  The characters have aged, their kids have grown up, their situations have changed, but the San Francisco world that Lescroart has created still feels honest and authentic.

NetGalley/Atria Books

Crime/Mystery/Legal Thriller.  May 6, 2014.  Print version:  320 pages.

Long Knives by Charles Rosenberg

Long Knives           

A combination of  mystery, legal issues, and ivory tower academia's tenure politics, Long Knives features Jenna James, former member of a high-powered law firm and current law professor up for tenure at UCLA.

Jenna is happy with her move from Marbury Marfan's prestigious firm to her current role as law professor at UCLA.  She's a popular and successful teacher--her life is less stressful, but still busy.  She has a boyfriend, but isn't sure about the depth of their relationship.

Until a student dies in her office, Jenna has been looking forward to becoming tenured faculty.  When it turns out that Primo Giordano's death was a result of a poison introduced by the coffee Jenna offered him and and the treasure map Primo brought with him disappears, Jenna becomes a person of interest and then a suspect.   

Jenna turns to old friends Oscar Quesana and Robert Tarza for help when she becomes a target in the murder investigation and has a law suit filed against her for stealing the treasure map.  

Is Jenna simply a suspect or is she a target?  Was the coffee intended for Primo or Jenna?

Jenna and old friends and associates Oscar and Robert are determined to solve the mystery and prevent Jenna's shot at tenure from going awry.

Long Knives held my interest from first to last.  While I think the reason for trying to pin the murder on Jenna is a bit far-fetched, part of me is well aware that people have been ruined or killed for even more fatuous reasons.  The news and social media publicize bizarre reasons for murder and revenge every day.

I'm interested in reading Death on a High Floor, Rosenberg's first novel that introduces Jenna, Oscar, and Robert.

Rosenberg is a former editor of the Harvard Law Review and currently practices in a small firm in the LA area.   Another author tidbit:   "Charles B. ("Chuck") Rosenberg has been the credited legal script consultant to three prime time television shows: L.A. Law, The Practice and Boston Legal, as well as the TV show The Paper Chase (Showtime)."

Read in January, 2014

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Legal Thriller.  March 1, 2014.  Print version:  502 pages.

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

While my iPad is still awaiting a battery transplant, I started reading Fee's copy of Sycamore Row.  This novel takes place about three years after the events in A Time to Kill, and Jake Brigance once again finds himself with a big case.

Seth Hubbard, in the last days of terminal cancer, makes a new and controversial holographic will, which he mails to Jake and tells him to ward off any attempt to have the will thrown out.  Seth then drives into the country and hangs himself from a sycamore tree.

The new will cuts out Seth's children and leaves 90% of his large estate to his black housekeeper Lettie Lang.  Naturally, the will be contested.  

Was Seth in such pain and under such heavy medication that the will could be considered invalid?  Was he unduly influenced by the housekeeper?  Why would a man who had a perfectly normal will in tact (that protected his estate from 50% taxation) make a new will that would give an additional 3 million dollars to the IRS?  Especially an astute businessman like Seth Hubbard.

In a poor Mississippi county in the 1980's an estate of upwards of twenty million dollars was simply astounding.  Lawyers and relatives are coming out of the woodwork.  The scene is set for a highly anticipated court battle with everyone in the county offering opinions and preparing to be entertained with some high drama.  

The book is a little slow, especially at the beginning, but that doesn't mean it is uninteresting.  Tensions mount, race is involved, sex implied, greed rules, and lawyers are determined to get as much as they can from the estate.

I have not read Grisham in years and years, but Sycamore Row certainly held my attention. the surprise twist at the end isn't really a surprise if you've noted a couple of throw-away sentences, yet it carries an impact.

Courtroom Drama.  2013.  466 pages.

Heaven Is High by Kate Wilhelm

Heaven Is High is the latest in the Barbara Holloway series that I've been reading for years.  There are 12 in the series, and I haven't read them all, just the ones the library has, but I enjoy these legal mysteries.   This novel isn't a courtroom drama, really, so the cover is misleading, but Barbara Holloway is a lawyer, and her cases all involve mystery and suspense.

Barbara  is a courageous and compassionate advocate for her clients.  In Heaven Is High, Barbara is attempting to block the deportation of  Binnie, a young woman and a mute to Haiti.   The more she discovers about the case, the more suspicious she becomes about the reasons and individuals behind the tips that brought Binnie to the attention of the Immigration Service.

Time is short, and Barbara decides to go to Belize to attempt to persuade Binnie's grandfather to establish that Binnie is not a native of Haiti.  Once there, however, she discovers that the grandfather has recently been murdered .  Her next step is to locate Binnie's aunt, but Barbara discovers that she herself is in danger.

These are not cozy novels, but neither are the hard-edged, darker type of authors like Jo Nesbo.

I was not aware that Wilhelm also wrote SF and has won a Hugo and 3 Nebula awards.  Will have to look into this side of the author.

Other reviews/opinions:  Genre Go Round,

Fiction.  Mystery/Legal thriller.  2011.  304 pages.

Damage by John Lescroart

I love this series and was glad to find a copy of Damage at the library.

Dismas Hardy takes a back seat in Damage, and Wes Farrell and Abe Glitsky share most of the action.

 Ro Curtlee, convicted of rape and murder ten years earlier, is released from prison when an appeals court orders a new trial. Soon after Curtlee is released, the chief witness against him is murdered.

New DA Wes Farrell finds himself in a difficult situation -- pressured by the wealthy and powerful Curtlee family, who want their son free on bail until the trial, and by Abe Glitsky, chief of homicide, who fears precisely the kind of retaliation that Ro Curtlee begins to exact.  

When the wife of the head juror in Ro's trial is murdered, there is no evidence gainst Ro, but the similarity to his earlier crimes is unquestioned.  In their attempts to have Ro's bail revoked, Wes and Abe must fight the influence of the Curtlee family, who in addition to having powerful friends, own one of San Francisco's newspapers.

Both sides are looking for the last available witness from the previous trial.  Her whereabouts are unknown, but her court appearance will be required for the re-trial, and without this witness, Ro Curtlee could gain permanent freedom.

Lescroart's main characters are trying to get through ethical and legal dilemmas as best they can.  They have lives outside of the court room and the police department and are three dimensional with flaws and strengths and peculiarities.

  A large cast of recurring characters and Lescroart's ability to create a San Francisco populated by people and places that are familiar help the reader to move into the novels with ease on each return visit.  

While each book can stand alone and each one gives a little back-story to both people and places, you may find that you, too, will want to return to Lescroart's San Franciso.

Fiction.  Legal thriller.  2011.  416 pages.

Bad Blood by Linda Fairstein

 Bad Blood is the ninth in the Alexandra Cooper series by Linda Fairstein, former chief of the Sex Crimes Unit in the  Manhattan D. A.'s Office.  She knows whereof she speaks. 

Amanda Quillian was found murdered and her husband is on trial for hiring a hitman to commit the murder.  Brendan Quillan is being defended by Lem Howell, the suave, charming, highly intelligent former mentor of Alexandra.  Alex knows this trial will be a challenge because she knows just how good Lem Howell is, and she knows her own case is weak.

The case, however, moves out of the courtroom and into mysteries from both the past and present.

The information about the sandhogs, New York's maze of underground tunnels, and the weaknesses of the water system was all new to me and quite fascinating. 

As usual, I enjoyed visiting Alex, Mike, and Mercer.

Fiction.  Mystery/Legal thriller.  2007.  480 pages.

Vaughn, Dennis.  The Price of Revenge.

An ARC from Phenix & Phenix literary publicists. 

From Amazon's Product Description:  David Fox has a life anyone would envy-a flourishing career as a lawyer, a condo in Denver, and a beautiful girlfriend, Ellen-until he begins investigating a lawsuit against the Denver City Ballet. It seems like a commonplace allegation of misspent funds at first, but soon David finds himself caught in a web of blackmail, betrayal, and dark secrets. To escape, he'll have to answer some uncomfortable questions: Who was responsible for the embezzlement, and how far will they go to cover it up? What precisely is Ellen discussing in those sessions with her psychiatrist? And is telling the truth worth losing everything? The Price of Revenge follows David across boundaries both professional and personal as he tries to find his way out of the maze of intrigue into which he has stumbled.

 I didn't like David, who wants to see himself as a model of integrity, but seemed unable to recognize the lack of integrity in his personal behavior.  Even his "integrity" in his career choices often seems self-motivated and reactionary.

None of the characters are well-rounded; the plot doesn't seem to know where to go.


Fiction.  Legal thriller?  2010.  289 pages.

A Plague of Secrets

Lescroart, John.  A Plague of Secrets.

I'm definitely a fan of Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series.  I love Dismas, a defense lawyer, and his friends, especially Abe Glitsky and Wes Farrell.

This was not my favorite, but that doesn't mean it isn't good -- Lescroart is always good.  His novels are interesting, informative, suspenseful legal thrillers.

His recurring characters are always well-developed, but Abe and Wes and several others played small roles in this novel.  For me, they are such a huge part of the world Lescroart creates that it is disappointing not to have them play larger parts in A Plague of Secrets.  I do like the way that characters from past novels often show up again, which adds to the reality of the world of Dismas Hardy

Another quibble (remember, I'm quibbling, 'cause I love this series; this is #20, and I have high hopes for many more)-- is that this novel seems less dense. 

I have not read a Lescroart novel that I didn't like, but he sets a pretty high standard for himself.  :)

Fiction.  Legal Thriller.  2010.  512 pages.

Brother

Fredericks, James. Brother.

This was a review copy sent by the author and was a thoroughly entertaining and suspenseful mystery. The characters are engaging and the plot is fast-moving with plenty of twists.

Defense attorney Chase Riordan, a former prosecutor, successfully defends his most recent client, but begins to have some questions about all three of his defense cases. Something about these cases gives him pause, but he isn't certain what has thrown up his inner antenna.

In addition to some questions about his court cases, Chase is concerned about his twin brother, a veteran of Afghanistan, who is in a strange Army mental health facility in an almost comatose state. Chase has never been as close to his twin brother as he is to a select group of friends, but begins to find Jared's situation more and more troubling . The two begin communicating in a sort of code and Chase begins to provide aid secretly.

An exciting legal thriller and an excellent beginning for James Fredericks. There were a few niggling problems, but I had no difficulty setting these aside (couldn't put the book down) and look forward to more novels from this author.

Fiction. Mystery/Suspense/Legal Thriller. 2008. 410 pages.

Shadow of Power

Martini, Steve. Shadow of Power.

6 word synopsis: Author murdered. Supreme Court Justice involved.

Found the premise a bit hard to swallow, but the novel was fast-paced and the legal stuff interesting.

Fiction. Legal thriller/mystery. ARC. 2008. 390 pages.