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Marty Nickerson #3

Maximum Security

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Entreated by partner and boyfriend Harry Madigan to defend a wealthy woman--Harry's former lover--who has been accused of murdering her husband, Cape Cod attorney Marty Nickerson doubts her own instincts in the wake of mounting evidence, a situation that is complicated by the defendant's seductive personality. 25,000 first printing.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 20, 2004

9 people are currently reading
189 people want to read

About the author

Rose Connors

27 books45 followers
Rose Connors is an author of mystery fiction. She has written four books about her fictional attorney Marty Nickerson, but hasn't been published in more than a decade. Connors, whose debut novel, Absolute Certainty, won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, grew up in Philadelphia and received her law degree from Duke in 1984.

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5 stars
68 (15%)
4 stars
161 (37%)
3 stars
176 (40%)
2 stars
23 (5%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
494 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2025
I read the third installment in the Marty Nickerson series for a Book by a Massachusetts Author category in my library book bingo challenge. In this novel Marty ends up defending a law school classmate and ex-lover of Harry’s whose husband ends up dead. The storyline was fine but I didn’t feel the same energy as with the previous two books. Still, always lovely to read something based in my beloved Chatham. 3.5⭐️
Profile Image for Jen Frankel.
Author 25 books37 followers
August 16, 2018
Love this book and this series! Marty is the unlikeliest heroine, but only because no one writes a heroine like Rose Connors. Earthy, earnest, and ethical, Marty is a woman you could really be proud to be, warts and all. In a landscape of tortured, overly pretty young things solving mysteries with gun-toting studs and tormented mentors, the Marty Nickerson series is a serious pleasure: expertly and unexpectedly plotted, there is no formula that Connors won't break.
Profile Image for Kate .
88 reviews10 followers
October 12, 2017
Not as good as her other books, but excellent nonetheless. The factor of the old girlfriend wasn't written well -- the character interactions.

Also, I am sorry she didn't write the way that Marty and Harry got together except as a memory. That suspense would have been nice as the characters developed.

Still enjoyable and if she'd write mroe I'd read them.
745 reviews8 followers
November 20, 2018
Another local author book based here on Cape Cod - unfortunately, it appears that she has stopped wrsting novels for now as there are no more in this series - I was returning the book to the library and Rose Connors was coming out and she said, hey that is my book - small world
Profile Image for Barbara.
1,549 reviews6 followers
July 26, 2017
Disappointed after the 1st 2 books. Hope #4 is better.
Profile Image for Joi.
641 reviews40 followers
October 25, 2018
Of. Purse I enjoyed this book. It was a quick simple read
170 reviews
January 21, 2021
An intense story about finding the truth and the justice of a falsely accused murder. Humorous at times and enjoyable court room banter.
Profile Image for Jessica.
53 reviews6 followers
March 18, 2024
3.5 out of 5 - the book started off slow, in my opinion, and then gradually started to picks up.
1,929 reviews44 followers
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January 11, 2009
Maximum Security, by Rose Connors. A.
narrated by Anna Fields, produced by Blackstone Audio.

Well this is the last one in the series that is currently available as an audio book. I hope there are more to come.
This book finds one main case, and the case is Marty’s. This is because the woman she is representing, Louisa Rawlings, is an old girl friend of Harry’s. Louisa’s husband has disappeared. His body is found one week later, and it is clear he has been murdered. Louisa, his wife is the main suspect for a variety of reasons, she’s the only one to profit by his will, there’s a life insurance policy with a double indemnity clause, the death seemed to be made to look like a suicide, and the weapon had her finger prints on it. But Marty, although irritated with Louisa’s “southern charms” and her ability to charm any male in her view, including the judge, does not believe she committed the murder. Again we see trial scenes, Marty and Geraldine, (the prosecutor) going at it, and other marginal characters who always people these mysteries. I hope there will be more of them.

1,759 reviews21 followers
November 8, 2011
If you picked up a book called Maximum Security, wouldn't you expect that the main character would be in prison, in that state? Well, no, this was just a threat for a woman whose husband ends up dead. She is being represented by three lawyers--one a former lover, another who is a woman, and the third a young man whom she beds. There is a disagreeable step daughter, a financial advisor who shows up just two days after the man goes missing--what's with that? It is fairly amusing and entertaining.
18 reviews
October 1, 2015
I did not really care for this book. I read and enjoyed the first two books in the series, but this one just fell flat for me. The dialogue was really stilted, and the attempts at humor felt stiff and awkward. To top it all off, it was more of a traditional mystery than a courtroom drama like the first two, and the mystery itself wasn't even that good. The solution to the mystery was telegraphed from very early on, and the final reveal was lackluster and felt rushed. I probably won't continue with the Marty Nickerson series after this one.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
Author 2 books5 followers
December 14, 2010
I wish Rose Connors was more prolific, because her novels are always a great ride, and this book is no exception. I love her main character, Marty Nickerson, a Cape Cod former assistant DA turned defender. As courtroom novels go, Connors' are some of the most fun. This book was slightly less suspenseful than some of her other tales, but still worth the read.
Profile Image for Natalie.
808 reviews11 followers
September 9, 2009
I bought this in a used book store on Cape Cod looking for local books. It's set on the cape and written by someone who lives there. Here's hoping the story's as good as the cape :-)

I enjoyed this. The story was good and it was a fun easy read.
323 reviews7 followers
September 8, 2010
Louisa is one slick lady. She goes to one of her old boyfriends when she needs an attorney. Gets his lady friend to be her attorney. Finds a boy toy, with her husband just missing. Goes to jail with her stepdaughter pushing for that. This is a good story line. I liked it.
67 reviews
August 18, 2012
I would give this book a grade of only fair in a series of books that are generally much better than fair. If you like courtroom drama/mysteries, this series is generally a good choice. This particular book was somewhat uninspired. I was able to see the "whodunnit" almost immediately.
Profile Image for Dave.
686 reviews
August 4, 2012
Good balance of character & plot. I've enjoyed the series thus far. Interesting to have a character who has been on both sides of the legal advocacy / criminal justice system.
Profile Image for Sue.
1,698 reviews1 follower
September 3, 2013
One star for good cover and good title. Other than that, it was god-awful boring. Lots of convoluted plots that lead nowhere.
Profile Image for Teri Pre.
1,959 reviews34 followers
March 18, 2013
Not as good as the first 2, but still enjoyable. Not many thriller authors get humor just right, but Ms. Connors does a great job.
Profile Image for Kathy.
1,097 reviews6 followers
March 23, 2013
Not nearly as good as Absolute Certainty. Some good characters and a few interesting plot elements, but mostly pretty boring.
17 reviews
July 26, 2013
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't as good as the first two books in the series. Still a good mystery though, and I like the author's writing style.
Profile Image for Ann Farnsworth.
Author 4 books6 followers
May 9, 2015
pretty good, I felt like I should know the characters from another book but couldn't place them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

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