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Scott Finn #4
Next of Kin
When Boston attorney Scott Finn agrees to defend Kevin McDougal, reprobate son of notorious mobster Eaman McDougal, he knows he's putting his reputation on the line but he's hoping for even bigger fish to fry and this could be a way of reeling them in. In a city where mob crime once ruled, a core of corruption, greed, lies and deceit lingers and it seems that there are those at the top and in power who will stop at nothing to achieve what they want. BPD Detective Zachary Long, who has problems of his own, is called to a murder scene, and when the victim is identified, it brings Finn to a place he thought he'd never have to visit. With the help of his young charge, Sally Malley, colleague ex detective 'Kos' Kozlowski and fellow attorney Lissa Krantz, he knows he has to find the truth. In his search for the answers, he uncovers a trail of murder, betrayal and revenge borne about by someone who could never forgive or forget.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
13 people are currently reading
426 people want to read
About the author
David Hosp
15 books70 followersDavid Hosp is a trial lawyer who spends a portion of his time working pro bono on behalf of wrongly convicted individuals. He lives with his wife and family in Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 12, 2018
this was my first Scott Finn book. I liked the story when I first started to read I thought the story will revolve around law it was not. all the characters were interesting and distinct.
April 27, 2019
👌 my favourite type of book, fast paced and great twists, couldn't put it down!
June 24, 2012
I have always enjoyed Hosp's books, especially those related to the law. This one, while a good read and filled with some last minute switcheroo, failed to hit the mark on the legal thriller checklist. i suppose sprinkling in a few 'court' and 'lawyer' references will suffice for some, but I expected some courtroom drama here. All I got was some tangential mention of legal work and a mystery plopped right into the centre. A quick read, for sure, but nowhere near as thorough as I expected.
The book surrounds the murder of a down and out woman that we learn is related to the main character, Scott Finn. As Finn pokes around, looking for who might have killed his mother, a Boston Police Department detective down on his luck and full of the sauce is trying to keep his job and crack the case. While all paths lead to a powerful senator, no one can make the accusations stick.
Brief discussion of 'hidden pregnancies and births of the 1950s and 160s, and the continued relationship between Finn and an Irish mob boss and you have a cute little literary package perfect as a summer read. Some great twists and turns throughout will keep you guessing how it all plays out in the end.
Kudos Mr. Hosp. Now if only libraries and bookstores here in North American would permit for easy access to your work!
The book surrounds the murder of a down and out woman that we learn is related to the main character, Scott Finn. As Finn pokes around, looking for who might have killed his mother, a Boston Police Department detective down on his luck and full of the sauce is trying to keep his job and crack the case. While all paths lead to a powerful senator, no one can make the accusations stick.
Brief discussion of 'hidden pregnancies and births of the 1950s and 160s, and the continued relationship between Finn and an Irish mob boss and you have a cute little literary package perfect as a summer read. Some great twists and turns throughout will keep you guessing how it all plays out in the end.
Kudos Mr. Hosp. Now if only libraries and bookstores here in North American would permit for easy access to your work!
June 18, 2016
David Hosp seems to specialize in damaged characters -- messed-up alcoholic cops, angry foster kids, dodgy lawyers etc. This book reads like the plot for a film noir movie; the lawyer and his colleagues and the local crime boss are stock characters, but that's what we expect from this genre and they don't disappoint. It carries on after the conclusion of "Among Thieves", featuring most of the main characters (having read that one is a bit helpful since it enables one to understand the behavior and personality of the kid Sally). Perhaps the most intriguing new character here is the man called Coale, whose motivation doesn't become clear until near the end. Almost every aspect of the story, as complicated as it is, remains nevertheless entirely credible, particularly the workings of 1950's-era adoption rules. A first-rate tale for anyone who appreciates crime fiction.
May 6, 2014
This was the first book by David Hosp that I have read and it won't be the last. It was a very enjoyable read; the current overall rating at 3.63 seems to me just about right. It is a combination of police procedural and legal thriller; with probably not enough of either to satisfy the devotees of either sub-genre. It was a Richard & Judy Book Club choice; therefore it is "safe" rather than risk taking, but I am confident that most readers picking it up will enjoy it.
Just like another reviewer I found the ending a little disappointing.
Just like another reviewer I found the ending a little disappointing.
March 17, 2014
As the characters and plot begin to build up, I find myself empathising with the characters - their frustrations, anxiety and fear. And when the mysteries began to pile up, so did the action, thrill and tension. The plot twist near the end was not completely unexpected, but it was believable, exciting and really well done.
Law, politics, crime and scandals - common plot devices made into a thrilling page-turner.
Law, politics, crime and scandals - common plot devices made into a thrilling page-turner.
December 30, 2011
I read this book as it was one of the Richard and Judy Autumn Book Club choices. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters (even if some of them were a bit of a cliche), but I was a little disappointed in the ending. However, I would be interested to read more by this author.
September 14, 2013
A good mystery/ thriller, but not the best.
July 3, 2017
Honestly, I didn't go into this book with a lot of expectations. It was one of those impulse-buys that I had only bought 'cause I was getting it at a super-discounted rate and then, for almost over a year, I completely forgot about it. Now I'm home on a long vacation and I found it lying in my cupboard, so I thought, why not give it a try.
Well, all in all I'm glad I read this book.
It was a good book, overall. Quite satisfactory. I really liked the pacing. The short chapters and quick scenes made it a fast read, even during some of the slow parts. I also liked the shifting points of view - it kept the narrative from becoming boring. The plot was very well constructed, I thought, and the ending was quite fabulous, and profoundly satisfactory. I have to say, I did NOT see that coming. I had guessed some aspects of it, but I was very far from seeing the whole picture until the very end. And the end tied everything up very nicely, leaving you feeling enlightened and utterly content with the whole experience. In that, it was a very clever book.
Where this book floundered, in my opinion, was in character development. Finn was supposed to be a self-made, street-smart and successful lawyer, yet he acted with the kind of emotional thoughtlessness you would expect in the protagonist of a teenage vampire flick. He went randomly to a ruthless mob-boss, without any sort of plan in his mind, and demanded that he tell him who had killed his mother. Then he went to a hotshot lawyer, a man he barely knew, again with absolutely no plan, and demanded that he drop a high-profile case against a drug-dealer. Why? Because 'it's important to me'. Finn's words, not mine. Then he went to the head of an adoption agency - again a person he had never met before - and demanded that she break the law and risk her job to give him information about his biological parents. In each of these cases, he had absolutely no plan. He was working completely and absolutely on emotion. And these are just the few I can remember off the top of my head. He also at one point demanded that a police officer give him information about an ongoing investigation - again providing no other reason than 'she was my mother'. The question is - why the hell should anybody give a flying fuck???
Had Finn been a sheltered and spoilt brat like Kevin McDougal, it might still make sense that he had grown up in an environment that made him believe that people would just give him anything he asked for because he asked for it. But that wasn't the case. He had apparently grown up on the streets with nobody ever giving a fuck about him. What reason did he have for being so stupidly entitled? Not to mention, he went to steal files from the fortified office of a notorious mob-boss - and it never occurred to him that the building might just possibly have a fucking CCTV camera? For God's sake, my high-school had CCTV cameras all over it. At times, Finn acts so stupid you feel like he's Bella Swan's twin brother. And yet at other times, he doesn't seem to care about his parentage at all. He tells a guy who was badmouthing his mother: "There is nothing you can say about her that will upset me". And yet this is the same guy who endangered his own life and that of his family repeatedly to find out information about a mother he never knew, to understand who killed her and why. Somehow, the characterisation went haywire for me, the two sides of the protagonist did not come together to form a coherent personality. It just seemed like he was two different people inhabiting one body, doing what the plot demanded.
So in summary, read this book for the brilliantly constructed plot. It is everything you would want in a thriller. But be ready for some rocky character-development issues. All in all it was a good one-time read, but nothing particularly remarkable.
Well, all in all I'm glad I read this book.
It was a good book, overall. Quite satisfactory. I really liked the pacing. The short chapters and quick scenes made it a fast read, even during some of the slow parts. I also liked the shifting points of view - it kept the narrative from becoming boring. The plot was very well constructed, I thought, and the ending was quite fabulous, and profoundly satisfactory. I have to say, I did NOT see that coming. I had guessed some aspects of it, but I was very far from seeing the whole picture until the very end. And the end tied everything up very nicely, leaving you feeling enlightened and utterly content with the whole experience. In that, it was a very clever book.
Where this book floundered, in my opinion, was in character development. Finn was supposed to be a self-made, street-smart and successful lawyer, yet he acted with the kind of emotional thoughtlessness you would expect in the protagonist of a teenage vampire flick. He went randomly to a ruthless mob-boss, without any sort of plan in his mind, and demanded that he tell him who had killed his mother. Then he went to a hotshot lawyer, a man he barely knew, again with absolutely no plan, and demanded that he drop a high-profile case against a drug-dealer. Why? Because 'it's important to me'. Finn's words, not mine. Then he went to the head of an adoption agency - again a person he had never met before - and demanded that she break the law and risk her job to give him information about his biological parents. In each of these cases, he had absolutely no plan. He was working completely and absolutely on emotion. And these are just the few I can remember off the top of my head. He also at one point demanded that a police officer give him information about an ongoing investigation - again providing no other reason than 'she was my mother'. The question is - why the hell should anybody give a flying fuck???
Had Finn been a sheltered and spoilt brat like Kevin McDougal, it might still make sense that he had grown up in an environment that made him believe that people would just give him anything he asked for because he asked for it. But that wasn't the case. He had apparently grown up on the streets with nobody ever giving a fuck about him. What reason did he have for being so stupidly entitled? Not to mention, he went to steal files from the fortified office of a notorious mob-boss - and it never occurred to him that the building might just possibly have a fucking CCTV camera? For God's sake, my high-school had CCTV cameras all over it. At times, Finn acts so stupid you feel like he's Bella Swan's twin brother. And yet at other times, he doesn't seem to care about his parentage at all. He tells a guy who was badmouthing his mother: "There is nothing you can say about her that will upset me". And yet this is the same guy who endangered his own life and that of his family repeatedly to find out information about a mother he never knew, to understand who killed her and why. Somehow, the characterisation went haywire for me, the two sides of the protagonist did not come together to form a coherent personality. It just seemed like he was two different people inhabiting one body, doing what the plot demanded.
So in summary, read this book for the brilliantly constructed plot. It is everything you would want in a thriller. But be ready for some rocky character-development issues. All in all it was a good one-time read, but nothing particularly remarkable.
August 14, 2019
This months book is actually part of a larger series, and it isn't the first book in that series. One member of the bookclub has read the previous books and she felt that this may have given her a little more insight into the characters. Everyone else felt that the book mostly stood as a book in its own right so could be read without investing the time needed to read all the books in the series.
With regard to the fact that this part of a series, many of the bookclub members felt that they could have done with a bit more of a back story for most of the characters. However, maybe this was a writing device to make us want to read the other books to find out more about each of the characters. As with a lot of thriller novels the writer usually aims most of their writing skill at the plot, Hosp did this but he also seems to be aiming to have great characters as well. Maybe he should focus on one thing or the other to get a better novel.
We thought that the main theme of this book was very obviously that of family. Whether blood relatives are more like family to us or those we choose to surround ourselves with in the form of friends. As with a lot of books that choose this as a theme we felt that friends turned out to be better family than actual relations. The only real divergence from this would be Koz and Lissa and their relationship with their child. However, in this book Koz and Lissa were very peripheral characters, they seemed to have taken a more central role in previous books.
Throughout this thriller there were clues at the ending, but they were buried quite deeply and hidden very well with plenty of red herrings. Most of the bookclub tried to guess the ending but we were all completely off course at the very end. Overall we felt that it was a very interesting twist in the end of this tale.
Overall we gave this book 7 out of 10. It wasn't a massively deep book, but it was entertaining and a good read for the summer holidays.
With regard to the fact that this part of a series, many of the bookclub members felt that they could have done with a bit more of a back story for most of the characters. However, maybe this was a writing device to make us want to read the other books to find out more about each of the characters. As with a lot of thriller novels the writer usually aims most of their writing skill at the plot, Hosp did this but he also seems to be aiming to have great characters as well. Maybe he should focus on one thing or the other to get a better novel.
We thought that the main theme of this book was very obviously that of family. Whether blood relatives are more like family to us or those we choose to surround ourselves with in the form of friends. As with a lot of books that choose this as a theme we felt that friends turned out to be better family than actual relations. The only real divergence from this would be Koz and Lissa and their relationship with their child. However, in this book Koz and Lissa were very peripheral characters, they seemed to have taken a more central role in previous books.
Throughout this thriller there were clues at the ending, but they were buried quite deeply and hidden very well with plenty of red herrings. Most of the bookclub tried to guess the ending but we were all completely off course at the very end. Overall we felt that it was a very interesting twist in the end of this tale.
Overall we gave this book 7 out of 10. It wasn't a massively deep book, but it was entertaining and a good read for the summer holidays.
March 2, 2020
A perfect thriller, my first book written by David Hosp and now I plan to read the rest of his books.
The book is a combination of crime investigation and some legal work. Starts as a murder investigation where an elderly woman, alone in the world is killed in her flat. Long, the detective, is an interesting character, efficient but with issues of his own.
Scot Finn, the lawyer to the organized crime, gets involved as we have many interesting twists about adoptions in the 60s, paternity determination, a crooked senator, mob boss and his crazed son.
All combine to form a very pleasant, fast paced page turner.
The book is a combination of crime investigation and some legal work. Starts as a murder investigation where an elderly woman, alone in the world is killed in her flat. Long, the detective, is an interesting character, efficient but with issues of his own.
Scot Finn, the lawyer to the organized crime, gets involved as we have many interesting twists about adoptions in the 60s, paternity determination, a crooked senator, mob boss and his crazed son.
All combine to form a very pleasant, fast paced page turner.
May 16, 2020
Scott Finn is a trial lawyer, a man who can help the most defenceless. But this all falls apart when it comes to light that his mother, who gave him up for adoption years ago has been murdered. Scott never knew Elizabeth, but he's determined to get justice for her. But why was she mixed up with the mob and a senator? Only Scott can find out.
Overall this was a pretty twisty read, with some lovely gruesome scenes. Can't have a good crime book without them.
That said I don't like it when books have had all the endings tied up neatly. Real life doesn't work like that, so why should books?
Worth a read.
Overall this was a pretty twisty read, with some lovely gruesome scenes. Can't have a good crime book without them.
That said I don't like it when books have had all the endings tied up neatly. Real life doesn't work like that, so why should books?
Worth a read.
February 23, 2021
I loved this. Can't believe it has been sat under my bed for years (hubbies side, he bought it). Just searching under the bed ....as you do...to find a book I have not read and BINGO! Not read a book by this author before but the blurb looked good so I delved in. Soooo glad I did, what a engrossing and gripping read. I can see that I have a few to catch up on as it's a series. No problem with that. This was just great as a stand alone...but I kinda want to go back and find out more. We all discover knew authors now and again and I'm glad that I found this one.
August 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. A new author for me which is always a nice surprise. I love murder mysteries and like the additional story of his search for his Mother. Whether it would be useful to read in sequence I'm not sure of but it isn't necessary to have done so. Finn is a good character, trying to follow the line of dealing with good and bad at the same time. An Alex Cross type although Hosp's style is a bit more relaxed than James Patterson
September 12, 2020
So, I wish I had read them in order, but it is not necessary. I enjoyed the Spenceresque story. I love reading books that take place in places I know well. A twisty murder mystery that keeps you reading until the very end.
June 28, 2021
3.5. I preferred the earlier novels in the series that focused on Finn in his role as a lawyer. This one takes a different route, and while interesting, I wanted to see more of Finn cleverly representing clients.
March 11, 2022
In the minority again but this really wasn't for me at all.
Wish books would say if they were sequels because I really felt that I was starting in the middle of this and just couldn't get to grips with the characters at all.
I ended up scanning alot of it else would have been a DNF
Wish books would say if they were sequels because I really felt that I was starting in the middle of this and just couldn't get to grips with the characters at all.
I ended up scanning alot of it else would have been a DNF
August 9, 2018
too slow going and a bit gory for me. Very rare for me to not finish a book but gave up halfway through.
September 14, 2019
Really enjoyed it and didnt expect the twist.
July 7, 2020
7/10, VFM 18%. Well written, good plot, didn’t work out the ending - characters good enough for a series. Will try more from Mr Hosp. Ps long read time because little free time moving office!
July 18, 2022
Page Turner with open end for next episode
November 6, 2021
Highly enjoyable thriller
February 12, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Good twists and turns and likeable characters.
May 28, 2012
Not really my thing.
Frenetic action and multiple simultaneous threads. All the loose ends got tied up in the end, despite the author stating (through the Scott Finn character) that "in cases this messy" things didn't always get tied up!
I didn't think it was "Brilliant and totally believable" as David Baldacci says on the cover. He is, however, the author of one of the worst books I've had to read in a book club - The Camel Club.
I guess if you like John Grisham and the like then you might like this. I tried a Grisham and it was OK - a bit like this really. Won't bother with another!
Frenetic action and multiple simultaneous threads. All the loose ends got tied up in the end, despite the author stating (through the Scott Finn character) that "in cases this messy" things didn't always get tied up!
I didn't think it was "Brilliant and totally believable" as David Baldacci says on the cover. He is, however, the author of one of the worst books I've had to read in a book club - The Camel Club.
I guess if you like John Grisham and the like then you might like this. I tried a Grisham and it was OK - a bit like this really. Won't bother with another!
February 12, 2013
Awesome story! I was fascinated by it all, how Finn made it to the end, how he protected Sally in the alley when they were coming back from the dinner. Finn and Koz make a fantastic team, better than the other cops! Haha, it was really a thorough read, i enjoyed it so much. The base of the story really hits you later, making you sit and wonder for hours, about just how this is possible :P
Very really sad, too.
A must read for cop and crime lovers!
Very really sad, too.
A must read for cop and crime lovers!
July 21, 2014
From reading the plot summary this seemed like a book I would enjoy but when I started reading it I found it hard to read and quite tiresome however for some reason I persevered and after 100 pages this really picks up the pace and gets incredibly exciting and thrilling with plenty of twists to kepp you entertained. Okay, so this is not up there with Patterson or Child but this is still a very enjoyable read, so stick with it!
November 28, 2011
I enjoyed the style n writing of this book. I thought the characters had enough depth n wanted to know more of their back stories. I enjoyed the pace of the book n was always picking it up. I found myself guessing major plot developments early in in the investigation. The ending was slightly predictable but I enjoyed reading it just the same. An easy read!
July 9, 2012
I love all of David Hosp's books including this one! Although there wasn't a lot of "lawyering" happening, it was a great story and great getting to know the characters better! As always, looking forward to the next Finn installment! Mr. Hosp . . . please write faster!! LOL!!
April 28, 2013
An Australian library book that I failed to finish before leaving for the airport. So I read the denouement and didn't miss the big chunk I missed out. Ripping Grishamesque yarn of everyday hotshot lawyers and really really mean criminals in the big city.
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January 31, 2017What a great story , well written and fast paced . It hooked me from the start after reading the prologue . There were a number of twists and turns throughout and a real surprise at the end .This book will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a mystery/thriller .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews