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Christopher Paget #2

by Richard North Patterson

The core of Richard North Patterson's legal thrillers is characterization, and Degree of Guilt, the novel that relaunched his career in 1993, features two captivating individuals: Christopher Paget and Mary Carelli. Paget, the upstart hero of Patterson's 1979 Edgar-winning The Lasko Tangent, is now a sophisticated trial lawyer doing his best to raise a teenage son in San Francisco. He's a man to be admired: famous for bringing down the president in a financial scandal, he has settled into the comfortable life of a successful attorney. His life is transformed, however, when his former lover (and mother of his son), Mary Carelli, pays a visit.

The novel begins in a San Francisco hotel room as Mary, now an NBC journalist, surveys the torn landscape of author Mark Ransom's apartment. Ransom is, or was, America's most eminent writer. As she tells the police, Ransom had uncovered new recorded evidence of an affair between a long-dead starlet and a now-sainted senator (shades of Marilyn Monroe and JFK). While Ransom and Mary were listening to the tapes, she claims, he tried to rape her and she killed him in self-defense. Mary turns to Paget to defend her in what becomes a complex case of missing and conflicting evidence. Old emotions are stirred between the two just as Paget begins to doubt Mary's innocence.

Listening Length 18 hours and 58 minutes

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Crime, Legal, Suspense

624 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Richard North Patterson is the author of fourteen previous bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, Patterson served as the SEC’s liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups dealing with gun violence, political reform, and women’s rights. He lives in San Francisco and on Martha’s Vineyard.
Macmillan.com Author Profile

Awards
Edgar Award, 1980, Best First Novel for The Lasko Tangent

Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, International Award, 1995 for Degree of Guilt

http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem I have with Richard North Patterson's novels is that once I start one, I seem to be completely unable to do anything but finish it. They are all-consuming. This one I found particularly remarkable. A legal thriller of the highest order. As always, great character development, but the plotting of this one - weaving a murder, a trial, celebrity scandal, and personal conflict into a frenzy - was remarkable. Unlike most other "series" authors, Patterson weaves together a world where the secondary characters in one novel become the main characters in another. This speaks to how well-developed these characters are in his head while he's writing, and makes for a very rich experience as you read more and more of his novels. But if I go on to the next one I'll never get anything I need to do done... ;)

[Connie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me forever to finish this book, I didn't give one little bit of crap about any of the characters.

I forced myself to finish it because of the other good reviews and the promise of a great twist at the end. Well, there was a bit of a twist but I had already figured out Carlo was not Paget's son and who the hell knows if Mary ever told the truth about what happened in that room. She was such a bitchy flake.

The overprotecting of Carlo was beyond ridiculous! He was 15 not 8. I really found that the most annoying and yet most consistent part of this story.

And Terrie hooking up with Paget?! WTF!

[Jean-marcel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit of a windy affair, I thought, although there were some unsettling accounts of rape and female degradation. No need to describe the plot as the synopsis tells you the facts you need to know about this 700-page monster that ambles back and forth between legal and domestic drama.

The legal stuff is all right, though extremely repetitive, and would probably go over well in a movie. I know plenty of people love courtroom drama and there is some meat here, though it takes about 400 pages to get there and one often gets the feeling proceedings are just wandering around in circles. I also can't say it's exactly wrapped up in a satisfactory manner. Was it the prosecutor who was also looking for the two missing tapes? If so, why didn't she find them? It would have been better, I think, if the rather sympathetic judge had suspected that Christopher had the tapes in question, but she never suggests this to be the case. While by the end I had some empathy for Mary Carelli, the truth certainly doesn't win out in the case as the testimony built in her defense was flimsy indeed, and I can imagine the non-resolution frustrating many.

The domestic side of the story is plodding and long-winded. IN order to be ok with that one has to care rather deeply about these characters, and I'm afraid I just didn't. Much of it, particularly the stuff involving Chris, Carlo and Mary, just comes off as pages and pages of angst and recrimination. As someone who has never really lived in a "stable" family, I found that while it all sort of resonated with me, it was mostly in a "yeah yeah, been there, done that, let's move on" kind of way. The thing is that the book subscribes to this modern notion of children needing to be cushioned and protected until the day they go to college or something, when the switch is metaphorically turned and they suddenly become "adults". As someone else in the reviews here pointed out, Carlo is fifteen, not eight ... he doesn't really need to be coddled that much. There's also, I think, a fundamental misunderstanding about children and their memories, which are much longer than some would assume, and I haven't any doubt at all that Carlo should have remembered what it was like to be living with Mary's parents and the psychological stress he underwent before Chris took him under his wing. The book, however, seems to suggest that memories before the age of ten are vague and half-formed at best by the time a person heads into the teen years.

While there's some wit and acceptable snappiness to the courtroom scenes, it's not enough to recommend this repetitive, lengthy potboiler. The strongest reaction I had was to the several accounts of rape, which are told by the victims at various points and are not comfortable reading, nor are they supposed to be. They're told with respect and, from what I can tell, an admirable understanding and empathy for those who have suffered similar assault in life. I'm not sure that "the book occasionally succeeds in making one's stomach churn" is exactly a glowing endorsement, but between gaining an understanding of what it must be like for rape victims, and the court battle, I can imagine this working out pretty well for some readers.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good legal case study, well-written and with good characters. I really want to say I enjoyed the book, but it became ponderous. One of those "am I really STILL reading this book?" I haven't read a Patterson in a while and I did not read the first novel in this series. I don't think I'll run out and buy the next one, either.

A good author, a decent book, but perhaps too overdone.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary, the mother of Christopher Paget's son shows up after a 7 year absence, asking him to defend her against a murder charge. Christopher has raised Carlo on his own and only reluctantly takes the case. There is bad blood between Mary & Christopher which goes back to Paterson's book, the Lasko Tangent and is a precursor to Conviction but stands very well on its own. Patterson has a great talent for creating complex and intriguing characters with very intelligent, compelling story lines. Highly Recommended.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense and saddening representation of the horrible sexual crimes that men do to women, and of the pains and lives of the victims. I felt uncomfortable and outraged. Other than those themes, most of it was intense and engaging—even if it did drag on a bit.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost kept my attention from beginning to end, although I did think it felt as if scenes were being repeated at times making me feel like skimming. Some salacious & explicit scenes in particular.
But having said that, there were enough twists & turns, secrets & such to keep one wondering how everything would actually play out. Strong characters on all sides.

[Jyotsna · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I chose this book out of my 'bookshelf-inventory' list, I wasn't sure of what was to come. And now I am happy that I have been introduced to another awesome author who writes legal thrillers. much better than John Grisham.

The book is thoroughly researched and I won't be surprised if this is introduced as a case study for lawyers on the defense counterpart; A magnificent eye opener and educator in American law (for someone is not American).

Let us start with the plot...

Chris (short for Christopher) Paget is a famous lawyer who took down The President many years ago and his assistant Terri (short for Teresa) Peralta is out of law school and learning a lot about defense from Chris.




When Mary Carelli is accused of killing Mark Ransom, a famous author, she calls her son Carlo's father Chris in order to set up a defense for her.



The situation is complex for Chris as he is obliged to take the case for the sake of Carlo, for he does not want to disappoint anyone close to the only person he has in his life - his son.



What trails after Chris is announced as the defense lawyer is a tale of twists, deceit and lies. With no real story to stick to, Chris is forced to defend Mary; He doesn't know what happened between Mark Ransom and Mary Carelli, except that he tried to rape her and she killed him.

Is Mary telling everyone the truth?

Did something else occur in the hotel room?

A legal thriller in all sense.

In Conclusion

The book is worth the read! Better than any John Grisham to be honest.

[Olutosin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once heard from someone some time ago that a good book is usually well-defined in its title. That was exactly what I had just found out in this novel that I finished just now.
Mary Carelli was a successful TV journalist but with some dark secrets that are worth killing for. Mr. Ransom on the other hand was a psychopath, whose dark sexual appetite eventually made him cross paths with Mary an encounter that changed both of their lives forever.
The hotel suit where Ransom scheduled Mary to meet him to be sexually exploited became the venue of his death and the beginning of so many exploitative experiences for me as a reader. Even though the prosecution was able to see through Mary's story of self-defense for killing Ransom, both the D.A. leader and his subordinate's ambition did not stop them both from filing a suit against her. It got so intense to the point that the question was no longer why Mary killed Ransom, but to what degree was her guilty. I am still learning how to be a good reviewer, but believe me if you are a lover of the law profession and you are yet to read this novel, you obviously do not know to what degree how miss out you are unless you read it.
This is the first time I am reading a novel from this author and I must say he has won to himself another fan.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book in March. It started off with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, about 1/3 of the way through I realized I simply didn't like any of the characters so it was hard to care what became of them. At that point Degree of Guilt became my back up book, to be read when nothing better was on my night stand. After a couple months I started skipping through. I probably read the first third, a few short middle sections and the final 5% so maybe I inadvertently skipped over some great parts that would have drawn me back in, but I don't think so. Time to put it on my did-not-finish shelf.

[Leyendecker1874 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just reads like it was written in the early nineties, which is no fault of the author I suppose, but it’s just a bit much -extra, as the kids say these days.
I kept counting the pages till I was finished and that’s never a good sign. I think it would’ve benefited from a more brutal editor.
It was as if the book was just throwing it all on, and prescribing to some predetermined formula some publisher ascribed to in order to make a best-seller. And I guess to that end it worked.
I read this as it’s been on my self for over a decade and I decided I should read or donate. If it got lost with time I think that would be an okay thing.

[Teeliles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book years ago, and identified quite strongly -- for reasons of my own -- with the young attorney Terri Peralta. Now that I'm more removed from my own situation I can see the sometimes glaring flaws in the plot, at least from a trial lawyer's perspective. The thinly-veiled characters of Mark Ransom, Laura Chase and James Colt are a little too obvious, at least to readers of my generation. Still, Patterson writes an intelligent legal thriller and one that keeps the reader engaged throughout.

[Meonwanderer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished "degree of guilt". Bit of a struggle to get through it. Some disturbing aspects about the crime scene and evidence that make for uncomfortable reading. Legal elements a bit tortuous. Liked the judge, not keen on any of the other characters. Didn't realise it was part of a trilogy until reading reviews on here. Don't think I'll be troubling myself to pick up the other two parts.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

You end up reading the same descriptions of what happened at least five times. Once when it happened, second time as it is described to the police, third time as it is described to her lawyer, fourh time in court and a filth time when the truth is sprinkled in. Ending is also weak.

[Maria Smallwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the end, a decent story. But such a hard book to read. So much detail about nonsense that doesn't matter to the story. I almost didn't want to finish this. It took me longer to read because i couldn't stay interested.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good courtroom drama from what I recall.

[Richa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of sensationalism here, a lot of emotions, a lot of repetetions, hence this length. But I can understand why this book would be a bestseller when it first came out.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually haven't read many legal thrillers. The one before this I remember best was Grisham's The Firm and the one I read just before this was Lescroart's Hard Evidence. Patterson has it all over Lescroart, who within a hundred pages showed he knew nothing of the law, completely losing credibility. And credibility is important, whether you're writing about a nuclear submarine or medieval London. Patterson, who worked as a trial attorney and was a liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor, has credibility to burn. As for Grisham. Well, The Firm is about lawyers, Degree of Guilt is more about the law. The Firm immerses you in the seductive lure of a plush rich corporate firm. The law isn't really what it's about. Degree of Guilt is about a murder case--and rape. Not who--we know that from the beginning. But how, why, and what degree of guilt should be assigned Mary Carelli in the killing of Mark Ransom. And in the book the defense lawyer Christopher Paget takes some real risks gaming the legal system that make for a suspenseful page-turning story.

And yes, in some ways it is a trashy book. The kind where every character teases you by reminding you (or being an obvious stand in) for a real life public figure. There's a scandalous tape of Laura Chase (Marilyn Monroe) involving the charismatic Senator Who-Cares-About-Social-Justice James Colt (Jack Kennedy) who died a tragic death. There's the famous starlet turned producer and feminist social activist with a famous father Lindsay Caldwell (Jane Fonda). There's our murder victim Mark Ransom (Norman Mailer), the Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist who is "America's most famous living writer." There's the accused murderer Mary Carelli (Diane Sawyer?) who is a renowned television journalist who interviews the likes of Anwar Sadat and once worked for a Republican administration ridden with scandal. The hero of the novel, Christopher Paget, given he was involved investigating a Watergate-like scandal, seems a stand-in for Patterson himself. This is the trashiest aspect of the book, no question. While the novel is not really a roman a clef, the characters are close enough to real life counterparts for me to feel a bit voyeuristic at times. I was also bothered with how close the characters fell into certain stereotypes. The good characters full of integrity are identifiably liberals; the bad, manipulative "social Darwinist" characters are more than hinted to be Republicans. Also, through Part One--about the first 100 pages--the characters left me cold, cold, cold.

They grew on me though. And one character in particular who started out as despicable did turn out to be more complex that it first appeared, another who appeared cold turn out to have good reasons, and yet another character who I did like from the beginning grew to have more and more of a role. So if you found yourself not liking any of the characters in the first quarter of the book, you might want to hold on a bit longer--things aren't how they first appear.

I also appreciated how the novel handled the matter of rape which figures into the mystery. There are several different rape victims who tell their stories in the book. Unlike in so many cases this comes up in popular fiction, those depictions didn't come across as titillating or exploitative. Maybe because they're told by the victims themselves to another well after what happened, putting some distance between the act and the reader, yet leaving you aching for the person involved. One telling in particular was harrowing to read. And each experience was woven in tightly into the mystery of Mark Ransom's death at the hands of Mary Carelli. Through those experiences Patterson also holds up to scrutiny how we handle cases of rape in America. Not bad for a trashy pop thriller. This is a sequel by the way--there's an earlier Christopher Paget book. But I didn't feel lost because I hadn't read it.

[Lorraine Cobcroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

It got off to a bit of a rocky start, for me at least. I almost put it down. But the back cover held my interest and I persevered. Glad I did!

It was gripping: beautifully written; full of emotion and wisdom; packed with drama; rich with unexpected twists and turns, and came to a heart-stopping climax. The characters found their way into my life and into my heart. Patterson brought them to life so superbly - even Mary won my sympathy, despite her flaws. She sinned, but she was so real, and one could not help but feel for her. And while I couldn't like the female prosecutor, I had to admire and respect her.

I have to agree with reviewers that it has the ingredients of a blockbuster; that it's mesmeric; and that it proves its author belongs among the elite. LA Times compares him to Grisham. I like Grisham, but personally I don't think he rates beside Patterson! I must get my hands on more of more of Patterson's works. I've added him to my list of favorite authors to read... but he's also on the list of those I hate because they make me, as a writer, feel dreadfully inadequate.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of Richard North Patterson's legal thrillers. This one revolves around Christopher Paget, a lawyer who had previously brought down a president with the help of Mary Carelli. Now a high profile TV journalist, and mother of his child. She has called him to the police station where she is being held after shooting dead Mark Ransom, America's pre-eminent novelist. The only thing certain is that she did shoot him, but why?[return][return]This book is stuffed full of twists and turns that you never see coming. Another solid Patterson read, I wonder why the have not been adapted for the screen in the same way that John Grisham has.

[Linda Gosslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book, chronologically, featuring Christopher Paget. Having met him and Mary Carelli in The Lasko Tangent, I was interested in seeing what the future held for them.
It is many years later. We learn that a child was born from the brief intimacy shared by Chris and Mary. Mary is accused of murder and Chris is fathering Carlos, a child he never met until he was 7 years old. The dynamics of the relationship between his parents and the ongoing investigation and trial are well written and absorbing.

[Bobbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting so long as the author kept to the crux of the story, the crime and the trial, but he likes to go off on his personal relationships and gives us TMI. Also, in my opinion, he goes a bit overboard with the sexual aspects surrounding the crime....it got a bit gaggy at times. However, that being said, I am stubborn enough to finish out the series and will now go on to read "Eyes of a Child," the last of three in this crime/courtroom drama series.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patterson's books are normally wonderful and this one is no different. There are twists and turns that you do not expect and cannot see coming. The characters are well drawn and the plot, as I said, keeps bringing surprises. A wonderful read. You hate to put it down.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"

[Shaari Arthur · Rating 1 out of 5]

tI usually like Richard North Patterson, but this book was not up to his usual quality. Thought the court case had a lot of holes in it. characters were not as deep as I am used to him having in other books. Plus, if you didn't read the prequel (which I didn't ), it's annoying because it is referenced a lot.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably good read. I sometimes found the characters far fetched, and I'm not quite sure that I bought into the ending ...but entertaining and distracting which is what I look for in a "page turner".

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up in a holiday house and wished I hadn't. The plot was contrived and repetitive, the writing mediocre and the characters unattractive. Eventually I gave up and skipped to the end which was completely predictable.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd of the Cristopher Paget series...The woman from the Lasko Tangent and mother of Paget's son is accused of murder and the ensuing trial opens many wounds...okay read only

[Rupesh Goenka · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is hard to describe whether the book is a courtroom thriller or a family drama.. Poor End.. I would not recommend this author to my friends..

[Sue Shipley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has too much thinking and talking, not very much action. Touches on many distasteful topics

[Juanita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, but severely marred by SO many typos in the edition I had - Arrow Books 1993.