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Robert Tarza #2
Long Knives
Jenna James's life has been smooth-sailing since she left the high-powered law firm of Marbury Marfan. She's happily ensconced as a professor at a prestigious law school, where she's well liked by her students, coupled-up with a handsome colleague, and on track for tenure. But things take a shocking turn one morning when a student, Primo, comes to Jenna's office seeking her advice about a treasure map he recently inherited. When Primo turns up dead and Jenna is suddenly the prime suspect in a murder investigation, everyone turns on her. Desperate for help, she calls on two old friends: Robert Tarza, her old law partner from Marbury Marfan, and Oscar Quesana, an odd-duck solo practitioner. The three race to save Jenna's career — and perhaps her life — in this whip-smart thriller of treasure maps, murder, and law school politics.
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2014
205 people are currently reading
1195 people want to read
About the author
Charles Rosenberg
6 books49 followersCharles (“Chuck”) Rosenberg’s latest novel (his fifth) is the alternate history thriller The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington. It imagines what might have happened if the British, in the midst of the Revolution, had kidnapped George Washington and taken him back to England to be tried for high treason.
Chuck’s interest in the American Revolution was first piqued when his 5th grade teacher made him memorize Longfellow’s The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. To this day, he can still recite it if you ask him to (his wife, however, requests that you not ask). His interest continued in college, where he majored in history, with a particular penchant for studying the Revolution.
Now that his American Revolution novel is done and soon to be released, Chuck is at work on a new alternative history, set six months before the start of the Civil War, a period of extreme political stress, but one that has not figured as much in fiction as the Civil War itself.
The first novel Rosenberg ever wrote (we will skip talking about the one he never finished because that was truly a long time ago) was the legal thriller Death on a High Floor, which became an Amazon best-seller in 2014. It’s about the murder of the managing partner of a large international law firm. Rosenberg is quick to point out that the large firms in which he was a partner were really quite nice places; unlike the firm in the novel. That novel was followed by two sequels and the start of a new series in Write to Die, which is set in a glitzy entertainment law firm in Hollywood.
Prior to turning to writing fiction (and in addition to practicing law), Chuck was 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). During the O .J. Simpson criminal trial, he was one of two on-air legal analysts for E! Entertainment Television's live coverage of the trial. He also provided commentary for E!'s coverage of the Simpson civil trial.
Rosenberg has also taught extensively as an adjunct law professor, including at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (where he currently teaches the course "Law and Popular Culture"), the Loyola Law School International LLM Program in Bologna, Italy, the UCLA School of Law, the Pepperdine School of Law, and the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
A graduate of Antioch College and the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Chuck currently practices in the Los Angeles area where he lives with his wife, who is the very effective “in-house” initial editor of everything he writes.
Chuck’s interest in the American Revolution was first piqued when his 5th grade teacher made him memorize Longfellow’s The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. To this day, he can still recite it if you ask him to (his wife, however, requests that you not ask). His interest continued in college, where he majored in history, with a particular penchant for studying the Revolution.
Now that his American Revolution novel is done and soon to be released, Chuck is at work on a new alternative history, set six months before the start of the Civil War, a period of extreme political stress, but one that has not figured as much in fiction as the Civil War itself.
The first novel Rosenberg ever wrote (we will skip talking about the one he never finished because that was truly a long time ago) was the legal thriller Death on a High Floor, which became an Amazon best-seller in 2014. It’s about the murder of the managing partner of a large international law firm. Rosenberg is quick to point out that the large firms in which he was a partner were really quite nice places; unlike the firm in the novel. That novel was followed by two sequels and the start of a new series in Write to Die, which is set in a glitzy entertainment law firm in Hollywood.
Prior to turning to writing fiction (and in addition to practicing law), Chuck was 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). During the O .J. Simpson criminal trial, he was one of two on-air legal analysts for E! Entertainment Television's live coverage of the trial. He also provided commentary for E!'s coverage of the Simpson civil trial.
Rosenberg has also taught extensively as an adjunct law professor, including at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (where he currently teaches the course "Law and Popular Culture"), the Loyola Law School International LLM Program in Bologna, Italy, the UCLA School of Law, the Pepperdine School of Law, and the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.
A graduate of Antioch College and the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Chuck currently practices in the Los Angeles area where he lives with his wife, who is the very effective “in-house” initial editor of everything he writes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 244 reviews
April 27, 2016
I love a good mystery. And I thought I had found one when I started this book. A mysterious death, a treasure map, a murder plot? Yep, I was all in. The book was flowing along initially, then somewhere along the way, it quit being a mystery and became an exercise in tedium.
Jenna James, highly paid attorney turned law professor up for tenure.She ends up with one of her students dead in her office.While the police are looking at her for the murder, she believes someone is out to kill her. Initially intriguing, but too soon a big yawn.
Jenna is a legend in her own mind. She knows it all,does it all. And this reader kept wondering how she got to be such a learned attorney, when she makes the most basic of mistakes....repeatedly. Then when she hires a former boss/mentor and former client, it all clicks. She is truly a product of her environment. They are as self involved and legally clueless as she is.
I finished this book. And thanks to Kindle First, it didn't cost me anything. That's the best I can say.
Jenna James, highly paid attorney turned law professor up for tenure.She ends up with one of her students dead in her office.While the police are looking at her for the murder, she believes someone is out to kill her. Initially intriguing, but too soon a big yawn.
Jenna is a legend in her own mind. She knows it all,does it all. And this reader kept wondering how she got to be such a learned attorney, when she makes the most basic of mistakes....repeatedly. Then when she hires a former boss/mentor and former client, it all clicks. She is truly a product of her environment. They are as self involved and legally clueless as she is.
I finished this book. And thanks to Kindle First, it didn't cost me anything. That's the best I can say.
March 4, 2014
About 66 pages in, it occurs to me that I am not enjoying this book, I probably won't ever enjoy this book and I have two walls of crammed-full bookshelves, not to mention 100 books on my kindle. I used to be a completist, but I'm not any more and it is very liberating. I doubt my last words will be "I wish I spent more time with books that bored me."
First thing I disliked about this book: Rosenberg describes everything. Every little thing. And either all of it is important or none of it is, because absolutely everything gets described in painful, miniscule detail. In a thriller, I want to look for clues and feel like I'm putting together pieces. Here, I felt like I was looking through a microscope at a beach full of sand.
Also: The main character (who's name I can't remember, even though I literally gave up on this book only fifteen minutes ago. Either my memory's going or I didn't care about this book THAT MUCH) is grating and self-absorbed. I myself am grating and self-absorbed, so I already get enough of that in my life and I don't need to read a whole book from that point-of-view.
First thing I disliked about this book: Rosenberg describes everything. Every little thing. And either all of it is important or none of it is, because absolutely everything gets described in painful, miniscule detail. In a thriller, I want to look for clues and feel like I'm putting together pieces. Here, I felt like I was looking through a microscope at a beach full of sand.
Also: The main character (who's name I can't remember, even though I literally gave up on this book only fifteen minutes ago. Either my memory's going or I didn't care about this book THAT MUCH) is grating and self-absorbed. I myself am grating and self-absorbed, so I already get enough of that in my life and I don't need to read a whole book from that point-of-view.
February 10, 2014
Very slow, very tedious, and a missed opportunity to utilize some interesting characters
In the description of this book, I was,told that it centered around a treasure hunt, that I would learn a few things and that it was an exciting adventure. Unfortunately, the story was none of those things. The first thing I noticed was that the author spent way too much time describing things. So much so that as I was reading, I thought that all of this detail was important for me to know to figure out something later in the book (I love a good murder mystery). But it wasn't, it was just detail for the sake of detail. For example, the author spends half of a chapter describing a "sabbatical" that one of the lawyers takes where he goes "off the grid" - I thought this must be setting the stage for something. No, just information for me. In the end, the entire mystery was solved surprisingly in the last three pages in a way that was completely anti climatic.
I gave the book two stars instead of one because I did like the main character with her back story and all of her quirks. (although, I could have inferred her coffee addiction without being told about it every other chapter) All in all, I think that the author missed the opportunity to do something great with a group of interesting characters in a different situation. I wouldn't recommend.
In the description of this book, I was,told that it centered around a treasure hunt, that I would learn a few things and that it was an exciting adventure. Unfortunately, the story was none of those things. The first thing I noticed was that the author spent way too much time describing things. So much so that as I was reading, I thought that all of this detail was important for me to know to figure out something later in the book (I love a good murder mystery). But it wasn't, it was just detail for the sake of detail. For example, the author spends half of a chapter describing a "sabbatical" that one of the lawyers takes where he goes "off the grid" - I thought this must be setting the stage for something. No, just information for me. In the end, the entire mystery was solved surprisingly in the last three pages in a way that was completely anti climatic.
I gave the book two stars instead of one because I did like the main character with her back story and all of her quirks. (although, I could have inferred her coffee addiction without being told about it every other chapter) All in all, I think that the author missed the opportunity to do something great with a group of interesting characters in a different situation. I wouldn't recommend.
April 5, 2014
Did not finish. This author seems to specialize in having highly educated attorneys do things that are so stupid that most people would know NOT to do them after watching two episodes of Law and Order.
May 13, 2017
Okay, first of all, I read this out of order! This is the second Robert Tarza/Jenna James book, but I read it third (after reading the third book, Paris Ransom, immediately after reading the first.) So I think my comments about Paris Ransom (review here) were mostly valid, but some of my confusion was because I missed that another book had happened between them.
So anyway, this is the sequel to Death On a High Floor. Five years after that case, in which Jenna, the up-and-coming young associate at the Marbury Marfan law firm, helped defend her mentor, Robert Tarza, on a murder charge, she has quit Big Law and become a professor at the UCLA law school. This left her estranged from Tarza, and they haven't really spoken since. Meanwhile, she is dating a fellow law professor, while Robert has moved to Paris to live with his young, rich girlfriend.
The MacGuffin in this novel is, believe it or not, a treasure map. Jenna is actually teaching a class on Admiralty Law, and so has researched a lot about sunken treasure, laws of salvage, the business and difficulties of mounting expeditions to go searching for lost ships, etc. That establishes a reason for a young Italian student to come to her office with, supposedly, a "treasure map" (i.e., the location of a sunken, and as-yet unlooted, Spanish galleon), asking for advice.
Jenna leaves briefly to take a phone call. When she comes back, the student has been poisoned. He's taken to the hospital, dies later, and Professor James, who is up for tenure, suddenly finds herself the subject of both a civil lawsuit and a criminal investigation, both of which are severely complicating her tenure bid.
Long Knives refers to academic politics, which is what it turns out are really driving much of the scheming in this book. There is never an actual trial - instead, we're given an "informal" trial in which a university grievance committee, under the guise of hearing a fellow professor's complaint about Jenna, effectively turns into a murder trial. The set-up for this is technically possible but a little hard to believe, as is some of Jenna's behavior. Meanwhile, her friends Robert and Oscar from the previous book have their own chapters investigating everything from old Spanish treasure maps to Jenna's academic enemies.
This was an enjoyable book, and better than the third book, but not as good as the first. While the series is referred to as the "Robert Tarza" series, Tarza is really a secondary character in this one. I found Jenna to be, frankly, rather unsympathetic. Believable, but unsympathetic. She more or less "likes" her wealthy boyfriend, but clearly does not love him, despite the great sex, and debates whether she's willing to "settle" for him because he's rich. She gets very emotional and irrational at times and tends to be a jerk, even to friends and family. This makes her complicated and certainly anything but a perfect protagonist, but sometimes I thought she needed a slap.
I'm happy I've discovered Charles Rosenberg's legal thrillers, but I'd have to say that so far, he's best when he's actually sticking to courtroom thrillers and not inventing elaborate justifications for "inquisitions" that are not actually trials, to accompany a murder mystery.
So anyway, this is the sequel to Death On a High Floor. Five years after that case, in which Jenna, the up-and-coming young associate at the Marbury Marfan law firm, helped defend her mentor, Robert Tarza, on a murder charge, she has quit Big Law and become a professor at the UCLA law school. This left her estranged from Tarza, and they haven't really spoken since. Meanwhile, she is dating a fellow law professor, while Robert has moved to Paris to live with his young, rich girlfriend.
The MacGuffin in this novel is, believe it or not, a treasure map. Jenna is actually teaching a class on Admiralty Law, and so has researched a lot about sunken treasure, laws of salvage, the business and difficulties of mounting expeditions to go searching for lost ships, etc. That establishes a reason for a young Italian student to come to her office with, supposedly, a "treasure map" (i.e., the location of a sunken, and as-yet unlooted, Spanish galleon), asking for advice.
Jenna leaves briefly to take a phone call. When she comes back, the student has been poisoned. He's taken to the hospital, dies later, and Professor James, who is up for tenure, suddenly finds herself the subject of both a civil lawsuit and a criminal investigation, both of which are severely complicating her tenure bid.
Long Knives refers to academic politics, which is what it turns out are really driving much of the scheming in this book. There is never an actual trial - instead, we're given an "informal" trial in which a university grievance committee, under the guise of hearing a fellow professor's complaint about Jenna, effectively turns into a murder trial. The set-up for this is technically possible but a little hard to believe, as is some of Jenna's behavior. Meanwhile, her friends Robert and Oscar from the previous book have their own chapters investigating everything from old Spanish treasure maps to Jenna's academic enemies.
This was an enjoyable book, and better than the third book, but not as good as the first. While the series is referred to as the "Robert Tarza" series, Tarza is really a secondary character in this one. I found Jenna to be, frankly, rather unsympathetic. Believable, but unsympathetic. She more or less "likes" her wealthy boyfriend, but clearly does not love him, despite the great sex, and debates whether she's willing to "settle" for him because he's rich. She gets very emotional and irrational at times and tends to be a jerk, even to friends and family. This makes her complicated and certainly anything but a perfect protagonist, but sometimes I thought she needed a slap.
I'm happy I've discovered Charles Rosenberg's legal thrillers, but I'd have to say that so far, he's best when he's actually sticking to courtroom thrillers and not inventing elaborate justifications for "inquisitions" that are not actually trials, to accompany a murder mystery.
February 19, 2014
I'm glad I got this free as a Kindle First, otherwise I would be mad at myself for wasting my money on this one. This was particularly frustrating because I think there might have been a decent book in here trying to get out - if only there had been a real treasure hunt! - but it was beaten back by the stilted dialog and poor pacing. And so many red herrings and pointless digressions - why the need for two points of view? And why, oh why, did we need to know about every single drop of coffee that woman consumed???
November 1, 2018
This is a decent book while you are reading it, It is fairly straight forward and not complex. It rather reminds me of some sort of TV mystery show plot. It is a sequel to High Floor but there is no need to read that book if you don't want to. Now it is Jenna who is suspected of murder. She has left the prestigious law firm M&M and become a law professor at UCLA. She hasn't seen either Robert or Oscar in several years and she is waiting to learn whether or not she will get Tenure. Things go horribly wrong when an early morning meeting with a student from her Admiralty law seminar falls ill in her office. This quickly turns into a murder / treasure mystery.
Jenna repeated does things that are stupid, dumb, hard headed or against legal advice. One of my pet peeves about the book is that there are too many characters / subplots that don't get filled out sufficiently. In the previous book the case didn't get to trial only to the prelim. In this book we don't even get that far instead it is resolved at a University discipline board.
I consider it a decent mystery because I was surprised by who the baddie was.
Jenna repeated does things that are stupid, dumb, hard headed or against legal advice. One of my pet peeves about the book is that there are too many characters / subplots that don't get filled out sufficiently. In the previous book the case didn't get to trial only to the prelim. In this book we don't even get that far instead it is resolved at a University discipline board.
I consider it a decent mystery because I was surprised by who the baddie was.
September 14, 2020
I read this book through the Kindle First program. It is a sequel to Death on a High Floor, which I have not read. I gave the book three stars for the entertaining and well-paced mystery. I only gave it three stars because it didn't amount to much more than that.
The story centers on Jenna James, a high-powered-attorney-turned-law-professor at UCLA. Ms. James is on the cusp of earning tenure until a student mysteriously falls ill during a meeting with her and subsequently dies. She becomes the main suspect in his death, but she comes to believe that she was the intended target of the real killer. Jenna is a decent main character: smart, capable, and blunt at just the right moments. I cared about what happened to her, found her amusing, believed (mostly) in her relationships with other characters, and enjoyed following her train of thought as she fit the pieces together.
This book reminded me of the Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton, if Kinsey Millhone had email instead of an answering service. The story is told in a straightforward first-person voice and basically in real-time. You experience the story's events and learn clues at the same pace as the main characters. Occasionally the narration switches to the point-of-view of Jenna's legal mentor, who she enlists in her defense. This might have been more significant to my enjoyment of the story if I had read the first book, but it felt a little bit tacked on for me. There isn't a lot of action in terms of car chases or fist fights, more legal procedure and academic jargon. That didn’t bother me, but it depends on what you like. You also won't find much in terms of a love angle, if that's what you're looking for. There is a romantic element, but I found it to be fairly anemic and a bit beside-the-point, in terms of how it fit in with the main story line. There was an obvious slate of suspects, but the author kept me (mostly) guessing about the killer’s identity until the end.
I gave the book three stars because it was light and interesting enough to keep me reading. It was a fun book to power through in a weekend. However, it wasn’t distinctive enough in either the plot or the writing to earn more than three stars.
The story centers on Jenna James, a high-powered-attorney-turned-law-professor at UCLA. Ms. James is on the cusp of earning tenure until a student mysteriously falls ill during a meeting with her and subsequently dies. She becomes the main suspect in his death, but she comes to believe that she was the intended target of the real killer. Jenna is a decent main character: smart, capable, and blunt at just the right moments. I cared about what happened to her, found her amusing, believed (mostly) in her relationships with other characters, and enjoyed following her train of thought as she fit the pieces together.
This book reminded me of the Alphabet Mysteries by Sue Grafton, if Kinsey Millhone had email instead of an answering service. The story is told in a straightforward first-person voice and basically in real-time. You experience the story's events and learn clues at the same pace as the main characters. Occasionally the narration switches to the point-of-view of Jenna's legal mentor, who she enlists in her defense. This might have been more significant to my enjoyment of the story if I had read the first book, but it felt a little bit tacked on for me. There isn't a lot of action in terms of car chases or fist fights, more legal procedure and academic jargon. That didn’t bother me, but it depends on what you like. You also won't find much in terms of a love angle, if that's what you're looking for. There is a romantic element, but I found it to be fairly anemic and a bit beside-the-point, in terms of how it fit in with the main story line. There was an obvious slate of suspects, but the author kept me (mostly) guessing about the killer’s identity until the end.
I gave the book three stars because it was light and interesting enough to keep me reading. It was a fun book to power through in a weekend. However, it wasn’t distinctive enough in either the plot or the writing to earn more than three stars.
November 2, 2020
Overall, I enjoyed the book. Set primarily in Los Angeles, it's a legal thriller about a UCLA professor involved in the death of a student. The story, told mainly from the perspective of the professor, Jenna James, moved quickly although it did drag on in a couple of areas. In particular the on again, off again relationship with her love interest. I enjoyed discovering the "burial" place of Christopher Columbus. I deducted one star because of Jenna's use of Aldous' toothbrush! Really? People do that? Keep a spare!
December 28, 2014
I enjoyed this book, but gave it only three stars because there were parts of the story that I didn't find interesting at all. It wasn't the authors fault, I'm just not interested in buried treasure tales. The main character Jenna James, I did like a lot. She's smart, independent, and likes her coffee! (maybe a bit too much, as it's throughout the book often). Other characters were good, even Robert Tarza, her old business partner who seemed to be a little bitter that she had left their law firm a long time ago. Overall, a good book, and I'd try another book by this author.
August 9, 2014
The follow up to the novel "Death on a High Floor," Rosenberg picks up the characters lives 5 years after the conclusion of said novel. While it is not necessary to read the previous novel, as was in my case, there were several references made to prior events that would be better understood by doing so. Nonetheless, I found the plot line very interesting and the characters sufficiently introduced.
The story opens with Jenna James, former associate at the law firm of Marbury Marfan, as a law professor at UCLA who is up for tenure. Although she had no previous experience with Admirality Law, the subject was dropped onto her and she took to it like a fish in water (pardon the pun). One of her students, Primo Giordano, scheduled an appointment to see her early one morning, stating he had something very interesting to show her. When he arrived, he was carrying a red mailing tube and indicated it contained a treasure map inheritted from his grandfather. Before she had a chance to view it, she received a call on her cell, excused herself, and stepped into the empty office across the hall. Upon finishing the call, she returned to her office only to find the door locked and. Since her keys were still inside the office, she called security to open ther door for her. When the door was opened, Primo was slumped over in his chair and in obvious distress. Riding with Primo to the hospital, Jenna forgot all about the treasure map until she returned to find the tube missing. The next thing Jenna knew, she was a person of interest in Primo's death, was being sued by Primo's brother Quinto for stealing the treasure map, and her tenure status was in serious jeopardy.
Finding herself in need of allies, Jenna turns to her old friends from years gone by: Robert Tarza, her mentor at Marbury Marfan, now retired and living in Paris; and Oscar Quensana, a rather odd but capable trial lawyer in solo practice. Jenna has seen neither of these two gentlemen in the five years since she left the firm, apparently wounding some egos in the process. Leaving the past in the past, Robert and Oscar agree to help Jenna out of the mess she found herself in.
While I thought this book would be a legal thriller, I found it to be more about University politics and the struggle to obtain tenure. There was relatively little legal content involved in the main plot line, except for the mistakes the highly educated lawyers, mainly Jenna, seem to make. I guess there is a big difference between teaching the law and practicing the law.
There were also several other minor plot lines, such as: Jenna's foundering relationship with her colleague; her budding relationship with a doctor; her realization that someone may be trying to kill her; the strained relationship between Jenna and roomate/cousin Tommy; the apparent helpfulness of one of her students (later found to be Primo's ex-girlfriend); and the animosity of another law professor who happens to be a member of Jenna's ad hoc tenure committee. I will say that most of these conflicts were settled although it came all at once in the epilogue. I guess it mimicks real life: not all conflicts are resolved.
Overall, I thought this was a decent book. I did not really care for the way the ending came crashing down - almost like driving over a cliff. It did, however, keep my interest and the pges turning.
The story opens with Jenna James, former associate at the law firm of Marbury Marfan, as a law professor at UCLA who is up for tenure. Although she had no previous experience with Admirality Law, the subject was dropped onto her and she took to it like a fish in water (pardon the pun). One of her students, Primo Giordano, scheduled an appointment to see her early one morning, stating he had something very interesting to show her. When he arrived, he was carrying a red mailing tube and indicated it contained a treasure map inheritted from his grandfather. Before she had a chance to view it, she received a call on her cell, excused herself, and stepped into the empty office across the hall. Upon finishing the call, she returned to her office only to find the door locked and. Since her keys were still inside the office, she called security to open ther door for her. When the door was opened, Primo was slumped over in his chair and in obvious distress. Riding with Primo to the hospital, Jenna forgot all about the treasure map until she returned to find the tube missing. The next thing Jenna knew, she was a person of interest in Primo's death, was being sued by Primo's brother Quinto for stealing the treasure map, and her tenure status was in serious jeopardy.
Finding herself in need of allies, Jenna turns to her old friends from years gone by: Robert Tarza, her mentor at Marbury Marfan, now retired and living in Paris; and Oscar Quensana, a rather odd but capable trial lawyer in solo practice. Jenna has seen neither of these two gentlemen in the five years since she left the firm, apparently wounding some egos in the process. Leaving the past in the past, Robert and Oscar agree to help Jenna out of the mess she found herself in.
While I thought this book would be a legal thriller, I found it to be more about University politics and the struggle to obtain tenure. There was relatively little legal content involved in the main plot line, except for the mistakes the highly educated lawyers, mainly Jenna, seem to make. I guess there is a big difference between teaching the law and practicing the law.
There were also several other minor plot lines, such as: Jenna's foundering relationship with her colleague; her budding relationship with a doctor; her realization that someone may be trying to kill her; the strained relationship between Jenna and roomate/cousin Tommy; the apparent helpfulness of one of her students (later found to be Primo's ex-girlfriend); and the animosity of another law professor who happens to be a member of Jenna's ad hoc tenure committee. I will say that most of these conflicts were settled although it came all at once in the epilogue. I guess it mimicks real life: not all conflicts are resolved.
Overall, I thought this was a decent book. I did not really care for the way the ending came crashing down - almost like driving over a cliff. It did, however, keep my interest and the pges turning.
February 14, 2014
Long Knives
By Charles Rosenburg
Available 3/1/14
Downloaded free through Kindle First
Rating: 4 bones
Finish Time: 8ish nights. I keep promising a blog post with some big news, I’ll go ahead and spoil it and then more details are coming. But we are moving. A big move and it’s been a very emotional time, on top of MANY details. So I haven’t been reading AS much, but I still try and get in a chapter or two each night to take me away from reality, and try to clear my mind of the stresses, unknowns, and just craziness of each day.
This book was far from peaceful, but I enjoyed each night being taken into the even more chaotic world of Jenna James. Not my favorite name for a main character, I like Jenna, but I believe that full name bears similarity to a certain, let’s just say, less than wholesome woman. That being said, Jenna was a great main character. She was a former big shot lawyer who left behind the world of courtrooms to pursue a career of teaching and was currently seeking tenure at UCLA. She was very real as her insecurities were felt, but she was always very true to herself and strong in her beliefs. Although her coffee drinking may have been a bit out of hand!
The story begins with one of her students found passed out in her office, and later dying in the hospital. Jenna is almost immediately a suspect and the story proceeds from there. While maintaining her classes, doing research and writing articles, keeping a mysterious boyfriend (in the sense that to me he seemed to be hiding something), having a suspicious nephew as her roommate, someone maybe trying to murder her, a bitter rivalry with a colleague, pursuing tenure , Jenna is thrown into the center of a murder investigation. I’m sure I’m missing a few too, this book is definitely not lacking in the action department. Some characters and story lines are more developed than others; this book definitely had a unique cast of characters.
A big part of the book, but still very random to me, is that Jenna’s area of teaching is admiral law, which I think is law over the oceans, especially dealing with sunken ships (and their treasures.) Just not a topic you’d think of often and a rather odd specialty. The murder also involves a “treasure map”, thus her involvement, but something about it still just seemed a little hokey. My internet is actually down as I am writing this, or else I would probably spend some time on Google finding out if this really is a popular specialty. Or maybe not.
I was torn between the 3 and 4 rating, 3 because the subject matter, as I mentioned, was kind of far-fetched to me, but I guess different, so I don’t want that to be a huge negative. Also I was disappointed with at least one story line that they mentioned at the end, but left as an unknown. But I settled on a 4 because the book really did keep you guessing until the last page. Throughout the book, I found myself forming my own theories, suspecting different people, and wanting to pick it up each evening. It’s a worthwhile read, so I would recommend it.
I always appreciate at pre-read a title and haven’t been disappointed in the Kindle First Program yet!
http://mydogearedpurpose.com/2014/02/...
By Charles Rosenburg
Available 3/1/14
Downloaded free through Kindle First
Rating: 4 bones
Finish Time: 8ish nights. I keep promising a blog post with some big news, I’ll go ahead and spoil it and then more details are coming. But we are moving. A big move and it’s been a very emotional time, on top of MANY details. So I haven’t been reading AS much, but I still try and get in a chapter or two each night to take me away from reality, and try to clear my mind of the stresses, unknowns, and just craziness of each day.
This book was far from peaceful, but I enjoyed each night being taken into the even more chaotic world of Jenna James. Not my favorite name for a main character, I like Jenna, but I believe that full name bears similarity to a certain, let’s just say, less than wholesome woman. That being said, Jenna was a great main character. She was a former big shot lawyer who left behind the world of courtrooms to pursue a career of teaching and was currently seeking tenure at UCLA. She was very real as her insecurities were felt, but she was always very true to herself and strong in her beliefs. Although her coffee drinking may have been a bit out of hand!
The story begins with one of her students found passed out in her office, and later dying in the hospital. Jenna is almost immediately a suspect and the story proceeds from there. While maintaining her classes, doing research and writing articles, keeping a mysterious boyfriend (in the sense that to me he seemed to be hiding something), having a suspicious nephew as her roommate, someone maybe trying to murder her, a bitter rivalry with a colleague, pursuing tenure , Jenna is thrown into the center of a murder investigation. I’m sure I’m missing a few too, this book is definitely not lacking in the action department. Some characters and story lines are more developed than others; this book definitely had a unique cast of characters.
A big part of the book, but still very random to me, is that Jenna’s area of teaching is admiral law, which I think is law over the oceans, especially dealing with sunken ships (and their treasures.) Just not a topic you’d think of often and a rather odd specialty. The murder also involves a “treasure map”, thus her involvement, but something about it still just seemed a little hokey. My internet is actually down as I am writing this, or else I would probably spend some time on Google finding out if this really is a popular specialty. Or maybe not.
I was torn between the 3 and 4 rating, 3 because the subject matter, as I mentioned, was kind of far-fetched to me, but I guess different, so I don’t want that to be a huge negative. Also I was disappointed with at least one story line that they mentioned at the end, but left as an unknown. But I settled on a 4 because the book really did keep you guessing until the last page. Throughout the book, I found myself forming my own theories, suspecting different people, and wanting to pick it up each evening. It’s a worthwhile read, so I would recommend it.
I always appreciate at pre-read a title and haven’t been disappointed in the Kindle First Program yet!
http://mydogearedpurpose.com/2014/02/...
January 12, 2014
Long Knives -- Maybe 3.5 stars
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)."
NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer
Legal Thriller. March 1, 2014. Print version: 502 pages.
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)."
NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer
Legal Thriller. March 1, 2014. Print version: 502 pages.
February 15, 2019
I'm going to start out this review by telling you that I don't usually like or read legal thrillers. Also, I hate it when authors give alliterative names to characters who are not DJs. OK, now that that's out of the way, let's discuss Long Knives which is a legal thriller and the main character, a lawyer by the name of Jenna James.
Actually, the reason I rarely write reviews is because I have a difficult time discussing a book without giving away something. People are so sensitive to spoilers these days and I don't need the harsh feedback. Especially on a book that I just sorta liked.
If this is your first mystery/thriller/crime book, you will probably enjoy it. It's easy enough to get through. I assume, given the credentials of the author, that the law bits are sound. It throws some red herrings in your path. Blah, blah, blah. If this is your 100th mystery/thriller/crime book, you will probably be annoyed by the clunky exposition, the fact that it drags in the middle, the red herrings that are not all that red, and wonder why the author made someone who was apparently a hot shot lawyer at one time, so stupid.
Jenna James (not a DJ), around whom this story focuses, manages to do some really stupid things for a lawyer. Again, I can't explain that without giving away some of the story but, trust me, she does. She should really sit down and watch an episode or two of Law & Order. Also, she has a coffee addiction. We are reminded of this in every chapter.
I wouldn't have found my way to this book if not for the Kindle First program so I downloaded it free. I'll give it 2 stars.
Actually, the reason I rarely write reviews is because I have a difficult time discussing a book without giving away something. People are so sensitive to spoilers these days and I don't need the harsh feedback. Especially on a book that I just sorta liked.
If this is your first mystery/thriller/crime book, you will probably enjoy it. It's easy enough to get through. I assume, given the credentials of the author, that the law bits are sound. It throws some red herrings in your path. Blah, blah, blah. If this is your 100th mystery/thriller/crime book, you will probably be annoyed by the clunky exposition, the fact that it drags in the middle, the red herrings that are not all that red, and wonder why the author made someone who was apparently a hot shot lawyer at one time, so stupid.
Jenna James (not a DJ), around whom this story focuses, manages to do some really stupid things for a lawyer. Again, I can't explain that without giving away some of the story but, trust me, she does. She should really sit down and watch an episode or two of Law & Order. Also, she has a coffee addiction. We are reminded of this in every chapter.
I wouldn't have found my way to this book if not for the Kindle First program so I downloaded it free. I'll give it 2 stars.
February 16, 2014
(This review is copied from the review I wrote for Amazon.)
I received a copy of this as part of the Kindle First program, not realizing it was a sequel. There are references to the first book, but if you have not read it, they merely come off as character background.
The book is divided into two first person points of view -- Jenna James and her now retired attorney Robert Tarza. Tarza's POV chapters come in rather late in the book, and for the most part add very little to the overall story. It is only one of his later chapters, when he goes to Seville, that I was at all interested in being in his head. Perhaps if you've read the first book, you'd be more inclined, but I don't believe so, as his POV chapters tend to be pretty repetitive of Jenna's.
Jenna's chapters also tend to be pretty repetitive themselves. It's as if the author doesn't believe his average reader will understand or remember an important law concept, and so will bring it up two or three times just to drive it home. We also spend a little too much time on the more boring, average things Jenna does, and activities that could be described in one or two sentences takes up a paragraph of exposition. Probably the space could've been better used by diving deeper into detail on sunken ship salvage or the murder and its consequences.
Despite all this and a slow pace in the beginning, it's still a pretty compelling read. It has a very large cast of suspects, all with sufficient opportunity and motive. There's plenty of little twists and turns that I'd hate to spoil, and it kept me guessing right until the very end.
I received a copy of this as part of the Kindle First program, not realizing it was a sequel. There are references to the first book, but if you have not read it, they merely come off as character background.
The book is divided into two first person points of view -- Jenna James and her now retired attorney Robert Tarza. Tarza's POV chapters come in rather late in the book, and for the most part add very little to the overall story. It is only one of his later chapters, when he goes to Seville, that I was at all interested in being in his head. Perhaps if you've read the first book, you'd be more inclined, but I don't believe so, as his POV chapters tend to be pretty repetitive of Jenna's.
Jenna's chapters also tend to be pretty repetitive themselves. It's as if the author doesn't believe his average reader will understand or remember an important law concept, and so will bring it up two or three times just to drive it home. We also spend a little too much time on the more boring, average things Jenna does, and activities that could be described in one or two sentences takes up a paragraph of exposition. Probably the space could've been better used by diving deeper into detail on sunken ship salvage or the murder and its consequences.
Despite all this and a slow pace in the beginning, it's still a pretty compelling read. It has a very large cast of suspects, all with sufficient opportunity and motive. There's plenty of little twists and turns that I'd hate to spoil, and it kept me guessing right until the very end.
July 22, 2014
This is the second book in Rosenberg’s Jenna James’ series. Ms. James is happily teaching a course in the legalities of maritime salvage in spite of not making the money she made as a lawyer for the firm of Marbury Marfan, or M&M as she calls it. In fact, she is firmly on the tenure track.
One of her students, a handsome Italian named Primo Giordano, visits her office one morning wanting advice on a treasure map, purporting to give an exact location of a Spanish galleon that sank in 1641 with a load of valuables. When she steps out of the room to take a private phone call that turns out to be long and tedious, her troubles begin. She returns to her office to find Primo dead and the map nowhere to be found. The cause of death isn’t apparent, but he drank the coffee in her office and she didn’t have any. As the cause of his death narrows down to her coffee, she becomes the prime suspect in Primo’s death.
The extremely detailed courtroom procedural alternates between her disintegrating love life with Aldous Hartleb and the relationships with the two former associates she calls upon to help her through this crisis. Even though James’s nickname in college was Steel Boots, she is in danger of falling apart and losing everything, including her chance at tenure.
Reviewed by Kaye George, author of “Death in the Time of Ice”
One of her students, a handsome Italian named Primo Giordano, visits her office one morning wanting advice on a treasure map, purporting to give an exact location of a Spanish galleon that sank in 1641 with a load of valuables. When she steps out of the room to take a private phone call that turns out to be long and tedious, her troubles begin. She returns to her office to find Primo dead and the map nowhere to be found. The cause of death isn’t apparent, but he drank the coffee in her office and she didn’t have any. As the cause of his death narrows down to her coffee, she becomes the prime suspect in Primo’s death.
The extremely detailed courtroom procedural alternates between her disintegrating love life with Aldous Hartleb and the relationships with the two former associates she calls upon to help her through this crisis. Even though James’s nickname in college was Steel Boots, she is in danger of falling apart and losing everything, including her chance at tenure.
Reviewed by Kaye George, author of “Death in the Time of Ice”
February 24, 2014
I went into this book thinking it wasn't really along the lines of something I would enjoy, and I came out pretty much right. I'm not going to call it a bad book because it certainly isn't, its quite well written in fact. I just had a hard time relating to the characters. First all are in the class of rich and powerful. The main character laments leaving a high six-figure income job for one only making low six figures. She talks about just barely being able to make the unplanned expenses of a new $2000 dress and a Ferrari rental. All the other side characters are much the same, even the collage students mostly running on mommy and daddy's dime. As a legal thriller it is also full of the verbal dance of lawyers, the one designed to mold and shape the perception of the truth rather than uncover it.
As I stated though, technically its a good book. The story is well paced and has a few unexpected twists. I just couldn't find myself getting absorbed into it. If it is one's preferred material it would be great, for me personally I just have to give it a good solid "meh".
As I stated though, technically its a good book. The story is well paced and has a few unexpected twists. I just couldn't find myself getting absorbed into it. If it is one's preferred material it would be great, for me personally I just have to give it a good solid "meh".
March 25, 2014
I confess to having a low threshold for entertainment, especially by legal whodunits, which probably explains why I enjoyed "Long Knives" while many others rated it unsatisfying. I found the novel to be well-written, fast-paced, and the story line intrigued me from the beginning to the ending, which I had not predicted. It really picked up velocity in the final dozen chapters and I devoured them practically non-stop.
I agree with several reviewers that Rosenberg must have a coffee fetish because his main character, Jenna, was more or less obsessed with buying, percolating, imbibing, describing, sharing, and/or coveting the liquid in just about every scene. Given that the death of one of Jenna's law students, Primo, was alleged to have been poisoned by coffee consumed in her faculty office provides some justification for explaining her enjoyment of the stuff; but, really, the references are extremely overdrawn to the point of distraction (i.e., subtract one star). Other than that complaint, I found the story entertaining and engaging.
I agree with several reviewers that Rosenberg must have a coffee fetish because his main character, Jenna, was more or less obsessed with buying, percolating, imbibing, describing, sharing, and/or coveting the liquid in just about every scene. Given that the death of one of Jenna's law students, Primo, was alleged to have been poisoned by coffee consumed in her faculty office provides some justification for explaining her enjoyment of the stuff; but, really, the references are extremely overdrawn to the point of distraction (i.e., subtract one star). Other than that complaint, I found the story entertaining and engaging.
February 6, 2014
A legal thriller that was neither very legal nor very thrilling. The dialogue felt very stilted and the characters' motivations very thin. What could have been a very interesting side story between the main character and a former colleague of hers was never fleshed out and it well could have been, as the book meandered into other less interesting areas, slowing the pace of the read. While I am sure this was an attempt to create suspense and mystery, it ultimately was simply flat and contrived.
December 17, 2015
This book felt like a month long journey through the desert - long, dry, and boring. I don't blame the characters, whom I still like, but rather the story in general. Another highlight was the narration - probably the only reason I will download the third book. I like listening to books while I walk but there aren't many narrators I like.
April 3, 2014
One could be forgiven for thinking this work was published by the coffee industry. Hardly a page goes by that coffee isn't mentioned. That said, it's a good read. I don't think it's up to the standard of Rosenberg's first book "Death On A High Floor" but worth a look none the less.
February 14, 2017
I liked it, but I'm a lawyer...
January 14, 2018
Captivating
I read "Murder on a High Floor" first and then this one. I loved this book! Great characters and intriguing plot.
I read "Murder on a High Floor" first and then this one. I loved this book! Great characters and intriguing plot.
January 12, 2017
I think with a few revisions Long Knives by Charles Rosenberg could be a fantastic book. It is not bad, but there are enough problems that I was continually distracted from the story. I really felt like I was reading a late draft rather than a final product.
First the good. The premise and plot are great. A former lawyer/current UCLA law professor is suspected to have poisoned one of her students and at the same time she is being sued for the return of a treasure map (that the student had at the time of his death and she is accused of stealing). She hires two of her former friends and colleagues to represent her. The story is engaging for the most part and, while it’s not a “can’t put it down” type book, it kept me interested through the whole 500 pages. The story was not entirely predictable and, although I guessed who had actually done it before the big reveal, I changed my mind on who could be the culprit several times (though the why was a bit odd). The grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling are excellent. There is very little foul language, and when it does appear it makes sense to the story.
But then there’s the bad. At least twice the author forgot things he had previously written. In one case, one of the lawyer friends sees her in her classroom and comments on bruises she has (from a bike accident) and then a few scenes later he greets her at his office as if he hadn’t already seen her and wants to know where those bruises came from. The same character later takes a bite from an apple and then a couple pages later starts eating his apple (again, apparently) by removing the peel. A few scenes really did not contribute to the overall story (and actually detracted from it) and could have been cut. Most of the characters were not well-formed, including the main ones. I honestly did not care if someone killed Jenna (the professor) or if she was thrown in jail and I found her and her two lawyer friends to be not so smart, even when it came to litigation. The what seemed like 987 references to drinking or making coffee drove me crazy. The scene where the title of the book appeared in the text was very awkward to me, almost like the author really liked the title and wanted to use it so much (even though it didn’t really make sense for the book as a whole) that he created an odd scene to get it in there.
Overall, I liked Long Knives well enough. I’m not sorry I read it and I didn’t quit reading before the end. I think I would like it a whole lot more if it went through a couple more revisions. I think it totally has the potential to be a 5 star book, but just isn’t as it is currently.
First the good. The premise and plot are great. A former lawyer/current UCLA law professor is suspected to have poisoned one of her students and at the same time she is being sued for the return of a treasure map (that the student had at the time of his death and she is accused of stealing). She hires two of her former friends and colleagues to represent her. The story is engaging for the most part and, while it’s not a “can’t put it down” type book, it kept me interested through the whole 500 pages. The story was not entirely predictable and, although I guessed who had actually done it before the big reveal, I changed my mind on who could be the culprit several times (though the why was a bit odd). The grammar, usage, mechanics, and spelling are excellent. There is very little foul language, and when it does appear it makes sense to the story.
But then there’s the bad. At least twice the author forgot things he had previously written. In one case, one of the lawyer friends sees her in her classroom and comments on bruises she has (from a bike accident) and then a few scenes later he greets her at his office as if he hadn’t already seen her and wants to know where those bruises came from. The same character later takes a bite from an apple and then a couple pages later starts eating his apple (again, apparently) by removing the peel. A few scenes really did not contribute to the overall story (and actually detracted from it) and could have been cut. Most of the characters were not well-formed, including the main ones. I honestly did not care if someone killed Jenna (the professor) or if she was thrown in jail and I found her and her two lawyer friends to be not so smart, even when it came to litigation. The what seemed like 987 references to drinking or making coffee drove me crazy. The scene where the title of the book appeared in the text was very awkward to me, almost like the author really liked the title and wanted to use it so much (even though it didn’t really make sense for the book as a whole) that he created an odd scene to get it in there.
Overall, I liked Long Knives well enough. I’m not sorry I read it and I didn’t quit reading before the end. I think I would like it a whole lot more if it went through a couple more revisions. I think it totally has the potential to be a 5 star book, but just isn’t as it is currently.
March 23, 2020
#cookiereads Long Knives by Charles Rosenberg 💎
Jenna James is a professor of admiralty law at UCLA. She is up for tenure when a student asks for her help for finding a hidden treasure. All the sudden he poisoned in her office and dies!!! Jenna is the prime suspect. What secrets will come out? Who killed Primo and stole the treasure map? 💎
This book was way tooo long. There was so much talking and useless drama. Also useless scenes. What exactly is Aldous purpose in this story or better yet Tommy’s use? Unnecessary characters and scenes as well. Scenes in Jennas classroom discussing depositions and admiralty law did not make sense with the story. As a matter of fact there was so much useless drama at I did not really care who killed who at the end. And I found out who did and why 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Such a disappointment......
If you except to read a treasure hunting story don’t bother reading this book. There is very little to do with that! And whatever happened to the stolen treasure map?????
One paw out of four paws. #corgireads #readingdogsofinstagram #charlesrosenberg #corgiofinstagram #bluemerlecorgi
Jenna James is a professor of admiralty law at UCLA. She is up for tenure when a student asks for her help for finding a hidden treasure. All the sudden he poisoned in her office and dies!!! Jenna is the prime suspect. What secrets will come out? Who killed Primo and stole the treasure map? 💎
This book was way tooo long. There was so much talking and useless drama. Also useless scenes. What exactly is Aldous purpose in this story or better yet Tommy’s use? Unnecessary characters and scenes as well. Scenes in Jennas classroom discussing depositions and admiralty law did not make sense with the story. As a matter of fact there was so much useless drama at I did not really care who killed who at the end. And I found out who did and why 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Such a disappointment......
If you except to read a treasure hunting story don’t bother reading this book. There is very little to do with that! And whatever happened to the stolen treasure map?????
One paw out of four paws. #corgireads #readingdogsofinstagram #charlesrosenberg #corgiofinstagram #bluemerlecorgi
September 27, 2019
Full disclosure--I am a USC grad. The author must be a UCLA grad because it seems the school name is mentioned at every possible opportunity. This reader does not need to be beaten over the head with the fact that the security guard is a UCLA security guard, that the ambulance is a UCLA ambulance and on and on. (Plus the author should have known that the campus has a full blown police force.) I read less than 50 pages and just couldn't stand wasting another minute.
January 12, 2019
the book was an interesting story to follow. However, it just ended abruptly. there was no resolution to certain problems and I believed that they should have been solved. So in my opinion, the end was a disappointment. I would have loved to see what happened to the map and found out who killed the victim. All in all, it was a great book, minus the ending.
January 5, 2020
My rating is a 3.75. This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it. Having been familiar with the main characters from the first novel-it was easy to slip back into the world of this legal thriller. It’s quick paced and includes twists and turns to move the plot on. Definitely recommend it.
December 26, 2017
I am 1/3 of the way through this book and still cannot tell what this story is about. Usually I love books and stories like this and I think the good idea is there but it is being suffocated by too much detail. Three pages to describe the main character's bike is far too much.
September 5, 2018
Twists and turns
This book had you guessing all the way to the end even when you thought you were right you took a turn in another direction. This was a quick read and interesting story on how university’s work on the inside!!!
This book had you guessing all the way to the end even when you thought you were right you took a turn in another direction. This was a quick read and interesting story on how university’s work on the inside!!!
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