Lawyer Robert Tarza is surprised when his young, beautiful and wealthy French girlfriend, Tess, proposes marriage. It's not that he doesn't love her, but even after five years, there's a lot about her he doesn't know.But Robert has to put his personal life on hold when his friend Oscar Quesana shows up outside Tess's Parisian apartment clutching a mysterious package, with a thief hot on his heels. Oscar has somehow acquired a priceless old book.When Robert and his former protégée, Jenna James, see Oscar shoved into a car and abducted, they find themselves entangled in unexpected intrigue. Robert, Tess and Jenna must quickly determine who is friend and who is foe in order to rescue Oscar before it's too late. Along the way, Robert might just make some astonishing discoveries about those he holds dear.Book 3 in the Robert Tarza series - Same great characters, no cliffhangers!
Charles (“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.
I really enjoyed Death on a High Floor, in which LA attorney Robert Tarza was accused of murder in a case involving his fellow law firm partner and a lot of intrigue over rare coins. So I looked forward to this sequel, which takes place five years later in Paris. Robert, now living with his fabulously wealthy French girlfriend, who was only briefly mentioned in the previous book, meets up with Jenna James and Oscar Quesana, the two attorneys who defended him in that murder trial and whose convenient presence in Paris at the same time is not really fully explained.
Paris Ransom is not so much a legal thriller as a more conventional thriller. Oscar gets kidnapped because he supposedly possessed a rare book signed by Victor Hugo, and Robert, Jenna, and Robert's girlfriend Tess try to figure out how to rescue him. There is relationship drama between Robert and Tess, whose money and relationship with the French government is all rather mysterious, and a lot of running around in France and learning about French customs and police practices. There is not actually any French courtroom drama, though inexplicably several chapters switch to the POV of a French judge involved in the case, I guess to give some perspective on French legal and investigative proceedings.
Overall, this book felt like an immediate "sophomore slump" and was slightly disappointing. I wanted more legal drama and instead, it was about the cast of the last book getting together for wacky hijinks in Paris. It was entertaining enough, but very light, and while I already have the next Robert Tarza book queued up, my expectations unfortunately have been lowered.
Paris Ransom is the third legal thriller released by Charles Rosenberg, and for me it was a disappointment. The book is told from three points of view – a style used by numerous authors in the genre nowadays, and this works without issue. The book is a generally easy read, and doesn’t feature an over complicated plot, and this is its first flaw. Whilst I don’t want to struggle to understand what is going on, there is a fine balance between being over complicated and too simple. The plot here for me is too simple. The story here is a slower build than most in the genre, and whilst one might think this would give you the opportunity to develop more of a connection with its characters, they often come across as relatively flat. I found the different cultural aspects of the book interesting, but the ending disappoints (no spoilers here). Perhaps one to miss, unless you are a huge fan of the author and his previous two books – which incidentally are of a higher quality.
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Lawyer Robert Tarza is surprised when his young, beautiful and wealthy French girlfriend, Tess, proposes marriage. It’s not that he doesn’t love her, but even after five years, there’s a lot about her he doesn’t know. But Robert has to put his personal life on hold when his friend Oscar Quesana shows up outside Tess’s Parisian apartment clutching a mysterious package, with a thief hot on his heels. Oscar has somehow acquired a priceless old book. When Robert and his former protégée, Jenna James, see Oscar shoved into a car and abducted, they find themselves entangled in unexpected intrigue. Robert, Tess and Jenna must quickly determine who is friend and who is foe in order to rescue Oscar before it’s too late. Along the way, Robert might just make some astonishing discoveries about those he holds dear.
*3.5 stars*
This was the third book in the Robert Tarza series of legal thrillers. However, this was probably more just straight-up thriller than anything else.
The story hits a lot of the right notes for me: a priceless book, a kidnapping, the French culture, and other things that made this book quite a pleasure at times. I liked that Robert and Tess weren't a "perfect couple" - that their lives were quite complicated was a positive for me. As was the added understanding of how the French judicial system works (to a degree.) I am always interested to learn other cultures.
However, there were a few bad points for me. One of the bigger issues was the really slow pacing of this one. I thought that with a decent editing, this could have been solved. The "slow burn" was probably about 50 pages too long and I really had doubts at times whether I would get to the end. The other thing was the massive cast. It seemed that every second page introduced a new character, who had another thread to add to the weave of this "mystery" - it just became a bit too muddled for me.
Overall, I do think this author can write a good story. I would recommend it if you enjoy mystery and thrillers in the same story.
Can you say “Nancy Drew.” While for some reason I liked the first book I read- Long Knives (book2) but this was just cheesy. Although I read reviews that stated the writing was juvenile and the plot lacking, I still chose to read it thinking, it can’t be all that bad, and just wanted a book to relax with anyway. Why did I finish it, I really thought it would get better, and I was traveling. Go find another book...I’m tossing this one.
This is my first book by this author and I liked it despite some awkward spots in the narrative which others pointed out probably could have been fixed with tighter editing. This is a thriller set in Paris with a valuable book, a kidnapping, and lots of French atmosphere, which I really enjoyed, along with the differences in the French judicial system explained well enough for a layman like myself to follow.
Overall i loved this book and this series. Just like the prior books it was wity, quirky, entertaining and very well written. The book did very well and could be read alone, but complimented the other books nicely.
If i had one complaint it would be that this book had a little to much french in it. That wasnt an issue though.
Rating is actually 3.75. This is the third book in this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Reading about these particular and by -now -familiar characters was fun. The setting also lent a real sense of intrigue. The story centered around the mysterious world of rare book collectors. Lots of interesting curves on the road to the final pages. I’d recommend it.
A mystery/ thriller set in Paris With historical information that has been fictionalized to create a traditional search for the hidden object death story. A kidnapping and ransom create the ticking clock The police procedure has the twisted French judicial system Americans are not familiar Fun reading
Interesting book as it starts quite weak and seems to take too long to introduce folks and bring them in to the plot. But, slowly integrates all those involved and brings them to the front where, in time, they explode with unexpected action which is quite provoking at times and keeps you on your reading toes. I enjoyed this book after almost, as with others, casting this book aside.
Rosenberg not only writes a good story but teaches readers on unusual legal issuers like rare coins (Murder on a High Floor), shipwrecks (Long Knives) and now antique books. What's next?? ☺
The book setting in Paris added to the mystique and mystery. It had many twists and turns and I was invested in the characters. I couldn't put it down! I'm looking forward to the next book.
[I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank them for their generousity. In exchange, I was simply asked to write an honest review, and post it. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising]
This is the third book in a series about Robert and Tess. They have been together for a long while, and now, Tess has proposed! It takes Robert aback a bit, but he does agree. Their friends gather for a meal, and it us there the intrigue begins around a rare book, possibly a forgery, and its provenance. The convoluted twist and turns make it hard to follow the storyline that includes Russians, hat shoppe owners, the French police, judicial system and a lot of musty old books.
At times, I was sure that I'd gotten lost or was Rosenberg doing this on purpose as the story got more populated and shattered into more pieces. This is a real ho-hum "thriller". The reason I kept reading was to see if the book was real or not....
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. The story follows Robert Tarza, his fiance Tess and two former colleagues, Oscar and Jenna. Oscar is clearly in over his head in a shady seeming rate book deal and is soon kidnapped. Robert and Jenna distrust the police and investigate the kidnapping on their own. Eventually, a French judge and an honest captain in the police manage to save the day and solve the crime despite never been given all the information that Robert and Jenna managed to collect.
First, it wasn't mentioned as a series book but it looks like this is the second or third book featuring Robert and Jenna. I think this stunted the character development and I never connected with Robert or Jenna. The book setting is Paris and many times, the two main characters are painted as stupid or arrogant Americans. Story is ok but there are too many times when convenient accidents or coincidence push the story forward. I was just never really cared much what would happen to anyone in the book. The book is an easy read, but ultimately left me unsatisfied.
Lawyer Robert Tarza is surprised when his young, beautiful and wealthy French girlfriend, Tess, proposes marriage. It’s not that he doesn’t love her, but even after five years, there’s a lot about her he doesn’t know.
But Robert has to put his personal life on hold when his friend Oscar Quesana shows up outside Tess’s Parisian apartment clutching a mysterious package, with a thief hot on his heels. Oscar has somehow acquired a priceless old book.
When Robert and his former protégée, Jenna James, see Oscar shoved into a car and abducted, they find themselves entangled in unexpected intrigue. Robert, Tess and Jenna must quickly determine who is friend and who is foe in order to rescue Oscar before it’s too late. Along the way, Robert might just make some astonishing discoveries about those he holds dear. (less) Paperba
DIDN'T READ. COULDN'T BE BOTHERED.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I enjoyed Long Knives by Rosenberg a while back, but this one didn't appeal to me as much. Not bad and no gore and some interesting information about the differences in French policing and judicial policies, and yet I didn't feel as involved as I did in the previous novel.
My favorite character was Judge Roland de Fournis, not Jenna James or Robert Tarza who somehow failed to make the impression I expected. And Oscar, well, he is important and physically absent most of the time. I was surprised to learn about his background, though, and hope he will regain more of a presence in the future.
A who-done-it set in Paris and told from the point of view of the three most primary characters with secondary characters filling in and keeping things interesting. Both the primary and secondary characters are very well developed and who could pick a better setting than Paris and the surrounding countryside. With every turn off a page there seemed to be another twist in the plot. If this is a series, it is one I would definitely like to keep up with..
Quite a farfetched tale but I liked the characters, especially picturing them traveling around France and various locations in Paris. I learned something about the French judicial system and hope to never have to experience it first hand! Also happy to find that my high school French classes have not been forgotten.. Now I want to know what Tess tells Robert after they get married.
Great book, many twist and turns. Keeps you interested to the very end, never knowing who is guilty or innocent.
I can not say enough about this book and how wonderful the story comes together in the end. I put this up there into a rare find in story line. I said I can't say enough, so best I not give anything away. So I say it is great, a must read and will leave it up to all of you the readers. Enjoy!
Maybe 2.5 stars? While the story was "good," I found the writing to be a bit dry/empty/lacking depth--I can't find the exact words to describe it. It was missing something. I almost stopped reading because I was not a fan of the writing itself, but I kept reading because I did want to know what happened in the story. It was an entertaining adventure, in the end, and an easy read. But I think it would have been better with more depth to the writing--and characters.
This book was a lot of fun for me. It was a pretty simplistic mystery with clues that were coincidentally found and were sometimes just silly but I loved the French characters' treatment of the Americans in the book. Some of them made me laugh. I loved the stilted French translations. Without those, I probably would not have enjoyed the book as much as I did. I mean there were times I just rolled my eyes at the improbability of the plot twist but the French twist kept me with it.
I wanted to like this but didn't. The narrative and style of writing is fine, but I wanted MORE. The characterisation in a book is really important to me, but Jenna, Robert and Tess were left underdeveloped. I had no connection with them, and with a book of only slightly short of 400 pages, felt there was more the author could have done.
Charles Rosenberg is an excellent writer. I have enjoyed all 3 of his books. The way he shifts characters to give different perspectives is seamlessly done. It has been my pleasure to get to know these characters and can only hope there will be more installments.
Whilst this book was extremely easy to read, I have never read a book that went round in so many circles and was completely obvious as to who was the mastermind behind the stories crime. Others have reviewed this as a 'french-farce', I would not go as far, but I certainly will not be recommending this to anyone.
Loved the description of the French judicial system and police. Characters realistic, compelling to read, with many surprising plot happenings. Loved the story being told variously from the perspectives of the leading characters. I look forward to Mr. Rosenberg's next work.
Not as compelling as the first two. I love France and more particularly, Paris, so I enjoyed the setting and some of the locations, but didn't find this installment of Robert and Jenna's adventures to be as exciting and interesting. Maybe a few too many characters to follow.
Won this book in the first reads giveaway awhile back. Really enjoyed it. Lots of twists and turns. Thought I had things figured out, but wasn't even close.