Out Lawyered

by Clair M. Poulson

Saxon Cartwright is a small-town lawyer driven by a deeply personal need to see justice served. Years ago, the incompetence of a prosecuting attorney allowed his sister’s murderer to walk free. Now, Saxon is faced with the task of prosecuting a case eerily reminiscent of that long-ago trial, and he’s determined to make the murderer pay. But there’s one person standing in his way: Malcom Glazebrook, a ruthless and experienced defense lawyer whose wealthy clients are paying him handsomely to do whatever it takes to keep their son out of prison.

The case should be open and shut, but a series of shocking murders have claimed the lives of both a juror and a key witness for the prosecution. Now, beautiful elementary school teacher Wyanne Grice—an unwitting observer of the juror’s murder—is Saxon’s only hope. As they work together to uncover the truth, Saxon and Wyanne are undeniably drawn to one another. But when threats to Wyanne’s life escalate, it seems that someone might go to dangerous lengths to keep her from talking. With the court date fast approaching, will Saxon be able to out lawyer his courtroom nemesis, win the case, and steal a certain woman’s heart?

Genres: Mystery, Suspense, Lds Fiction, Lds

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2016

About the author

Clair M. Poulson was born and raised in Duchesne, Utah. His father was a rancher and farmer, his mother a librarian. Clair has always been an avid reader, having found his love for books as a very young boy.

He has served for forty years in the criminal justice system. Twenty years were spent in law enforcement, ending his police career with eight years as the Duchesne County Sheriff. For the past twenty years Clair has worked as a justice court judge for Duchesne County. Clair is also a veteran of the US Army where he was a military policeman. He has served on various boards and councils during his professional career, including the Justice Court Board of Judges, Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, Utah Judicial Council, Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, an FBI advisory board and others.

In addition to his criminal justice work, Clair has farmed and ranched all of his life. He has raised many kinds of animals, but his greatest interest is horses.

Clair has served in many capacities in the LDS church, including fulltime missionary (California Mission) bishop, counselor to bishop, young men president, high councilor, stake mission president, scoutmaster, High Priest group leader, etc. He currently serves as a Sunday School teacher.

Clair is married to Ruth, and together, they have five children, all of whom are married: Alan (Vicena) Poulson, Kelly Ann (Wade) Hatch, Amanda (Ben) Semadeni, Wade (Brooke) Poulson, and Mary (Tyler) Hicken. Between them they have twenty-three children. Clair and Ruth met while both were students at Snow College and were married in the Manti temple.

Clair has always loved telling his children, and later his grandchildren, make-up stories. His vast experience in life and his love of literature has always contributed to both his telling stories to children and his writing of adventure and suspense novels.

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

To begin with I though this book might escape being contrived, but alas. The premise and first half or so are promising. A young district attorney is on a mission to be a very good prosecutor. He's haunted by an accident from his youth where his sister and two good friends are killed and a shoddy prosecution lets a drunk driver walk away without consequence. He's also painfully shy and has never dated even though he's now in his late 20s. A new case comes to him that is eerily similar to the one from his past and in the process he meets a beautiful woman who breaks through his shy exterior. Unfortunately, the book then becomes trite. The romance is rushed and feels forced as they marry quickly under contrived circumstances. The details of the case are unfolding with full discussions about suspects and motives until suddenly, the reader is left in the dark. It feels jolting and completely different from the previous writing style just so the author can set up a surprise ending. Also, an editor should remove unnecessary detail like specifics about what they're eating or the detailed steps (opened door, inserted key, started engine) that litter the book and serve no purpose to forward the story.
Having been this tough on the book I'll repeat something I say about many audio books: listening to a mediocre book still beats listening to the local radio as I drive.

[Allycia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style seemed very amateur, and the editting left something to be desired. However, about halfway through I got over that and started to get into the story. For the most part the mystery of it was very predictable. The conversations between characters reminded me of bad soap opera acting. It was a good fluff read if you're looking for a cute story to read in a day. Be warned though it's very mormony. While I personally have no issues with that, if that's something you're not into, you won't like this book. I probably wouldn't read another of Clair Poulson's books if I had the chance.

[Lynette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay, but the conversation between the characters was annoying sometimes and there were a lot of unnecessary details. One part that was particularly annoying was when Saxon asked Wyanne to go ride horses and she replied by telling him she doesn’t have a horse. Saxon then assured her that he had an extra horse and she replied by telling him she doesn’t have a saddle. Seriously? Maybe where the author lives people are expected to have their own horse and saddle, but I think for most of the world if someone asks you to go horse riding it’s safe to assume they will provide a horse and saddle. This, among other things, made Wyanne seem really dumb.

[Verona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clair M. Poulson has written another winner in his genre of detective/mystery novels. My husband and I have listened to all of his previous books, and look forward to the next one. While not classified as great literature, and sometimes predictable storylines, we find the books entertaining and fun to listen to, especially riding down the road in the car. We also enjoy the references to the LDS religion, which just gives it a familiar feel for us. This story, Out Lawyered, had some interesting twists and a little romance to liven it up.

[LaRee Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small Town Prosecutor Testedl

Saxson Cartwright decided in high school to study law and become a prosecutor. He chose to work in a small town. An accident causing the death of local teenager involved a wealthy young man and his very wealthy parents. Saxson was assigned the case. He had a very experienced, ruthless attorney as his opponent. What should have been an open and shut case became much more and became an extreme test of his skills. Another Clair Poulson fast-paced adventure. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good, hard to put down mystery. I loved it.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong characters and sound plot

I like that Poulson creates real people not super heroes. Cartwright was logical and clever like a lawyer would be and Wyanne was sweet and scared and shocked like a real woman would be in such circumstances.
The plot moved well and incorporated enough twists and turns to keep me interested.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is suspenseful and unpredictable, and I enjoyed that part of it. I even connected with the main character, who is humble and likable. But I could't help but roll my eyes too many times, and I also have a tough time stomaching Mr. Poulson's weak female characters.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on CD. I usually really like Clair Poulson. This one seemed a bit far fetched at times, but the ending was definitely a surprise. Not one of my favorites by this author, but worthwhile.

[Audry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great interesting murder mystery book. References to The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints that mostly only members or those close would understand. Lots of action. A little cheesy, but not too much. I didn't suspect the right until later in the book. Well done.

[Lewestover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small town lawyer vs. experienced, ruthless defense attorney; pretty female murder witness, rich momma out to protect her wayward son.

[Swhe641200 · Rating 5 out of 5]

6.2017 good read.

[Cynthia A Schwenck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

I believe this is my new favorite book by Clair Poulson. Intense, but the bits of humor kept the book from being too intense. Great book.

[Susan Forsgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful to have an interesting plot with magnificent, easy to identify with and pull for.
Exceptionally satisfying. Hated to have it end.

[John B Affleck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Clair M Poulson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The storyline grabs you on page one and keeps your interest until the last page

[Ranee · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of his better stories

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good vs. evil in this small town of Duchesne, Utah. Even money won't excuse the Miano family from this murder case.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of editing misses on character names but still a great Poulson adventure!

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I didn't see that coming! Great read.

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read. Entertaining but not realistic at all.

[Lacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I think I may be done reading Clair Poulson novels. I used to really enjoy his books, maybe I am getting more picky? I'm not sure. It was just too cheesy, and honestly I don't mind cheesy books. But I could barely finish. Sigh.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saxson Cartwright is a cowboy. There. I've said it. And Clair M. Poulson is a man. A lot of emphasis is placed on the legal workings of the complicated case that is the center of this novel. Saxson is an excellent lawyer, who decided to study law after his sister, her best friend, and his best friend were killed by a drunk driver, who later walked because of bad representation. Saxson is now faced with a very similar case against another lawyer who is willing to do just about anything to win his case. Saxson is incredibly shy with the ladies but he is forced to spend a lot of time with Wyanne, a witness to a dead juror in Saxson's case. Wyanne and Saxson are cute together, and it's fun to see their relationship develop. There are some weird typos throughout the book (Wyanne Grice suddenly becomes Miss Grimes, a judge suddenly picks up a police officer's last name, Saxson is spelled Saxson throughout the book but on the back cover it's spelled Saxon), but it's entertaining and really delves into the legal system.

[Mkingsford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is improved over his last book. Almost back to his really good who dun it's.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small town lawyer goes up against a corrupt city lawyer in a double homicide case

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this author writes. I love that his books are usually full of danger and craziness, but there's also a love story tangled up in there somewhere. I also like that the whole point of view in a lot of his books is the male point of view. That makes his books just a little different and a little more fun. This book was no different.

I like Saxon. The first chapter left me stunned and wanting to know just what Saxon would do with his life and how he handled the loss of his dear friends and his sister all at once. I loved his determination to become a prosecutor and to make sure that nothing like that happened to anyone on his watch. I really loved the way he was so protective of Wyanne after she happened to find the body. He went out of his way to watch out for her and make sure nothing bad would happen to her.

The plot of this one is fast moving. There's plenty of danger both for Saxon and for Wyanne. And also for anyone who had anything to do with this particular case. I will admit that I didn't see the ending coming. The murderer was someone that I never would have guessed even for a minute. I was just as surprised as Saxon and Wyanne when I read the ending of this book!

If you love great suspenseful books with a touch of romance, you'll love this great book!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it it really felt like a shy person wrote it

[Kevin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another murder mystery with a built in love story. It's about a young man whose life is changed when his sister , his best friend and her best friend are all killed by a drunk driver. This makes him determined to become a prosecuting attorney. His first hard case comes when the same thing happens to a young girl in his town and the man's family has enough money to hire the best defense lawyer that promises to get their son off Scott free. Then his witnesses start getting murdered and the plot thickens.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it a lot, but the drastic change in personality of the protagonist was too much to take. He went from a shy, awkward inhibited-around-women guy to a man who expresses his emotions and suddenly proposes in a very short time without adequate explanation for the change. It just made that aspect of the book feel too false.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a soft spot in my heart for Clair Poulson's books and I enjoy how he maps out legal procedure. I am glad he has set this book back in Duschene area. I prefer that--back home to that with which he is familiar.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, he's not my favorite author, but that's just me. I don't like his writing style. Plus, to bring in a new character near the end that had a huge part in this mystery? I don't like being manipulated like that. Oh well, if you like his style, you'll like the story.

[Lisa E · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I read this book pretty quickly I was disappointed in it. The writing seems amateur, many parts were predictable, and some of the dialogue was awkward and not things people would likely say, but merely written that way to tie together parts of the plot.