Адвокатът

Paul Madriani #5

by Steve Martini

След смъртта на съпругата си адвокатът Пол Мадриани и дъщеря му Сара се преместват в Сан Диего, за да живеят по-близо до приятелката му Сюзан и нейните две дъщери, но едва пристигнал на калифорнийския бряг, Пол е въвлечен в сложна съдебна битка, за която не подозира, когато поема издирването на изчезналата внучка на стария Джона Хейл. Семейство Хейл отглежда от малка осемгодишната Аманда, чиято майка Джесика е наркоманка. Когато обаче те спечелват 87 милиона от лотарията, Джесика неочаквано проявява майчински чувства — ще им отнеме внучката и ще се грижи за нея, ако не й платят огромна сума. И Аманда наистина изчезва. Скоро след като Пол поема случая, е убита фанатизирана защитничка на правата на жените, помогнала в отвличането и укриването на детето. Джона е арестуван и Пол се изправя срещу настървен прокурор. Всички следи водят към Джона. А онези, които могат да свидетелстват в негова защита, загиват един след друг. Следващата жертва може да е самият адвокат.

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

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2000

About the author

Steven Paul "Steve" Martini is an American writer of legal novels.

Reviews

[Diane Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome series! good mystery,nice courtroom drama,good protagonist and likable characters,good plot twists and turns needed for this well written series (paperback!)

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nije Grišam ali piše dobre "legal" trilere... :) Vredan je pažnje ljubitelja tog žanra...

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up…

This one was recently donated to my Little Free Library Shed, which reminded me that it was probably time for me to re-visit it and write a review.

My go-to-place has typically been courtroom drama and police procedurals. I like to keep my mind in a state of guessing – it means it is working, so-to-speak, thinking about the who, what, where and why scenario of any particular crime who-dunit. But of course, a lot of the success of the reading experience depends on the author, and how they capture their readers.

This is a continuing series, but it reads like a stand-alone. Although readers are encouraged to start any series at the beginning.

This one is marketed as a legal thriller because of its courtroom scenes and many twists. The story revolves around a controversial disputed child custody case. Who should be the rightful person to raise the child – the recently rich grandfather or the mother who has been released from prison and kidnaps her? What do we as readers need to know about these characters?

What makes this one readable is that the plot is engaging, the characters are well-crafted, and readers feel like they are present with the action. Which may be good or bad, depending on how present you want to be! The ending may be a bit questionable, but other than that, readers should enjoy the subtle humor and the fast-paced flow of the story.

[Tulay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start.

But doesn't have a good ending. Grandfather of of Amanda won 87 million dollars in lottery drawing and he loves fishing. What he loves most is granddaughter, with the help of questionable characters, mother, kidnapped by her. She was drug addict, partying mother, and she just get out the prison. Long courtroom drama, numerous twists, to find out where Amanda is and who should have her custody.

[Vanessa Menezes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Paul Madriani book and I am definitely planning on reading the other books in this series.

The plot was filled with action and twists right from the start. I particularly enjoyed the courtroom scenes because they were so engrossing. The ending was definitely a surprise because it was so unexpected!

[Cathy DuPont · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ahhh, another series I'm reading and I'm not even counting them anymore. Just going through them one by one and enjoying every one. Well, almost every one.

After discovering Steve Martini's character, lawyer Paul Madriani, I was in heaven. Madriani is now a widower (wife died between #4 and #5) with a seven year old daughter he adores. He's not a particularly top notch or highfalutin attorney but he's very clever, has morals and there's a line he won't cross for anyone.

This is the first book in the series that I didn't care for so much. There were two reasons for the two stars which means "it was ok." And it was ok.

1) There was far too much time in the courtroom (about half the book for crying out loud) going over the same subject a second and sometimes a third time. "I know, I know that, so give it up already!" and:

2) Of course, it may be me, really, it may be me but I felt like I was left hanging at the end with one important clue missing. Those of us who read thrillers and mysteries recognize when all the loose ends are quickly 'tied up' at the end of the book. And for the first time in this series that's how I felt. That missing clue along with the quick "I'm finished, need to wrap-up!"

I enjoy courtroom dramas but hope this book is not the beginning of a pattern with Paul because I really like him.

P.S. If someone can slip me the reason for the fish on the dress, I'll bump to three stars.

[Ettore1207 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tre stelle abbondanti per questo thriller giudiziario della serie dell'avvocato Paul Madriani, con un paio di bei colpi di scena e un finale pirotecnico. Le stelle possono salire a quattro se siete amanti del genere.

[John Biddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was OK but really nothing special. No specific complaints, just didn't fire me up in any way. The main character isn't all that interesting and in this one the courtroom battles weren't anything special and were a little drawn out.

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow to get going, long wait til surprise ending; fair drama...

This is our third Martini -- er, the author's books that is. We enjoyed "Simeon Chamber" (his first outing), but felt the "List" was too dry and set too sluggish a pace for our taste. We tried the "Attorney" to see if the defense attorney Paul Madriani series, which now has some half dozen entries, might be more entertaining. Alas, a rather mundane plot gets us off to a lackluster start -- Jonah Hale's granddaughter Amanda, of whom he has legal custody, is kidnapped by her recent ex-con natural mother, with the help of a feminist activist, Zolanda Suade, who specializes in skirting the law and resisting the Establishment. Hale hires Madriani (instead of an private eye?), but little more happens until some 100 pages later, when Suade is discovered murdered. Hale is arrested on a fairly extensive list of evidence that points to him, coupled with his incentive, motive, and opportunity. At that point, Paul switches into the true mode of defending his client, with some helpers (and some inside scoop from his lady friend, director of Child Protective Services). Some reasonably interesting courtroom scenes follow as first the accused is arraigned without bail and then actually tried for the murder.

Near the end, in what we thought was a somewhat unfair plot development, Hale suffers a heart attack, suspending the trial. While he's hospitalized, a new Mexican drug-runner-type villain surfaces, who has been hunted half-heartedly through the book, and sheds enough doubt on the case that for all practical purposes the prosecution is motivated to declare a mistrial and not bother with a second go-round. A twist at the end tells us readers who the perp actually was.

This novel is sort of like a car running a 300-mile car race in first gear for 100 miles, second gear for 80 miles, and then a mad dash to the finish line without realizing one is 50 laps behind -- hardly a compelling run. Such is the nature of this book; while Madriani is a nice enough guy, the plot lacked zest and suspense, nor could the court scenes seize the moment "Perry Mason"-style. In fact, we're thinking maybe a third martini cocktail might be more fun!

[Jill Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting to read one of Martini's older Paul Madriani courtroom dramas. In "The Attorney", Madriani has just moved to San Diego with his partner, Harry Hinds, to be closer to his new love interest, Susan McKay. An old client comes to him with a request to locate his granddaughter, who was kidnapped by the man's drug-using daughter, with help from Zolanda Suade, a seriously twisted feminist who chooses to believe that most men are abusers and molesters. What starts as a missing person quest turns into a high stakes murder trial, with Madriani's client accused of killing Suade. Much of the book takes place during the trial, and some of the details were a tad tedious. What kept me interested was the evolving mystery of who could have murdered Suade and why. The ending is a real zinger. I prefer Martini's more recent novels, as his writing style has become more sophisticated and his plots more intricate. But "The Attorney" is still a terrific read.

[Pisces51 · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE ATTORNEY [1999] By Steve Martini
My Review Four Stars****

I was a big fan of Martini’s legal thrillers when I haunted the audiobooks section of the library back in the ‘90s. My work necessitated extensive travel and it was books on tape that kept me entertained. By the mid-2000’s I was employed close to home and bought my first Kindle. It was a true luxury for me to be able to start reading my favorite series from start to finish, finally getting to read many novels across several book series that were unavailable as unabridged audiobooks all those years ago.

In Martini’s case re-reading COMPELLING EVIDENCE, his national bestseller from 1992 which introduced the lawyer protagonist Paul Madriani was an absolutely thrilling experience. Books 2 and 3 were quick to follow, namely PRIME WITNESS and UNDUE INFLUENCE in 1993 and 1994 respectively. I read THE JUDGE [1996] a couple years ago, which was the fourth installment with Paul Madriani. After a period of absence, I returned to follow the exploits of Martini’s alter ego Madriani. Just finished THE ATTORNEY [1999] Book 5 in the impressively long series.

Martini writes in first person POV and we see all of the events in the story line play out from the viewpoint of his protagonist Paul. The narrative picks up with the main character of Madriani living in Capital City, his daughter Sarah out of school and between fifth grade and middle school. It’s in the triple digits for like the tenth day in a row in August and Paul is contemplating the high index of his discontent as he drives along the Interstate with a broken AC unit in his car. Madriani has been in a long-distance relationship with a beautiful (younger) attorney in San Diego by the name of Susan McKay. She has twin girls who meshed with his daughter Sarah from the very first meeting among the kids. Three years have gone by since Paul and Susan met serendipitously at a seminar at which both were scheduled speakers. That isn’t all that had been fortuitous for Madriani since in the previous eight months he had made a “killing” in a wrongful death civil case. His memorable sidekick Harry Hinds had shared in this good fortune. It has been several years since his wife Nikki lost her battle with cancer yet Paul is still haunted by the familiarity of the house and the familiar places in the city. In short, the book begins with Madriani making a perhaps not too momentous decision to move to the southern part of the state. Sarah is thrilled with the prospect of being close to Susan and her twin girls, and Paul is upbeat and optimistic about the notion of a new beginning. Paul and Harry keep the Capital City law office open and take the pragmatic approach of establishing a branch office in San Diego.

The narrative starts to take shape when Paul renews an old acquaintance who was a former client a decade earlier. Jonah Hale and his wife Mary meet with Paul to elicit his help in a sad situation. Jonah Hale had won the state lottery to the tune of $87 million. The couple’s daughter Jessica (only a teenager when Paul had represented Jonah in a court case ten years ago) had just been released from prison. She had been into drugs, repeatedly ran afoul of the law, and been generally a lost cause but for the birth of a little girl named Amanda. The Hales had been awarded full custody of Amanda, and this hadn’t meant diddly squat their jaded daughter behind bars. However, their good fortune with the state lottery and newly minted millionaire status changed everything, as money has the habit of doing. Their manipulative and opportunistic Jessica was attempting to extort cash money from her parents for allowing them to continue raising Amanda. The little girl had been living with her grandparents basically since she was born, and Jessica cared nothing about her 8-year-old daughter. Jonah was unwilling to be blackmailed by his good for nothing daughter, so enter a nut job crusader who facilitates the kidnapping of the little girl.

The story has the effect of shattering any notions that the average person in this country might have about a fair justice system should some terrible travesty like this ever happen to anybody. This was a real education, which is well rounded coming from a savvy attorney like Paul, his eager good-hearted partner Harry, and particularly by Madriani’s new love interest Susan (director of Children’s Protective Services in San Diego). Eight-year-old Amanda is MIA, her criminal birth mother Jessica similarly in the wind, and the orchestra director, one Zolanda Suade, is busy preparing press releases reporting that Jonah, the grandfather, raped his daughter and his grandchild while the authorities took bribes to look the other way. Martini does a masterful job of depicting the appearance and personae of Zolanda, and what a despicable man-hating sadistic freak walks in her high heels. Predictably Jonah goes ballistic when he is told that Suade, a creature from Hell that walked straight out of his worst nightmare, is virtually free to kidnap Amanda and ruin his name and reputation with absolute impunity. The reader knows that Zolanda Suade has a killing comin’ and it happens a third of the way into the book. The stage is set for Martini to work his special magic.

The universally despised activist Suade is murdered as predicted and not unsurprisingly Jonah is tagged as the prime suspect in the homicide. Paul steps in to defend the shocked grandfather who adamantly proclaims his innocence. It takes the author about a third of the way into the novel to set the stage but by the 50% mark we have Paul duking it out with Ryan, the overconfident prosecutor, making arguments before the Judge. In the beginning of the trial when the Prosecution begins its case, I loved Paul’s cross examination of the DA’s witness who presents the forensics on the murder weapon (gun residue, blowback, range of the distance of the gun from the victim). Martini has demonstrated an astonishing ability to write a riveting narrative within the courtroom, and no one does it better in my opinion. But in this case, I gradually became less enchanted as the prosecutor called one witness after another that put successive nails in the defendant’s figurative coffin. In short, Paul was getting “killed” and was sickeningly overmatched by the dogged yet wily Ryan. It was clear that a Mexican drug lord, a ruthless multiple murderer, loomed large as the likely killer. Therefore, it was frustrating that Madriani was unable legally to introduce this alternate theory to raise the issue of reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. In fact, those individuals crucial to achieving this goal keep getting murdered. Madriani kept getting hammered by the prosecution like a law student who hadn’t passed the bar yet, and the defendant was stressed to the point of being on the brink of having a literal heart attack.

Martini’s trend to take Paul out of the courtroom and render him as an “action hero” continues with this story line. The defense is circling the drain, the defendant in ICU, and at this juncture Madriani and the determined girlfriend Susan make the trek into Mexico to locate missing mother Jessica and to find and return Amanda to the US at any cost. There are crises of all varieties, bullets zinging, bad guys chasing our motley group running for their lives, explosions, and multiple dead bodies before the dust settles.

The result of their spectacular adventures in Mexico yields massively important returns when all is said and done. Paul is back in court facing his foe Ryan, but this time Madriani has a straight flush when he plays his cards. The legal maneuvering in the narrative was in fact impressive and satisfying as Martini fans have come to take for granted with his novels.

I’ll be honest and admit that I did not foresee where the twists and turns leading into the homestretch were leading and I was blindsided by the ending. Martini crafted a really clever plot and all of the elements meshed and converged at the conclusion. It was not an especially enjoyable or happy ending in my opinion. It did impress me enough that it prompted me to bump the rating up to four stars. I do have one nagging “dangling thread” that when I try to unravel it I just get more flummoxed. This is one of Martini’s early works from almost a quarter of a century ago. I would love to ask a question of other readers, but since I atypically read current novels, I am probably doomed to stay confused. It’s about the cigar…

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Attorney is the first legal thriller I have read in many years, but I needed a change. This was terribly exciting and I am not sure why I quit-maybe I needed a change then too. Author Steve Martini plays scrupulously fair-if you pay attention you too can figure out who the big bad is. This was great fun-so much so I finished in a day.

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this, the fifth book of Martini's Paul Madriani series, Paul has moved to San Diego to be near his new love, Susan McKay. Susan is the head of the county's Child Protective Services agency, and they met at a conference about children's rights. Now they are pitted together in a case that will strain their relationship.

One of Paul's old clients, Jonah Hale, comes to him for help. Since the first time Paul helped him, Jonah has won a lottery and is now newly rich. He and his wife continue to live modestly, however, their main focus raising their granddaughter, Amanda. Amanda's mother has had trouble with drugs for years and the petty crime that surrounds that has landed her in prison so the grandparents have custody.

Now Jessica, the mother, is out of prison and demanding money or she will take her daughter away from the loving grandparents. Jonah comes to Paul when Amanda is kidnapped. They are sure Jessica has taken her away, aided by a fiery feminist who makes it her life work to help mothers in custody battles. Her name is Zo Suade, and she is notorious for using any tactics imaginable to win.

Jonah hires Paul to find Amanda and bring her home. The stakes are raised when Zo is found murdered, Jonah the top suspect. The battle shifts to the courtroom where Jonah is charged with first degree murder. Can Paul free Jonah? Will the conflict between Jonah's case and Susan's career affect their relationship?

Readers of the Paul Madriani series will welcome this new one. Those, like this reviewer, who come to the series cold will find that prior knowledge of the characters is not necessary. This is a satisfying, courtroom and behind the scenes look at the legal profession. This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

[Maurean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martini pens a very suspensful legal thriller! This book had me riveted to the pages.

The case: A CA state lottery winner has gained custody of his granddaughter when the childs mother, his daughter, is imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges. Upon her release, she elicits the aid of a vigilante group called Vanishing Victims in order to steal the child back. Because it is a 'kidnapping' by a parent, the state offers no aid in getting the child returned. When the head of the organization is found dead, all fingers point to the grandfather as the murder suspect.

This was my first read of Martini's work, but I will assuredly look for more. If you are a fan of this genre (which I am!!) then you will want to read this twisted and suspenseful tale

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Martini book, another great read. Had a hard time putting this one down. Started it one day, finished it the next, including staying up until 2:00 or so reading (I had made the mistake of napping earlier in the evening and wasn’t too sleepy; I sure was today at work though). I knew who the killer was right from the get-go, but it doesn’t really matter because it’s still fun to see how it all plays out and how the killer manipulates things. Hopefully the library will have some more Martini books waiting for me when I drop by later this week!

[Jennifer Gottschalk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst 'The Attorney' started well, it did not live up to the hype on the cover and was ultimately a disappointing read.

This is one of those books that is firmly in the 'could have' pile - as in with some changes to the plot, it could have been far better than it is.

The ending was particularly unsatisfying. It was unexpected (and not in a good way) and readers who enjoy working out the clues to a mystery may well find themselves annoyed with how this book concludes.

[Momm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the Paul Madriani mysteries. This time a murder is connected to a "vigilante" who abducts children from their supposedly abusive guardian/parent and hides them, usually in Mexico. The grandparents have legal custody because their daughter/mother has a drug addiction problem. It all gets mixed up with Mexican drug cartel operatives.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, I am a sucker for the protagonist in this - Paul Madriani. I sort of wondered where this one was going, but followed it as it went and enjoyed the trip to San Diego in my mind...I'd recommend this one.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The clue to who done it came early in the story. That being said, I think the story was still full of action and well written, and, if you missed the early clue you may have been surprised by who done it.

[Jennifer Junker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book about the lawyer Madriani that I've read and I just love how real the characters seem. They have very human attitudes and problems and feelings. The courtroom scenes seem extremely realistic, and the stories keep me up late!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently finished this title. I've enjoyed other Martini novels before and enjoyed this as well. It was not my favorite of the series but still I'm glad I took time for this book.

[Jackie Simons]

Read 5/00

[Olivia Plasencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read by Steve Martini, this is only the 2nd of book of his I have read, and he is becoming a fast favorite of mine. A good book with a great mystery the kidnapping of a lotto winner's granddaughter. Add a junky mother that wants to trade her daughter for drugs and that equals heartache. Toss into the mix a crazy vigilante who is helping the wrong person, and you get murder. I sadly have not been reading these in order so I will say this book has a less polished feel than the first one I ever read, but I think that was book 11 or so. Even still I loved this book however there was a bit of a pacing issue. The first book I read was Blood Flag and there was not much of a courtroom drama as this book had. Once Paul Madriani's client goes to trial despite the suspense the case starts to drag. It gets even slower when Paul's lover is called to the witness stand. Her first round of testimony was ok but when she is called again the sense of drama is over and you just want the book to move faster in regard to the finding of the missing child.
If you pay attention to detail, you know who one of the killers is and I found the ending a little too tidy, too quick and Paul's actions as an officer of the court and a character that you are supposed to like are little too grey for me. But then I suppose that is what lawyers deal with, grey areas. I still plan to keep looking for more of his books. It took me a long time to read this because I was taking part in the NANO competition and reading a stack of batman comics. Otherwise, I would have read it a lot faster.

I wanted to rate this 3 and half stars but rounded up because I enjoyed the first 3/4th of the book immensely, until it slowed down. While the rescue scene was meant to speed the book up, I was just ready for the book to be over.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mix a man-hating feminist with a lottery winner, his druggy daughter, and the eight-year-old granddaughter over whom he has custody, and you have a lethal combination that will inevitably need legal advice; you'll also have the components of a riveting twisty legal thriller that includes abductions, a race against time, and an ending you won’t see coming.

Paul Madriani and his 11-year-old daughter have moved to San Diego as this book begins. Paul is pretty tight with a woman who heads up a county child protection services agency.

As soon as he establishes his office, Paul is contacted by a client from years earlier. Jonah Hale recently won 87 million dollars in a state lottery. Prior to that, he and his wife had become custodial grandparents to Amanda, the daughter of Jonah’s drug-addicted daughter, Jessica. Not long after Jonah won the money, his daughter showed up with a renewed maternal interest in the grandchild—a maternal interest that naturally included demands for mega-bucks. When Grandpa said no, Jessica threatened to accuse him of sexually molesting her and her child. To that end, Jessica hires Zo Suede, a feminist activist who helps moms and their kids disappear. Zo apparently helped Jessica kidnap her granddaughter and vanish.

Jonah asks Madriani to help him get his granddaughter back, but before they can even begin the search, Zo Suede is murdered, and Hale is, for a variety of reasons, the prime suspect.

This was probably a bit longer than it needed to be, but if you enjoy a better-than-average courtroom drama, you’ll enjoy this. I actually recommend reading the first four books in the series first, but it isn’t absolutely necessary. As to the end, even the most astute reader won’t see it coming, I promise.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now Martini delivers Paul Madriani's most challenging case yet: one pitting a drug-addicted mother against her daughter's newly rich grandfather in a contentious custody case that leads to criminal accusations and ultimately murder.Having moved to San Diego to be closer to the woman in his life, Madriani takes on the case of Jonah Hale, an elderly man in terrible straits. As a result of their only child Jessica's longtime drug addiction, Jonah and his wife have been raising their eight-year-old granddaughter, Amanda. On the heels of Jonah's multimillion-dollar state lottery win, Jessica revives her interest in mothering. When Jonah won't deal--maternal rights for a mega-bucks payoff--Jessica plays dirty: she accuses the old man of having sexually abused her as a child and similarly abusing Amanda now.

Enter Zo Suade--a flamboyant, feminist activist with a penchant for making the objects of custody battles and their mother/plaintiffs "disappear." True to form, a week after Zo takes on Jessica's case, mother and daughter vanish. When Zo's body turns up, Jonah becomes the prime suspect. And Madriani is the man who can prove his innocence.

Filled with action in and out of court, rich in characters with motives obvious and subtle, The Attorney marks the much-anticipated return of Paul Madriani

[sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through no fault of its own, it took me a bit to finish this book. I did put it down a few times ONLY because the trial made me so overcome with emotions (mostly utter annoyance at a seemingly bad witness on stand) that I had to take a 5 minute mental regroup. Some parts did lug a little bit, but those few parts are more than made up for by the last few chapters! I can’t believe I did not connect the dots sooner!! Really wish I could have gotten my friend to read this with me; the ending is just that good to where I wish I had someone to talk about it with.

The writing is chefskiss spectacular, as per usual. I love when new characters are introduced and even when given little information about them, Martini gives you a sense of the characters personal disposition—no one character talks or acts the same.

Wish the book had expounded on Suade’s operation a little bit deeper, specifically the connections with the County CPS.

[Marc T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended.

A highly enjoyable legal thriller very well written with only a few inconsistencies that gum up the works. I had read the previous book in the series (The Judge) and had decided that I would read the further exploits of this character at some time. After reading this one (# 5 in the Paul Madriani series) I will be ordering the 6th.

The plot doesn't break any new ground but the telling is far above average. Also, I became very invested in the characters. I had an idea about one of the main "surprises/twists" near the end, but the confirmation of this suspicion did not take away from any of the enjoyment of arriving at the conclusion.

There were a few inconsistencies that I had to overlook or take in stride and I seem to recall feeling the same frustration with the previous book in the series. But certainly not enough to stop reading this author.

[Mark Edlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery series - it has been a four year gap between books but Martini cleverly treats it as if Madriani has aged in the same time. Hinds and him have moved to San Diego to allow Madriani to get closer to his new girlfriend. No references to past books nor is there any continuation of plot lines. Madriani is hired by a millionaire lottery winning friend to get his granddaughter back from his drug addict daughter. Lots of politics, Mexican drug cartel, dead witnesses and large fish play together throughout the plot. And once again, the ending surprised me.
No Canadian references.
Pharmacy references - mention of a pharmacy in Mexico.

[Jackie Trimble · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay but not spectacular. Ok, I know it's never wise to read a book in the middle of the series, if you've never read ANY of the series before.... So, that's on me, I admit. I'm saying that I just couldn't get into any of these characters. The ending, yes, was a surprise to me.

If you read it, you might think I should have seen the ending coming, but I go back to my original statement and say it's just because I had such a hard time connecting to ANY of the characters!

I'm "reading the alphabet" in my own challenge for 2024. I'm reading titles A-Z and this was my A and it was a hardcover so it cleared lots of space off my TBR shelf. For that, I'm pleased.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far, far too much minute detail in this lawyer/courtroom mystery drama. The author describes in boring detail the scenery on every car ride and the setting of every destination. I know he is trying to set the scene but this is current day San Diego - not exactly a city with a moody history or reputation. I usually like courtroom scenes and reading about the ins and outs of law but this author subjects the reader to really long and repetitive dialog from both the witnesses and the lawyers. The plot, even with a twist at the end, is not complex enough to warrant the excruciating detail.