The DA

by Chao C. Chien

Success is built upon the skeletons of those who have failed, the saying goes. Better yet, victories are built upon the skeletons of the defeated. DA Hadley Hickman took no prisoners. Ruthless but brilliant, she was arguably the winningest DA St. Paul ever had. Her colleagues respected and admired her, but her rivals feared her. Those that had been crushed by her, well, they did not know how they felt. They were either in prison or dead. While handling a drug case in coordination with the St. Paul Police Department, two controversial cases fell into her purview. One was a sensational murder that she must win, the other a case of sexual assault involving children that she coveted. These were not easy prosecutions by any means, but they promised to thrust her into the media spotlight and could do wonders for her political aspirations. She took on both. Of course, DA Hickman did not do all by herself. She had a full staff support, and the help of Detective Dennis Koslovich, who would step in and handle her more tricky problems. By tricky, you know what I mean. Maybe sticky is a better word. Like anything else, law and order are no difference. When Hadley had difficulties, the type that law books somehow failed to address, Det. Koslovich would step in. Oh, and there is Detective Nils Gunnarsson and his protégé Arnold too. But does the end really justify the means? Can DA Hickman just roll over everything and everybody and get away with it, those guilty and innocent? This is a story of their travails. It is also about what excessive ambition may yield. Hard-driving, relentless, and exciting, this is one novel you must read. Fast-paced and full of action. You’ll love it.

Genres: Mystery

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2020

Reviews

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue is clunky, the plot oddly paced and extremely improbable. I was not enthused by the inclusion of false sexual allegations by children as a plot point. The legal process is not near accurate. I was expecting a Mary Sue MC in the DA and was denied even that: The characters are not even caricatures, and the only personality traits appears to be 'corrupt' and 'oblivious.' There are more anagrammed names than in Carmilla. This book needs an editor.

But if you can get past the first fifty pages, you'll probably hate everyone enough to persevere to get to their just desserts, and for that I'm bumping it up a star.

Disclaimer: This book was won in a Goodreads giveaway. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to author Chao C. Chien for the FREE Kindle copy of The DA. And thanks to Goodreads for hosting the opportunity.

It was OK. I think there is a good story here, but found trouble with the writing. The conversations were 'robotic', unnatural, not fluid, and the choice of some words used would not be found used by the majority of people. It did force me to use the dictionary, and I do appreciate learning new words, but often they were not quite right for the sentence. There was not much effort spent on scenery, to give the reader the ambiance, the mood. Also, the book needs a good thrashing by an editor.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Chien has a story to tell and while for me the story is quite negative, it does provide readers a tale to read.

As a reader I found the writing somewhat uneven and it was not always clear where the story would take me. I however did find myself engaged enough to keep me involved to the conclusion.

Another quirk I found was that the titled character, Gunnarsson did not seem to have a leading role in the story which added to the questions as to what I should be expecting.

Overall this book was okay but not one to lead me to another in the series. 3 stars

My thanks to goodreads and the book's giveaway sponsors for the opportunity to obtain and read a copy of this book.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book. Really, really didn't like the DA and her tactics but certainly didn't want the problem to be resolved as it was. However, this did make a really exciting and fast moving story that had me engrossed until the very end. And, in reference to the end, a somewhat unsettling conclusion that left me questioning what real justice is. A worthwhile read.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book

I felt the book was very interesting. It moved along with great fluidity and held my attention throughout. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery’s. Fun reading!!

[Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Kindle Copy Win

It was an average story line that moved along at a steady pace. I was not engage as I would like it as I was not drawn in. It was overall an interesting read.

[Barbara]

I tried to read this book. Very wordy and, for me, the use of the "f" word on every single page is to much. I would not recommend it

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book

[Devin Drennen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Goodreads Giveaway win. The book had potential but felt really flat to me. I felt like the story didn’t really go in depth and the plot twists just didn’t feel plausible