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The Legal Limit
Gates Hunt is a compulsive felon, serving a stiff penitentiary sentence for selling cocaine. His brother, Mason, however, has escaped their bitter, impoverished upbringing to become the commonwealth's attorney for their rural hometown in Virginia, where he enjoys a contented life with his wife and spitfire daughter. But Mason's idyll is abruptly pierced by a wicked tragedy, and soon afterward trouble finds him again when he is forced to confront a brutal secret he and his brother had both sworn to take with them to the grave, a secret that threatens everyone and everything he holds dear.
Intricately plotted and relentlessly entertaining, The Legal Limit is an exploration of the judicial system's roughest edges, as well as a gripping story of murder, family, and the difficult divide that sometimes separates genuine justice from the law.
Intricately plotted and relentlessly entertaining, The Legal Limit is an exploration of the judicial system's roughest edges, as well as a gripping story of murder, family, and the difficult divide that sometimes separates genuine justice from the law.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
154 people are currently reading
966 people want to read
About the author
Martin Clark
6 books553 followersEntertainment Weekly called Martin Clark “hands down, our finest legal-thriller writer.” The New York Times stated that he is “the thinking man’s John Grisham.” The Winston-Salem Journal declared that he has set “the new standard by which other works of legal fiction should be judged,” and David Baldacci praised him as “a truly original writer.” A retired circuit court judge from Patrick County, Virginia, Martin is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and attended law school at the University of Virginia. When he was appointed to the bench in 1992 at age thirty-two, he became one of the youngest judges in the history of the commonwealth. His novels have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, and the audio version of The Substitution Order was a number one national bestseller. Additionally, his novels have been chosen as a New York Times Notable Book, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year, a Bookmarks Magazine Best Book of the Year, a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection, a finalist for the Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and the winner of the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award in 2009, 2016 and 2020. Martin received the Patrick County Outstanding Community Service Award in 2016 and the Virginia State Bar’s Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Award in 2018. His wife, Deana, is a photographer, and they live on a farm with dogs, cats, chickens, guinea fowl and three donkeys.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
September 23, 2019
5 Stars. Excellent!
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May 16, 2020
Audiobook - 15.5 Hours - Narrator: Ed Sala
1 Star - "I did not like it" - Did Not Finish
At 15.5 hours in length, I suspected in the beginning that "Legal Limit" might turn out to be too long and this proved to be the case. I spent 6.5 hours (40%) listening to this book and despite the fact that the author, Martin Clark, is a sitting circuit court judge, the 'legal procedural' (a favourite genre) I was hoping for, has not eventuated. The writing was interesting enough and the author's credentials encouraged me to listen for a respectable length of time, but in the end ... another DNF😒.
1 Star - "I did not like it" - Did Not Finish
At 15.5 hours in length, I suspected in the beginning that "Legal Limit" might turn out to be too long and this proved to be the case. I spent 6.5 hours (40%) listening to this book and despite the fact that the author, Martin Clark, is a sitting circuit court judge, the 'legal procedural' (a favourite genre) I was hoping for, has not eventuated. The writing was interesting enough and the author's credentials encouraged me to listen for a respectable length of time, but in the end ... another DNF😒.
March 4, 2021
Martin Clark has once again delivered a solid and unique perspective on the legal scene. In the prologue, we are told that this story is a thoroughly researched story of an actual event. The epilogue eludes to the fact, that Mr. Clark was operating on the periphery on the story, so though he wasn't an actual fly on the wall, we still have the pertinent details provided. After the story's completion, we have all the germane pieces to the puzzle and it was fascinating account. As always, Clark delivers a detailed and easy reading story (this is my third by this master storyteller).
The account is of two brothers, as old as Cain and Abel but not quite the same (at the beginning). Gates and Mason leave a party and a man, Wayne, who had been spending time with Gates's girl accosts them on the road after they left her trailer. Wayne was threatening these men and Gates response is to shoot Wayne dead with one shot. Mason covers for Gates when they are interviewed by the police. That is Mason's first mistake, the aftermath that follows is so tangled that the phrase "the truth is stranger than fiction" applies in all its fullness.
Clark's eye for detail shows us that sometimes the loopholes can work for the good guys just as much as the bad. This is by no means a black and white situation and there are so many different players that the manner these situations occurred is simply amazing in itself. I frantically turned page after page just wanting to know how the current problem would be resolved, that I flew through it in about a day!
If your wanting to know how the legal system really works, this is a great place to start!
The account is of two brothers, as old as Cain and Abel but not quite the same (at the beginning). Gates and Mason leave a party and a man, Wayne, who had been spending time with Gates's girl accosts them on the road after they left her trailer. Wayne was threatening these men and Gates response is to shoot Wayne dead with one shot. Mason covers for Gates when they are interviewed by the police. That is Mason's first mistake, the aftermath that follows is so tangled that the phrase "the truth is stranger than fiction" applies in all its fullness.
Clark's eye for detail shows us that sometimes the loopholes can work for the good guys just as much as the bad. This is by no means a black and white situation and there are so many different players that the manner these situations occurred is simply amazing in itself. I frantically turned page after page just wanting to know how the current problem would be resolved, that I flew through it in about a day!
If your wanting to know how the legal system really works, this is a great place to start!
July 31, 2008
Whenever Martin publishes a new book, he sends out handwritten postcards to let his fans know. This touch alone will keep me reading his books-- the fact that they are actually good helps even more.
September 5, 2019
Good legal thriller. I stumbled across this author, enjoyed it. I love the small town lawyer backdrop.
June 13, 2015
I ordered The Jezebel Remedy by Judge Clark and then realized I'd never gotten around to reading The Legal Limit. I started this book the other day, and to be quite honest, I need to water and clean up the kitchen and do a million other things, but I just could NOT put down this book!
Full disclaimer: Judge Martin Clark is an incredibly gifted writer who has kindly given encouragement to others of us struggling to write. He has autographed books for me and been a prince to my former book group, sending us copies of his books to share.
That said, if I didn't like the book, I would absolutely say so. Because that's the way the law works, something he gets. However, he drew a picture of a part of our state that has recently been in the news thanks to Beth Macy's outstanding book, Factory Man, and he tells the story with an understanding of people that comes from deep roots in a community.
Descriptions of smoke curling in the air, a narcissistic drunk, a resigned factory worker mother, a downright mean man any of us would hesitate to call human, and the imagery of the insignificant things we notice while we ponder the issues that will forever imprint themselves in the pages of our lives... There is beauty in the story that pits the gratitude and goodness of one human against the sense of entitlement that had morphed from the primitive bond of brotherhood.
Mason Gates grows up to be a decent man, beloved and respected in his community. He's seen to have arisen from the ashes of a miserable beginning - and the story threatens to turn him into a phoenix, going up in flames simply because. In the end he shows us he still has the gift of self-preservation but it comes with humility and that deep-seated decency at his core.
I know his brother Gates all too well, having experienced one just like him in our extended family. He was so predictable, and this is where Judge Clark shines. He doesn't try to sugar coat that predictability by drawing any sympathy for this character. He reveals just enough of the deep crannies that Gates possesses - the ones where there might be a speck of decency - but then snaps back to reality. Yes, his life was rough and he bore the scars of it, but in the end it was his ego and his choices that wrote the script. Martin Clark let that script write itself, and it was a wise move.
Read this book. Really. Read all of his books, but read this one and understand that this author really understands human nature and he is still humble enough to show that he doesn't even presume to have all the answers, black robe of power or not.
Full disclaimer: Judge Martin Clark is an incredibly gifted writer who has kindly given encouragement to others of us struggling to write. He has autographed books for me and been a prince to my former book group, sending us copies of his books to share.
That said, if I didn't like the book, I would absolutely say so. Because that's the way the law works, something he gets. However, he drew a picture of a part of our state that has recently been in the news thanks to Beth Macy's outstanding book, Factory Man, and he tells the story with an understanding of people that comes from deep roots in a community.
Descriptions of smoke curling in the air, a narcissistic drunk, a resigned factory worker mother, a downright mean man any of us would hesitate to call human, and the imagery of the insignificant things we notice while we ponder the issues that will forever imprint themselves in the pages of our lives... There is beauty in the story that pits the gratitude and goodness of one human against the sense of entitlement that had morphed from the primitive bond of brotherhood.
Mason Gates grows up to be a decent man, beloved and respected in his community. He's seen to have arisen from the ashes of a miserable beginning - and the story threatens to turn him into a phoenix, going up in flames simply because. In the end he shows us he still has the gift of self-preservation but it comes with humility and that deep-seated decency at his core.
I know his brother Gates all too well, having experienced one just like him in our extended family. He was so predictable, and this is where Judge Clark shines. He doesn't try to sugar coat that predictability by drawing any sympathy for this character. He reveals just enough of the deep crannies that Gates possesses - the ones where there might be a speck of decency - but then snaps back to reality. Yes, his life was rough and he bore the scars of it, but in the end it was his ego and his choices that wrote the script. Martin Clark let that script write itself, and it was a wise move.
Read this book. Really. Read all of his books, but read this one and understand that this author really understands human nature and he is still humble enough to show that he doesn't even presume to have all the answers, black robe of power or not.
April 5, 2019
You can read the other reviews - or better yet, the book itself - if you want details on what this story is about. I just want to welcome Martin Clark* to the growing community of world class Virginia-based (or at least Virginia-raised) authors - folks like Kathryn Erskine (Mockingbird, The Incredible Magic of Being), James A. McLaughlin (Bearskin), and I assume/hope many others.**
Clark has a genuine feel for southern Virginia, a good eye for detail, a great ear for dialogue, and an obvious love of the law, (as well as an insider's appreciation for its numerous ironies and inconsistencies). He also creates realistically flawed characters, including his damaged protagonist, which makes his people as believable as his settings and situations.
As a general fan of "lean" fiction - I'll take a Sorceror's Stone over a Half-Blood Prince any day - I found Legal Limit to include a little more backstory and filler than I usually prefer. But in this case, it was at least interesting and well-written backstory/filler, and so it never pulled me out of the story. And while we're talking style, I noticed a few other reviewers criticize Clark for his run-on sentences, noting that they can go on for half a paragraph or more and include up to a dozen commas, but I personally see that as a creative decision which, when done well - and Clark does it well - helps create a rhythm that is almost poetic or musical in its impact, especially when balanced against a shorter follow-up sentence. Like this. (See what I did there?)
Anyway...while I've enjoyed my share of Grishams (and not enjoyed several Turows), for whatever reason I've just never felt drawn to the overall "legal thriller" genre. Still, I'll definitely be revisiting Martin Clark's world in the near future!
* Not that Clark is a new author - he's been publishing since 2000. But he's new to me, so that still counts!
** This list does NOT include "Northern Virginia-based" writers, who are mostly carpetbaggers like myself, and mainly former military or intelligence professionals writing spy or Rambo-type stories, and who probably couldn't tell a skink from a skunk.
Clark has a genuine feel for southern Virginia, a good eye for detail, a great ear for dialogue, and an obvious love of the law, (as well as an insider's appreciation for its numerous ironies and inconsistencies). He also creates realistically flawed characters, including his damaged protagonist, which makes his people as believable as his settings and situations.
As a general fan of "lean" fiction - I'll take a Sorceror's Stone over a Half-Blood Prince any day - I found Legal Limit to include a little more backstory and filler than I usually prefer. But in this case, it was at least interesting and well-written backstory/filler, and so it never pulled me out of the story. And while we're talking style, I noticed a few other reviewers criticize Clark for his run-on sentences, noting that they can go on for half a paragraph or more and include up to a dozen commas, but I personally see that as a creative decision which, when done well - and Clark does it well - helps create a rhythm that is almost poetic or musical in its impact, especially when balanced against a shorter follow-up sentence. Like this. (See what I did there?)
Anyway...while I've enjoyed my share of Grishams (and not enjoyed several Turows), for whatever reason I've just never felt drawn to the overall "legal thriller" genre. Still, I'll definitely be revisiting Martin Clark's world in the near future!
* Not that Clark is a new author - he's been publishing since 2000. But he's new to me, so that still counts!
** This list does NOT include "Northern Virginia-based" writers, who are mostly carpetbaggers like myself, and mainly former military or intelligence professionals writing spy or Rambo-type stories, and who probably couldn't tell a skink from a skunk.
September 18, 2011
Something appealing about the characters and setting. Two brothers close growing-up and then further apart every year. Legal back-drop is kind of a bonus along with someone's full career arc. Another story with a credible workplace setting. I want more by this author!
March 28, 2020
Another fine legal thriller from Martin Clark. Fine, great characters, trademark exceptional pacing and plot.
December 19, 2018
THE LEGAL LIMIT
BY MARTIN CLARK
This story is a legal "adventure" — not a legal thriller or courtroom drama.
We follow two masterly-crafted characters — two brothers — starting with a dramatic incident when both boys are in their twenties. Then some twenty years later, this incident comes back to bite them on the ass bigtime.
The core dilemma is the "moral/legal" elephant in the room. It’s best conceptualized in the following quotation from the book:
“It’s misguided when we worship musty old words in a text at the expense of innocent people’s suffering.”
— Martin Clark, The Legal Limit
Of course, everything goes wrong for the two brothers and continues to escalate at a blinding pace.
Just when you’re sure you know what’s going to happen next, you’re fooled again. Kept me guessing wrong right through to the ending.
This story contains many interesting characters. The kind that’ll stay with you, where you find yourself thinking about them, long past the ending. This is quality fiction.
Martin, you can quit the day-job now. And it’s never too late to move to Missoula. Cheers to all the Clarks, including the donkeys. Next time, post pictures!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟FIVE STARS FROM ME!
Cheers and Happy Reading!
JIM in MT😎
http://adamjames.blackdogebooks.com/
BY MARTIN CLARK
This story is a legal "adventure" — not a legal thriller or courtroom drama.
We follow two masterly-crafted characters — two brothers — starting with a dramatic incident when both boys are in their twenties. Then some twenty years later, this incident comes back to bite them on the ass bigtime.
The core dilemma is the "moral/legal" elephant in the room. It’s best conceptualized in the following quotation from the book:
“It’s misguided when we worship musty old words in a text at the expense of innocent people’s suffering.”
— Martin Clark, The Legal Limit
Of course, everything goes wrong for the two brothers and continues to escalate at a blinding pace.
Just when you’re sure you know what’s going to happen next, you’re fooled again. Kept me guessing wrong right through to the ending.
This story contains many interesting characters. The kind that’ll stay with you, where you find yourself thinking about them, long past the ending. This is quality fiction.
Martin, you can quit the day-job now. And it’s never too late to move to Missoula. Cheers to all the Clarks, including the donkeys. Next time, post pictures!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟FIVE STARS FROM ME!
Cheers and Happy Reading!
JIM in MT😎
http://adamjames.blackdogebooks.com/
September 23, 2010
The most entertainment value for me was that I'm a native of the county where Mr. Clark grew up and where this story is set. It's fun to see the names of people you know/knew and to try to guess at characters wearing aliases when you're reading a book with a background of your own area.
The plot is really kind of simple: two brothers grow up with an abusive father and the older brother protects the younger. Then on one fateful night the older brother commits a terrible crime and the younger brother protects him. The incident comes back to haunt Mason, the younger brother, after he has built a successful life in Patrick County, back in his home town.
This isn't what I would exactly call a thriller, but I do think it's a keen psychological study of a smart, somewhat ruthless man faced with a threat to all he holds dear. I also thought it was a solid and pretty accurate picture of life in this one small rural area and of the relationships of the different types of people here and how they play off each other. The only thing missing was bluegrass jam sessions on Main Street and throughout the county. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Martin Clark
The plot is really kind of simple: two brothers grow up with an abusive father and the older brother protects the younger. Then on one fateful night the older brother commits a terrible crime and the younger brother protects him. The incident comes back to haunt Mason, the younger brother, after he has built a successful life in Patrick County, back in his home town.
This isn't what I would exactly call a thriller, but I do think it's a keen psychological study of a smart, somewhat ruthless man faced with a threat to all he holds dear. I also thought it was a solid and pretty accurate picture of life in this one small rural area and of the relationships of the different types of people here and how they play off each other. The only thing missing was bluegrass jam sessions on Main Street and throughout the county. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from Martin Clark
November 24, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyable tale, and along the way a warm tribute to a small Virginia town I know well.
June 17, 2011
Just how far would you go to protect a brother or relative? Martin Clark's excellent novel examines the ethical dilemma faced by lawyer and commonwealth attorney, Mason Hunt. He has a desperate secret. He was always protected by his brother, Gates, from their abusive father. While being harassed by a local redneck, Gates, kills the man and Mason helps him cover up the secret. It's a secret that will come back to haunt him.
Gates gets into drugs and Mason finally decides he can no longer get him out of trouble by pulling strings, and Gates threatens to bring the house down around him.
Mason has his own dark side and the scene in which he and his assistant confront a drug dealer who has threatened his wife, and the description of how they cover it up is worthy of an episode of Shark. Mason suffers his own tribulations, the death of his wife, a teenage daughter going through troubled years, and then Gates’ revenge bombshell drops. Now, some 20 years later, Mason is forced to come to grips with his past, and the readers must decide what constitutes justice.
This book is about small town life and ethics, the legal system, and the author builds believable and interesting characters. It has twists and unexpected turns. Apparently based on a real murder case, Clark, a circuit court judge, writes very well and this tale will grip you and not let go.
Gates gets into drugs and Mason finally decides he can no longer get him out of trouble by pulling strings, and Gates threatens to bring the house down around him.
Mason has his own dark side and the scene in which he and his assistant confront a drug dealer who has threatened his wife, and the description of how they cover it up is worthy of an episode of Shark. Mason suffers his own tribulations, the death of his wife, a teenage daughter going through troubled years, and then Gates’ revenge bombshell drops. Now, some 20 years later, Mason is forced to come to grips with his past, and the readers must decide what constitutes justice.
This book is about small town life and ethics, the legal system, and the author builds believable and interesting characters. It has twists and unexpected turns. Apparently based on a real murder case, Clark, a circuit court judge, writes very well and this tale will grip you and not let go.
September 8, 2008
I'm not sure where I read a review for this novel, and I don't know what appealed to me in that review. Why am I telling you this? Because this is not a very good book.
Basic plot: Mason and Gates Hunt were raised by their mother, Sadie Grace, and their father, Curt, a crazy tyrant. The boys were very protective of each other as a result of their father's violence. As they grow up, Mason becomes the successful brother, and Gates, well, doesn't. Mason becomes a lawyer, and Gates becomes a two-bit drug dealer.
Both Hunt boys carry a secret: Gates Hunt murdered a man when he was younger. Mason was a witness and provided Gates with an alibi.
Okay, this sounds juicy, right? Well, there's a whole convoluted story that goes on and on, and the murder finally comes up again. But who cares? The characters are boring and not particularly likable, and the setting (small town Virginia) isn't terribly appealing either.
Don't waste your time.
Basic plot: Mason and Gates Hunt were raised by their mother, Sadie Grace, and their father, Curt, a crazy tyrant. The boys were very protective of each other as a result of their father's violence. As they grow up, Mason becomes the successful brother, and Gates, well, doesn't. Mason becomes a lawyer, and Gates becomes a two-bit drug dealer.
Both Hunt boys carry a secret: Gates Hunt murdered a man when he was younger. Mason was a witness and provided Gates with an alibi.
Okay, this sounds juicy, right? Well, there's a whole convoluted story that goes on and on, and the murder finally comes up again. But who cares? The characters are boring and not particularly likable, and the setting (small town Virginia) isn't terribly appealing either.
Don't waste your time.
August 26, 2008
I didn't make it past the second chapter. I expected a legal thriller, or a mystery, or a tale of intrigue -- but all I got was poor writing, like this sentence, that made the novel, impossible to read. Just because you are a judge in real life doesn't make you a good writer. Also, as a northerner, I couldn't relate to the southern characters very well. A good writer would have made me feel like a southerner. Further, the attention to unimportant detail kills the book: I don't care that the dude is drinking a Pabst and driving a Chevy Impala. Describing an object by its brand name, rather than by its characteristics, is a lazy man's John Grishom's way of writing.
As a final note, any book that needs advertising in the New York Times Book Review is a book that probably doesn't need to be read. I've always followed this rule to this point, happily missing Dianetics and anything by L Ron Hubbard. Never again.
As a final note, any book that needs advertising in the New York Times Book Review is a book that probably doesn't need to be read. I've always followed this rule to this point, happily missing Dianetics and anything by L Ron Hubbard. Never again.
November 18, 2008
I found this to be a readable, credible, legal drama, unlike John Grisham's legal novels which go too far out of the legal bounds for me (a lawyer) to enjoy. The book is based on a true story in which the author, a Southern circuit court judge, played a role. I found the characters to be well-developed and real; even the good guys have their faults. The author does a great job of presenting the drama and moral issues following an impulsive crime and its coverup. An excellent read, if you like real-life, legal dramas.
January 14, 2020
Excellent!
There are simply not enough ways to say how well Martin Clark writes. Like all his other books - and I have read them all - this is well crafted with interesting characters and a great, twisting plot. He richly deserves a more visible seat at the table of excellent writers of the legal procedural. He is every bit as good as the folks with well known names. I hope someday to be able to say, "Yes. I found his books years ago and they are great! Glad you have found them, too."
There are simply not enough ways to say how well Martin Clark writes. Like all his other books - and I have read them all - this is well crafted with interesting characters and a great, twisting plot. He richly deserves a more visible seat at the table of excellent writers of the legal procedural. He is every bit as good as the folks with well known names. I hope someday to be able to say, "Yes. I found his books years ago and they are great! Glad you have found them, too."
September 5, 2019
Found this book in the Friends book sale. Don’t know how I missed this author’s writings. But I am so glad I picked it up. Well-written and a great story. Now I’ve got to find all his other books to read.
February 23, 2016
Martin Clark, The Legal Limit (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2008), 356 pages
Mason Hunt, the Commonwealth Attorney, has come a long ways from his horrific childhood with an abusive father. Respected in the community, he’s married to a devoted and sexy wife. They have a beautiful daughter and live on a gentleman’s farm. He also has a dark secret, one that can destroy him. And then, fate turns against him. His wife is killed in a tragic car accident and his convict brother, with whom he shared the secret, decides he’s going to use the secret to get himself out of jail. Life unravels.
Gates Hunt, Mason’s older brother, took the blunt of his father’s blows, often protecting his younger sibling. Gates was a promising football player, but couldn’t hold it together and as a young adult, slipped into the world of drugs and crime. Mason graduates from college and goes on to law school. Home one weekend, Mason and Gates are riding together when they have a run-in with Wayne Thompson, Gates’ girlfriend’s ex. They were on a remote road, no one was around. Threatened, Gates pulled out a pistol, shoots and kills Wayne. The two of them flee. Mason creates alibis, which they rehearse over and over. He also takes his brother’s pistol and disposes of it. The crime goes unsolved.
Twenty years later, Mason has come back to his hometown as the prosecutor. His brother, having shunned a plea bargain and demanded a jury trial for a drug bust, is serving a long sentence in the state penitentiary. As a single parent after his wife’s death, Mason finds himself struggling to raise a teenage daughter. He also finds himself being wooed into supporting a business opportunity for the country, an opportunity which promises short-term jobs and is funded with money from the state’s tobacco settlement. Then, in an attempt to get out of prison early, his brother fingers him in the unsolved murder of Wayne Thompson.
I won’t spoil the ending, but it suffices to say that Mason’s troubles are never truly over. The book shows how secrets can come back and haunt us, how some people are nearly unredeemable, and how we get caught in our lies. With the exception of his youthful mistake, helping his brother beat a murder rap, Mason is a good man. In fact, his honesty and integrity (in all but this one area of his life) causes his downfall (he wasn’t about to let an innocent man take the fall for his brother’s crime). This book raises many questions for the reader to ponder. What role does fate play? Why was Gates the older brother? Why does one’s wife die in an accident? It also raises questions about the evil intentions of some people (Gates, prosecutors and those in law enforcement, and those involved in schemes to spend tobacco money on a questionable development which only promise that they’ll be financially rewarded). Another question is about loyalty to family (Mason to Gates, Mason’s mother relationship to Gates, Mason to Curtis, his colleague who also has some secrets to hide, and Mason to his daughter). And finally, as the reader I’m left pondering the question of justice. Was justice done in the case? Not really, for we’re reminded of the Thompson family and their questions. Maybe a better question would be, "Could justice be done in this case?"
I enjoyed this book. The Legal Limit is not as funny as Clark’s other two novels, but in many ways, this is a more serious and tightly constructed work. I’m still pondering the ending of the book. Although I think I get what Clark is driving at, I also feel that the ending is the weakest link in Clark’s cleverly told story.
Mason Hunt, the Commonwealth Attorney, has come a long ways from his horrific childhood with an abusive father. Respected in the community, he’s married to a devoted and sexy wife. They have a beautiful daughter and live on a gentleman’s farm. He also has a dark secret, one that can destroy him. And then, fate turns against him. His wife is killed in a tragic car accident and his convict brother, with whom he shared the secret, decides he’s going to use the secret to get himself out of jail. Life unravels.
Gates Hunt, Mason’s older brother, took the blunt of his father’s blows, often protecting his younger sibling. Gates was a promising football player, but couldn’t hold it together and as a young adult, slipped into the world of drugs and crime. Mason graduates from college and goes on to law school. Home one weekend, Mason and Gates are riding together when they have a run-in with Wayne Thompson, Gates’ girlfriend’s ex. They were on a remote road, no one was around. Threatened, Gates pulled out a pistol, shoots and kills Wayne. The two of them flee. Mason creates alibis, which they rehearse over and over. He also takes his brother’s pistol and disposes of it. The crime goes unsolved.
Twenty years later, Mason has come back to his hometown as the prosecutor. His brother, having shunned a plea bargain and demanded a jury trial for a drug bust, is serving a long sentence in the state penitentiary. As a single parent after his wife’s death, Mason finds himself struggling to raise a teenage daughter. He also finds himself being wooed into supporting a business opportunity for the country, an opportunity which promises short-term jobs and is funded with money from the state’s tobacco settlement. Then, in an attempt to get out of prison early, his brother fingers him in the unsolved murder of Wayne Thompson.
I won’t spoil the ending, but it suffices to say that Mason’s troubles are never truly over. The book shows how secrets can come back and haunt us, how some people are nearly unredeemable, and how we get caught in our lies. With the exception of his youthful mistake, helping his brother beat a murder rap, Mason is a good man. In fact, his honesty and integrity (in all but this one area of his life) causes his downfall (he wasn’t about to let an innocent man take the fall for his brother’s crime). This book raises many questions for the reader to ponder. What role does fate play? Why was Gates the older brother? Why does one’s wife die in an accident? It also raises questions about the evil intentions of some people (Gates, prosecutors and those in law enforcement, and those involved in schemes to spend tobacco money on a questionable development which only promise that they’ll be financially rewarded). Another question is about loyalty to family (Mason to Gates, Mason’s mother relationship to Gates, Mason to Curtis, his colleague who also has some secrets to hide, and Mason to his daughter). And finally, as the reader I’m left pondering the question of justice. Was justice done in the case? Not really, for we’re reminded of the Thompson family and their questions. Maybe a better question would be, "Could justice be done in this case?"
I enjoyed this book. The Legal Limit is not as funny as Clark’s other two novels, but in many ways, this is a more serious and tightly constructed work. I’m still pondering the ending of the book. Although I think I get what Clark is driving at, I also feel that the ending is the weakest link in Clark’s cleverly told story.
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February 5, 2009In this crime/legal thriller, Clark explores the boundaries between law and justice, sin and forgiveness, fraternal bonds and betrayal. Mason stands at the center of an ethical dilemma, but he is no less compelling than his brother, their mother, and even Mason's partner. Clark "draws characters as well as Scott Turow and crafts plots as well as John Grisham," notes the Oregonian, but reviewers agreed that Clark's background has given him superior understanding of legal intricacies. Humor, sharp, regional dialogue, and impeccable plotting make for an unstoppable narrative. Only the Los Angeles Times faulted Clark for sinking "into that soft-focus therapeutic argot that now passes for American moralizing." In the end, however, The Legal Limit compellingly shows that "doing justice does not always flow from a rigid application of the law" (Chicago Sun-Times).
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
May 20, 2015
Excellent book. It isn't a book that is so filled with things going wrong that you can't put the book down, but because the characters are having a good time enjoying each others company and sentencing criminals.
This book is about having poor judgement and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Two brothers are supposed to be cutting a tree for fire wood for their mom. The older brother decides to go deliver a dresser with his brother to his brothers girl friend. It's this one decision that changes the whole lives of himself and his brother. Just this one decision. They should have been back at mom's within two hours. Drugs, sex, and killing a man at the end of the evening .... making stupid decisions to cover up the crime effect a man's law career twenty years later. A brother that lies for his brother to cover up the murder and then years later the other brother lying to turn the story upside down. Its just this one decision that was hastily made that this story is based on.
This book is about having poor judgement and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Two brothers are supposed to be cutting a tree for fire wood for their mom. The older brother decides to go deliver a dresser with his brother to his brothers girl friend. It's this one decision that changes the whole lives of himself and his brother. Just this one decision. They should have been back at mom's within two hours. Drugs, sex, and killing a man at the end of the evening .... making stupid decisions to cover up the crime effect a man's law career twenty years later. A brother that lies for his brother to cover up the murder and then years later the other brother lying to turn the story upside down. Its just this one decision that was hastily made that this story is based on.
August 3, 2015
Martin Clark is an active judge is southern Virginia, and draws much of his content from his work. This makes for realistic stories rather than "Thrillers," and that's a good thing. Although The Legal Limit suffers a bit from several subplots too many (That's why reviews call it a "complex story") and some occasionally awkward writing, it's a good story about a murder cover-up and its aftermath. The characters feel real and have some depth, and the legal story is wrapped around real life. I wish the end had been a little different - but even that made sense in the context of the situation. The story definitely pulled me in and kept me reading. I have previously read and enjoyed Plain Heathen Mischief, and will give Clark's newest, The Jezebel Remedy, a go as well.
February 17, 2021
Man, I hated this book about a bunch of authoritarian cronies who rationalize the rule of law to suit themselves and agonize about it. I did finish it, but only with some relentless hope that they would all be massacred. Rarely have I encountered such unappealing characters - smarmy, self-righteous, self-congratulatory, self-pitying lying pieces of garbage, the lot of them, including the token black guy who was clearly written initially as just another a cornpone hayseed, then rewritten to fit the profile of a "good n-word" to an absolute T. Might as well make him gay to cover that base as well. If I could gag myself to purge my brain of this rot, I would. I do not want to know that people this stupid and disgusting exist.
December 26, 2024
A very slow and boring novel. I thought I was in for a treat with a good legal thriller because the author was a judge, but there was no legal thriller, court scenes or anything entertaining at all.
The characters are boring, the pace of the book is ultra slow, the setting is not very interesting and there are a lot of side stories that do not help the main narrative or provide any kind of entertainment.
A true snooze fest, don't waste your time with this one.
The characters are boring, the pace of the book is ultra slow, the setting is not very interesting and there are a lot of side stories that do not help the main narrative or provide any kind of entertainment.
A true snooze fest, don't waste your time with this one.
December 1, 2008
I started this Thanksgiving day and finished 1 1/2 days later as I could not put it down! It's fiction, but opens as if it's based on a true account -- I'm not sure...but it is witty, complex and will pull you in. Great moral issues are explored within the context of an old murder case.
March 18, 2016
First one star review I've given here. This book just sucks. Sloooowww...I couldn't wait for it to go somewhere but it never did!! I'll be tossing this book in the trash so as to prevent some other poor soul from stumbling upon it.
January 8, 2018
ten eighteen in the morning, the 8th of january 2018, just finished, good read, really liked it, four stars, kindle. of the four i've read from clark martin fillmore, this one is tied with the first, something about trailer living...for the best. really enjoyed the story.
January 3, 2011
I bought this book based on a brief review in the Los Angeles Times and was disappointed in the writing and the story. I didn't find the main character, Mason Hunt, sympathetic or likable.
July 8, 2023
This is my first by this author and it will certainly not be my last. This was a refreshingly unique legal thriller. A close knit small town vibe, characters to root for (or loathe and root against). It's a tale of family, loyalty, and the gray areas that often make up decisions, life and the law with the consequences that occur. I found it compelling and I didn't want to stop listening. I loved the narration, very well done!
August 28, 2023
This is an excellent legal thriller in its own right, but what makes it extraordinary is that it is, according to its author, based on real events of which he, the author, played a key role.
Two brothers share a brutal childhood, one becomes a successful lawyer and the other a ne’er-do-well drug dealer. One fateful day the ne’er-do-well pulls a trigger during a heated exchange and a man dies. His brother makes a split second decision to help him cover the crime. The ne’er-do-well lands a 44 year prison sentence anyway on unrelated drug charges, and, incarcerated, stews in anger and jealousy of his brother’s successful life. Decades in, the good brother’s decision on that fateful day comes back to threaten his life, reputation, and the security of his family. There is plenty else going on in this novel. Lives, families and friendships are interwoven in complex ways, tragedies find the most undeserving people, dilemmas lead to moral quandaries. The spirit of the law is sometimes in conflict with its letter. Sometimes only extraordinary courage and vision can set things right.
Two brothers share a brutal childhood, one becomes a successful lawyer and the other a ne’er-do-well drug dealer. One fateful day the ne’er-do-well pulls a trigger during a heated exchange and a man dies. His brother makes a split second decision to help him cover the crime. The ne’er-do-well lands a 44 year prison sentence anyway on unrelated drug charges, and, incarcerated, stews in anger and jealousy of his brother’s successful life. Decades in, the good brother’s decision on that fateful day comes back to threaten his life, reputation, and the security of his family. There is plenty else going on in this novel. Lives, families and friendships are interwoven in complex ways, tragedies find the most undeserving people, dilemmas lead to moral quandaries. The spirit of the law is sometimes in conflict with its letter. Sometimes only extraordinary courage and vision can set things right.
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