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kchessrice's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Rick Drake is a lawyer appointed to investigate an oil haulage company when it appears that their negligence contributed to a horrendous road traffic collision, which kills a young family and the driver of the freight lorry. It's not as straightforward a case as it seems, so old grudges need to be put aside with Thomas McMurtrie aka 'The Professor' who taught him law at university in order to unravel the tangled web of arson, bribery, and greed.
There are various elements of this novel that I liked: the plot is certainly fast-paced and there was plenty of tension in this court-room thriller. It made a good change to read a legal/court-room thriller that wasn't about a murder case and looks into the complexities of USA litigation law instead.
Unfortunately, everything else about this novel was in turns awful and astonishing (and not in a good way)!
All the characters were stereotypical "hereos and villains": the hot shot young lawyer trying his first big case; the attractive female assistant who falls in love with the hot shot young lawyer; the morally bankrupt company owner who will stop at nothing to protect his business; the hired muscle who does the boss's dirty work and isn't above drugging and beating women into submission. The author described in detail the physical appearance of every female character (hair colour, eye colour, breast size etc.) whereas the male characters were given a hair colour at best (except if they were a man of colour and that got a mention as well).
The many references to 1960s American football felt completely unnecessary to this Brit and detracted from the flow of the storyline (considering the novel isn't about American football in anyway it was rather shoehorned). It also seemed somewhat contradictory of the author to abbreviate the phrase "son of a bitch" to SOB throughout but is happy to drop in an 'n word'... disappointing for a novel published in 2015!
I'm amazed that this book is the first in a four-part series. I read this only so I could join in the discussion with my book club (and it certainly gave us a lot to talk about) but I won't be picking up any of the others.
There are various elements of this novel that I liked: the plot is certainly fast-paced and there was plenty of tension in this court-room thriller. It made a good change to read a legal/court-room thriller that wasn't about a murder case and looks into the complexities of USA litigation law instead.
Unfortunately, everything else about this novel was in turns awful and astonishing (and not in a good way)!
All the characters were stereotypical "hereos and villains": the hot shot young lawyer trying his first big case; the attractive female assistant who falls in love with the hot shot young lawyer; the morally bankrupt company owner who will stop at nothing to protect his business; the hired muscle who does the boss's dirty work and isn't above drugging and beating women into submission. The author described in detail the physical appearance of every female character (hair colour, eye colour, breast size etc.) whereas the male characters were given a hair colour at best (except if they were a man of colour and that got a mention as well).
The many references to 1960s American football felt completely unnecessary to this Brit and detracted from the flow of the storyline (considering the novel isn't about American football in anyway it was rather shoehorned). It also seemed somewhat contradictory of the author to abbreviate the phrase "son of a bitch" to SOB throughout but is happy to drop in an 'n word'... disappointing for a novel published in 2015!
I'm amazed that this book is the first in a four-part series. I read this only so I could join in the discussion with my book club (and it certainly gave us a lot to talk about) but I won't be picking up any of the others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Car accident, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Homophobia
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