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lwalker77's review
4.0
If I could I’d give 4.5 stars. I enjoyed this book more than any book I’ve read in a long time. I had never read a book by Robert Bailey but I look forward to the next in the series. I had a hard time putting this book down at times. Very highly recommended!
countingstarsbycandlelight's review
4.0
Loved this book! fast paced, interesting characters, and a gripping courtroom drama. This will definitely go on my staff picks list.
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
laurahastoomanywips's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Definitely interesting reading, you could tell the author was a lawyer given the points of law dotted throughout the book and the courtroom scenes were incredibly vivid. The one bit I didn't like was the way women were described compared to the men. This might have been due to the protagonist, Tom being close to seventy and from a "Southern State" so views of women would be more old fashioned and not like what is expected now. Would still read the others in the series to see how the partnership progressed and if any characters from this book came back to have another pop at them
charms92's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
goodkaren's review
4.0
Very Grisham-like. Great character development, great plot line. Needed more emotion to be five stars.
wolfchanreads's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
eserafina42's review
4.0
50% through, and while this is an interesting read a couple of things are annoying me. 1) What happens to the title character at the beginning just seems way too over the top; to me the accusation of inappropriate behavior with his female student (although it does drive the plot later on) was just a bit too much - it wasn't really needed and could still have been brought in later. 2) The bad guys are, at least so far, just cardboard characters right out of central casting who apparently have unlimited reach . The lawyer on the other side just confuses me. He seems to be an utter snake with no redeeming qualities but at one time our one main character (Tom) thought of him as a friend, so was Tom wrong all along or did something happen to change the guy, and why does winning this case seem so personal to him, almost like a vendetta? I hope that more about his motivations comes out before the end. The most interesting villains do at least have a shred of humanity.
____
Finished. I still have the above issues with the book, or it would be a solid 4 stars, but due to that I'm giving it 3.5. Apart from that I enjoyed it very much.
Spoiler
since they seem to be following the one lawyer 24 hours a day and either killing or neutralizing every witness he comes up with____
Finished. I still have the above issues with the book, or it would be a solid 4 stars, but due to that I'm giving it 3.5. Apart from that I enjoyed it very much.
kattdee's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0