I've got a book about a lawyer in rural Mississippi. No, it's NOT by John Grisham. Really â sure, that would have been MY first guess, too. And my second. In this instance, however, the James Patterson publishing juggernaut has landed in an area best known as another writer's sandbox. And, while the book stands on its own, the feeling that it is trespassing or squatting looms as a monolith over every paragraph from beginning to end.
The story itself? Entertaining enough. Newly minted lawyer Ruby Bozarth suddenly finds her small-time legal assistance efforts augmented by the assignment to defend a high profile accused murderer. Why Ruby? It seems that the accused assaulted the legal aid lawyer originally assigned to his case! And, the situation evolves to the point where it's not the only high profile murderer she needs to defend!
My concerns (besides the aforementioned monolith) â I found no real surprises in this book. I didn't quickly determine the identity of the actual first murderer (I don't think it much of a spoiler in a book like this to discover that the accused may not actually be guilty), but I DID figure out every other aspect of the case. And the second murder? Not only did I pick out the murderer, but also the approximate motives and even details about the victim that did not originally come to light in discovery!
I call this a âpopcornâ book. Entertaining and tasty, but it doesn't leave a lasting impression. It DOES, however, whet my appetite to try out some of co-author Nancy Allen's solo work â which, I suspect, is the second most important career step about collaborating with Mr. Patterson. (The first, of course, would be the immediate potential profits on the book itself!)
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
The story itself? Entertaining enough. Newly minted lawyer Ruby Bozarth suddenly finds her small-time legal assistance efforts augmented by the assignment to defend a high profile accused murderer. Why Ruby? It seems that the accused assaulted the legal aid lawyer originally assigned to his case! And, the situation evolves to the point where it's not the only high profile murderer she needs to defend!
My concerns (besides the aforementioned monolith) â I found no real surprises in this book. I didn't quickly determine the identity of the actual first murderer (I don't think it much of a spoiler in a book like this to discover that the accused may not actually be guilty), but I DID figure out every other aspect of the case. And the second murder? Not only did I pick out the murderer, but also the approximate motives and even details about the victim that did not originally come to light in discovery!
I call this a âpopcornâ book. Entertaining and tasty, but it doesn't leave a lasting impression. It DOES, however, whet my appetite to try out some of co-author Nancy Allen's solo work â which, I suspect, is the second most important career step about collaborating with Mr. Patterson. (The first, of course, would be the immediate potential profits on the book itself!)
RATING: 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4 stars where 1/2 stars are not permitted.
