Helpful Score: 1
Harried L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy is plagued by a slew of eccentrics who fully bear out the book's epigraph: "If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the Violent Ward." Among them are an ex-wife who tries to get more alimony by perching on the ledge outside his office, a slightly over-the-hill actor in search of a handgun, a Robert Maxwell clone called Sir Jeremy Westbridge and a Trump-like entrepreneur named Zach Petrovich, who owns Murphy's law firm and is married to his high school sweetheart. Their maneuverings spark a complicated plot whose many ramifications include a charitable organization that doubles as a clearinghouse for those seeking to fake their own deaths and the set-up of a tax-free Peruvian corporation through the use of bearer shares, but Murphy keeps all the craziness in perspective with a first-person narration that unfolds as a series of quiet, subtle surprises. Told in perfect Dashiell Hammett style, with the clues all noted but never underlined, this novel respects the reader's intelligence and almost begs for a rereading just to savor how skillfully Deighton has woven everything together.
A look inside some very crazy situations. Len is at his best here.
From Publishers Weekly
Deighton's latest, an enjoyable departure from his tales of British espionage ( City of Gold , etc.), introduces a protagonist with definite series potential. Harried L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy is plagued by a slew of eccentrics who fully bear out the book's epigraph: "If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the Violent Ward." Among them are an ex-wife who tries to get more alimony by perching on the ledge outside his office, a slightly over-the-hill actor in search of a handgun, a Robert Maxwell clone called Sir Jeremy Westbridge and a Trump-like entrepreneur named Zach Petrovich, who owns Murphy's law firm and is married to his high school sweetheart. Their maneuverings spark a complicated plot whose many ramifications include a charitable organization that doubles as a clearinghouse for those seeking to fake their own deaths and the set-up of a tax-free Peruvian corporation through the use of bearer shares, but Murphy keeps all the craziness in perspective with a first-person narration that unfolds as a series of quiet, subtle surprises. Told in perfect Dashiell Hammett style, with the clues all noted but never underlined, this novel respects the reader's intelligence and almost begs for a rereading just to savor how skillfully Deighton has woven everything together. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Deighton's latest, an enjoyable departure from his tales of British espionage ( City of Gold , etc.), introduces a protagonist with definite series potential. Harried L.A. lawyer Mickey Murphy is plagued by a slew of eccentrics who fully bear out the book's epigraph: "If America is a lunatic asylum then California is the Violent Ward." Among them are an ex-wife who tries to get more alimony by perching on the ledge outside his office, a slightly over-the-hill actor in search of a handgun, a Robert Maxwell clone called Sir Jeremy Westbridge and a Trump-like entrepreneur named Zach Petrovich, who owns Murphy's law firm and is married to his high school sweetheart. Their maneuverings spark a complicated plot whose many ramifications include a charitable organization that doubles as a clearinghouse for those seeking to fake their own deaths and the set-up of a tax-free Peruvian corporation through the use of bearer shares, but Murphy keeps all the craziness in perspective with a first-person narration that unfolds as a series of quiet, subtle surprises. Told in perfect Dashiell Hammett style, with the clues all noted but never underlined, this novel respects the reader's intelligence and almost begs for a rereading just to savor how skillfully Deighton has woven everything together. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Murphy, a Mick lawyer with an ex-wife who sends her astrologer around demanding money so she can pay off her orthodontist. My kid has hocked his 9mm Browning using false ID. I'm in love with the wife of my wealthiest client and the cops are trying to pin a nasty homicide on me.
But there's no recession in the crime industry and my business is fine' or it might be if my German secretary could write and speak English, and my clients didn't get wasted before they paid my bills. The kind of crooks I defent never plead the 5th because they can't count that far.
But there's no recession in the crime industry and my business is fine' or it might be if my German secretary could write and speak English, and my clients didn't get wasted before they paid my bills. The kind of crooks I defent never plead the 5th because they can't count that far.
a departure for deighton
Somewhat of a departure for Deighton, but an entertaining read regarding life in Los Angeles.
A fast paced mystery thriller that is witty & nutty but still suspenseful about a defense attorney framed for murder.