Helpful Score: 2
great book ... she's much better than grisham, in my opinion - more nuanced characters and more intelligent action. highly recommend!
Helpful Score: 1
Judge Lara Sanderson is a brilliant young woman whose judicial career suddenly takes second place to her hunt for the savage murderer of her sister and brother-in-law. Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's riveting thriller takes the reader deep into the twisting labyrinth of the criminal justice system.This masterful novel is not to be missed.
I find Nancy Taylor Rosenberg an excellent writer of the legal thriller genre. Her main character in this book is Judge Lara Sanderstone. She is playing a dangerous game of detective trying to find out who killed her sister and brother-in-law. A real detective helps her, adding the tension of romance to an already riveting plot. The main story involves Lara's hunt for the killer(s) despite several close calls in getting herself killed. This thriller also takes you deep into the criminal justice system without bogging down the main story. Not only is it a terrific story but the main characters are all well-drawn. Plus it's gratifying to read about a female judge who is not only very smart but also has managed to keep her femininity.
One of my fave authors of legal procedurals!
Sleeping with a cop would seem like the last thing a judge under investigation for dating a defense attorney should do, but Lara Sanderstone is such an intelligent, finely detailed character that even the unlikeliest plot twists work in this absorbing legal thriller by the author of Mitigating Circumstances. When her sister and brother-in-law are brutally slain, Lara's orderly life begins to fall apart. She inherits responsibility for their troubled teenage son Josh, who may have been involved in the murder; she is accused of judicial impropriety (for protecting her brother-in-law as well as for succumbing to the charms of a self-centered lawyer); and after fellow judge Leo Evergreen convinces her to release a defendant in one of her cases, the man's fingerprints are found in her ransacked house by Sgt. Ted Rickerson. Lara's budding romance with Ted, her attempts to win over her sullen nephew and crisp courtroom scenes combine to create an exciting narrative, related in propulsive yet unobtrusive prose. The ending is something of a letdown, but the novel is so generally entertaining that this seems only a minor flaw. Literary Guild main selection; film rights to Citadel/HBO; author tour.
"One of the year's ten best" - Los Angeles Times
"Moves at the speed of light and keeps readers frantically turning the pages--a thriller with an undniable air of authenticity" Orlando Sentinel
Judge Lara Sanderstone is a brilliant young woman whose judicial career suddenly takes second place to her hunt for the savage murderer of her sister and brother-in-law. The hideous crime leaves Lara with responsibility for a bitterly unmanageable teenage nephew, and she herself is being stalked by a killer who provides not the slightest clue as to identity or motive. To add to the terror, she can find no safe haven: Not in the California courtroom where an ongoing case of child abuse is putting the law on trial. Not in the arms of a high-powered lawyer for who she has no heart. Not in the condo where she is trying to hide. With her life hanging by an unraveling thread, Lara puts her trust in a tough homicide detective to whom she is compellingly drawn...and mobilizes her fierce intelligence to bring down the violent and powerful forces behind a lucrative breeding ground for murder--before they bring her down.
Like Rosenberg's style & stories. Consider her books - medium+ for reading. Need some quiet & concentration.
A judge's sister and her husband are killed. Pictures of a pedophile are found at the scene of the murder. A good story.
Great mystery with many twists & turns - hard to put down until the end!
This is my first Nancy Taylor Rosenberg novel and I really enjoyed it! My primary and favorite books are mysteries which end with a surprise and this is one also. I recommend her to everyone who enjoys this!! Now I'm off to add "First Offense", her excerpt at the end of this book :-)
The author of Mitigating Circumstances--a huge national bestseller--provides another bestselling and authentic story of sizzling suspense. A woman judge becomes the target of a murderoussued by--the killer who murdered her sister and brother-in-law.
This book is about a female judge and her sister and her boyfriend are murdered. She is trying to find the murderer, very very good book
