This book was a little disappointing. It was in two parts that allegedly were connected, but they were not. First half was good but the 2nd half was slow and made little sense.
SPOILER** How does this attorney not see the things that she tells us are going on as issues? Show up alone at a crappy neighborhood to meet a clients sleezy friend, who you just learned might have revenge on his mind? How did she not figure this out right away? This was probably the worst book with the Patterson name on it that I have read. I kept waiting for part 1 to tie into part 2 which never did. I like to think that Mr. Patterson only put his name on this and did not actually have anything to do with the story line. Shorty, the love interest, Suzanne the new partner, the guy with the scar. Every character was glossed over with no real substance. I think Shorty...I always felt like some shoe was going to fall and when it didn't I realized I was terribly distracted by his character. Whenever Mr. Patterson writes with someone else I end up loving their books. I am not sure I will bother with this. The Patterson machine broke down on this one. Sorry.
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.
less polished and less compelling than the usual James Patterson book
Awful. Not a real book but 2 book shots in one binding. do not waste your credit
Wasn't sure how to rate this but I'll give it a weak 3*
The title of the book doesn't mean much of anything---spoiler here----- this is kind of 2 stories, the first a very short story and it just kind of ends with juror #3 being the culprit, the next story is a little longer and not much of story really, Ruby is again the 'star' but the story was slow and here again it just kind of ends with juror #3 being stupid, I like the short chapters and it helps the reading of this book but the story itself just isn't a thriller although it does have a twist at the end, but parts of it was just wasn't explained enough
I'm getting tired of some of Patterson's co-writers as they don't tell a good story sometimes and this one just kind of left too much hanging, hope this is not a series
The title of the book doesn't mean much of anything---spoiler here----- this is kind of 2 stories, the first a very short story and it just kind of ends with juror #3 being the culprit, the next story is a little longer and not much of story really, Ruby is again the 'star' but the story was slow and here again it just kind of ends with juror #3 being stupid, I like the short chapters and it helps the reading of this book but the story itself just isn't a thriller although it does have a twist at the end, but parts of it was just wasn't explained enough
I'm getting tired of some of Patterson's co-writers as they don't tell a good story sometimes and this one just kind of left too much hanging, hope this is not a series
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.
I would say this book was hardly one of Patterson's best, but overall it was pretty good. It never left me feeling like "who cares" as legal mysteries sometimes do. No, there was never a point where I didn't feel at least a moderate compulsion to read on. The main character, Ruby Bozarth, portrayed as a new young lawyer in a small Mississipi town who suddenly finds herself tapped to serve as the defense lawyer in a racially charged felony that is way over her head, is immediately likable. Her character is no doubt the reason Patterson chose Nancy Allen, an experienced lawyer herself, as his co-author for this book, her first with Patterson. The ending which was far too predictable I found a bit disappointing and the character, Shorty a bit of an enigma, but otherwise I felt the book was a good 3-star read.
