Jenn's Review: Claim of Innocence

Summary:  Forbidden relationships are the most tempting. And the most dangerous.


It was a crime of passion–or so the police say. Valerie Solara has been charged with poisoning her best friend. The prosecution claims she's always been secretly attracted to Amanda's husband…and with Amanda gone, she planned to make her move.


Attorney Izzy McNeil left the legal world a year ago, but a friend's request pulls her into the murder trial. Izzy knows how passion can turn your life upside down. She thought she had it once with her ex–fiance, Sam. Now she wonders if that's all she has in common with her criminally gorgeous, younger boyfriend, Theo.


It's Izzy's job to present the facts that will exonerate her client–whether or not she's innocent. But when she suspects Valerie is hiding something, she begins investigating–and uncovers a web of secret passions and dark motives, where seemingly innocent relationships can prove poisonous…

Review:  I was a twenty-five pages or so into this book and wondering why I felt I'd been dropped into the middle of something... and then I realized that I had been dropped into the middle of a series.  I am not a fan of reading books out of order when it comes to a series, and although the prior books weren't necessary to the plot, I still felt like I wasn't getting as much out of the personal relationships between the characters as I would had I read the previous three.  Also, there are some big things that have occurred for all of the characters that I now am spoiled over by having read the fourth book first.  That aside, this will obviously be a review of this book as a standalone novel.

If I didn't get the full measure of character interactions, I hoped that I could at least appreciate it for the plot.  Alas, as soon as the defendant Valerie was introduced, I pretty much knew what had happened in the case but I thought there might be some good plot twists thrown in.  Unfortunately, all of those had to do with the character's personal lives which I couldn't seem to invest in due to the fact that I never got to know them very well.

Ms. Caldwell's writing jumped around a lot as it changed points of view in a rather halting manner.  Much of the personal interaction seemed superfluous, again perhaps because it's this is mid-series.  I had no interest in Izzy's problems with her love life... or her co-council Meg's lack of problems.  Ms. Caldwell's writing is based on her personal experience, which is unique, but I'm not sure wether that helped or hindered the story.  The courtroom scenes were extremely dull.  It also seemed odd that Izzy was given so much responsibility in this case when she has never worked in criminal law before.  I understand that she has a history with the defense attorney, but it her involvement felt random. The Innocence Project also seemed to be extraneous and neither added or detracted from the story. It almost made me wish she'd chosen to tell the story of the cold case over the current one.  I also felt there was a slight legal loophole at the end of the book that was glossed over and oversimplified.

On the whole, I certainly would not recommend this book as a stand alone novel.  However, perhaps it's another story if you are already invested in the characters, and like Ms. Caldwell's writing style.  I for one, will not be reading any more of this series, and perhaps no more from Ms. Caldwell.

Final Take: 2.75/5.0

Julie's Review: In The Name of Honor

Summary: When Lt. Brian McCarran shoots and kills his superior officer, Capt. Joe D'Abruzzo, at Fort Bolton in northern Virginia soon after they return from a tour in Iraq, 31-year-old Capt. Paul Terry, of the army's JAG Corps, defends the lieutenant. That the accused is the son of legendary Gen. Anthony McCarran, the current army chief of staff, makes it an especially sensitive court-martial. To complicate matters, Joe was married to Kate Gallagher, the general's goddaughter and lifelong friend of Brian and the McCarran family. Sparks fly after Brian's gorgeous older attorney sister, Meg, insists on working with Paul. As always, Patterson chooses to deal with difficult themes, this time PTSD and the war in Iraq. This is superior genre fiction from a writer at the top of his game. ~amazon.com

Review: As with most of Richard North Patterson's books he takes a timely issue and weaves it into his novel. The current issue here is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) and the effect is has on soldiers when they return from war. In the Name of Honor makes this important issue front and center but it is weaved in such a way that it becomes an integral part of the family and where they end up.

I found this book to be extremely engrossing, disturbing and compelling. Mr. Patterson has such a gift for storytelling that it's hard not to come to like the characters. Lieutenant McCarran is the center of the story here but for me the main character is Captain Paul Terry who is picked to defend the honorable soldier in a murder trial. The story is told through Paul's eyes and unlike some protagonists, I felt like I could totally believe his viewpoint. He was intelligent, driven and about to leave the army in a month to go on to a big job at a Wall Street firm. Meg McCarran serves as co-counsel and also as Paul's lover. You can pretty much guess that it's not going to end well for Paul or Meg. Meg, like Paul, is closed off from her feelings, except for when it comes to her family.

Patterson is always at his best when the book involves a courtroom trial and In the Name of Honor is no different. This is where the books picks up it's pace and secrets start revealing themselves. You see, Paul thinks that there is something that Brian and Meg aren't telling him about the case, something that could change the outcome as well as if Paul continues to defend Brian. He has a nagging feeling but can't pin point it. In the final pages, this comes to a head and takes a twist/turn that was astonishing and left me a bit squeamish.

The book never truly wraps up the initial question of self-defense or premeditated murder but I don't think it is supposed to. From all the evidence and testimony we are supposed to deduct that for ourselves. Sure the jury comes to a decision but as we know, juries don't always know the full story or are always correct.

I don't know if I particularly liked Brian McCarran but I didn't dislike him either. I don't want to say I pitied him but I sure as heck felt for the trauma he had experienced in Iraq and the after effects of the war.

I would love if Mr. Patterson wrote another book with Captain Paul Terry as the main defense lawyer. He was honest, trustworthy and skilled which you can't say about most defense lawyers. ;)

Mr. Patterson is at his best when he's not preaching political issues and while PTSD is certainly controversial for usage as a defense it's not political. I hope that the US Armed Forces start to recognize PTSD and start to make a concerned effort to help our soldiers.

Final Take: 4.5/5

Julie's Review: The Spire

Summary: This thoughtful thriller from bestseller Patterson (Eclipse) charts the impact of the brutal murder of black coed Angela Hall at Caldwell College in Wayne, Ohio, on gifted athlete Mark Darrow, who discovered the body and later became a nationally renowned lawyer. Mark's best friend was convicted of the crime, but many aspects of the trial troubled Mark. Lionel Farr, Caldwell's provost and Mark's former mentor, offers Mark the post of college president 16 years after Angela's murder. Mark agrees to return to Caldwell, now struggling with the suspected embezzlement of $900,000 from its endowment by its current president. With Lionel's support, Mark investigates both the embezzlement and the old murder. Patterson evokes the quiet schism between town and gown in Wayne as well as the fragile relationship between blacks and whites, while Mark's probing hits exposed nerves with fatal results. ~amazon.com

Review: The Spire is the type of book that I used to read from Richard North Patterson. This book definitely hark ens back to Mr. Patterson's earlier legal thrillers that I loved. What I think I liked the most about this book was how he slowing unraveled parts of the story that a lot of authors would have revealed quickly.

There are a bunch of different aspects to this book: race, college life, love and the question...how well do you ever really know someone? We meet Mark Darrow as he's going to discuss taking the Presidency at Caldwell College. The book flashes between the present and the past because really aren't they almost always linked? Mark is haunted by the murder of a fellow classmate after the biggest game of his career. What really sticks with him is that his best friend was tried and convicted of the murder. He's never really gotten over that fact. So coming back to the school that gave him so much is a blessing and a curse.

The supporting characters are excellent and well flushed out. Mr. Patterson also keeps you guessing for 3/4 of the book. The thing is that if you are really good at figuring things out, you'll figure this one out too. I don't really want to say too much because I'm afraid I'll spill the beans!

There were 2 things that annoyed me: 1) Calling the main character by his last name throughout the whole book. I get this might be a male thing but in a book I found it to grate on my nerves. 2) I felt the ending might have been a little to quick. I will say that it was nice that it wasn't a nice neat bow but you do have an idea that thing will turn out just right.

I hope that Mr. Patterson returns to the story of Mark Darrow. I truly enjoyed his character and his journey.

Final Take: 4/5

Julie's Review: Lady Killer

Summary: Philadelphia attorney Mary DiNunzio, last seen in Killer Smile (2004), agrees to help her high school nemesis, Trish Gambone, at the start of this less than convincing thriller from bestseller Scottoline. Trish, whom Mary used to regard as the quintessential Mean Girl, has turned in desperation to the lawyer, the all-around Most Likely to Achieve Sainthood at St. Maria Goretti High School, because she wants to escape from her abusive, and possibly Mafia-connected boyfriend, Bobby Mancuso. Trish rejects Mary's practical suggestions for dealing with Bobby, but once Trish disappears, Mary finds herself under pressure from other high school classmates as well as people from her old neighborhood who blame her for not doing enough. Mary unwisely hides a connection with Bobby from the Feds, who then shut her out of the search for Trish when they learn of it. Scottoline fans will cheer Mary as she stumbles toward the solution, but others may have trouble suspending disbelief.~amazon.com

Review: I can't remember when I started reading Lisa Scottoline but I do remember the first book of hers I read....The Vendetta Defense. Lady Killer brings us back to Mary DiNunzio and Rosato & Associates. Coming back to them is like putting on your favorite sweatpants after a long day or week, it just feels so good. Mary is someone that all of us can identify with, unless of course you were the "mean girl" in high school and identify with Trish. Trish comes to Mary for help because she's afraid her mob connected boyfriend is going to kill her. Mary tries to get her to go to the cops but that's not going to happen and then Trish goes missing. That's when the story starts. Mary becomes and investigator to try to find Trish because she feels guilty since Trish came to her and she didn't do anything.

We meet, Trish's gaggle of girlfriends, who are a bit much at first but then turn out to have their heart in the right place and give the book some comic relief. Since Mary grew up in South Philly it seems that word spreads that she let Trish down and her clients start to fire her. So much for the "Good girl made good" identity.

The plot goes along at a good clip and there are at least 2 twists that I didn't see coming and somehow feel like I should have seen one of them, but I thought it was going to take a different turn.

There was only a minor thing wrong with the novel, a subplot that I just didn't really care about. I understand why it was in the book, I just think we could have gotten Mary's emotional connection to Bobby without it. It got a bit maudlin for me at times. It seemed to shift the story in a direction that didn't need to be taken.

All in all another fine novel by Lisa Scottoline. It makes you wonder if you would help the person who made your life hell if their life was in danger. Are you a bigger person to let go of the painful past and do good? I like to think I could but then again it would depend on the type of trouble they were in. Yes, I harbor grudges.

Final Take: 4/5

Julie's Review: The Woods

Summary: In this stand-alone legal thriller, Harlan Coben presents a riveting courtroom drama, creates riveting players, and delves into family secrets, love, loss, mistakes, and betrayal. A few critics noted that while The Woods falls into Coben's typical formula—a past crime affects innocent people in the present—it still comes off as fresh. The trial scenes, Cope's ruminations on what really happened that night, and the back-and-forth narration are particularly well done. Only the Washington Post faulted the novel's cheap thrills, improbable revelations, and awkward conclusion. Nevertheless, few readers will remain unaffected by its emotional heft. ~amazon.com

Review: Both my step-dad and dad read this and told me I would really like it and they were right. This book is an adventure in twists and turns. The main character, Paul Copeland is a good guy who made a mistake 20 years ago and that mistake haunts him to this day. 20 years ago there were 4 murders at a camp in "the woods" and Paul was there but it what capacity we aren't quite sure because teh story is told from his point of view. We have to take the story at face value and believe that he's telling us the truth. Of course Coben is really good at making us believe in Paul (or Cope as he's called throughout the novel) because he puts him in a position that typically earns respect...Prosecutor. There are several different story plots going on in The Woods. There's the current trial that Paul is prosecuting, the murders that happened years ago at the camp, his dad's history and what happened to Paul's mom. Early in the book and even towards the end I wondered how Mr. Coben was going to wrap it up in a nice bow, but he did so in a satisfying ending.

The characters are intriguing and very well rounded. You get a sense of who Paul and Lucy were 20 years ago and why they became who they are. I enjoyed how Paul's current trial wrapped into his past.

This is an very solid mystery thriller that keeps you guessing until the final pages and even keeps you guessing after you've finished it.

I will leave you with this last thought..."The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children." ~Merchant of Venice act III, sc. V, l. 1(Shakespeare)

Final Take: 4.0/5

Julie's Review: Promise Me

Summary: Last seen in bestseller Coben's Darkest Fear (2000), Myron Bolitar, former basketball star (Boston Celtics) turned sports and entertainment agent and occasional knight in shining armor, is back in fighting form in his action-packed eighth thriller. For the past six years Myron has been leading a quiet life, much of it at his parents' old house in Livingston, N.J. A new girlfriend, Ali Wilder, a 9/11 widow, is helping to bring him out of his shell. Concerned that Ali's teenage daughter, Erin, and Erin's friend, Aimee Biel, might fall in with the wrong crowd, Myron gives them his contact information in case either of them feels she needs help. Aimee later calls him in the middle of the night for a lift to a friend's house, on condition that her request remain a secret. When Aimee turns up missing in circumstances mirroring those surrounding another vanished girl, Bolitar himself becomes a suspect in her disappearance and must use his wits and martial arts skills to uncover the truth. Coben fans will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted suspense novel, which has a startling final twist. ~amazon.com/Publisher's Weekly

Review: This is my first Harlan Coben novel, both my dad and step-dad enjoy his books. So I didn't know that Myron Bolitar had been in any other novels and sometimes this is a hinderance in understanding the character but not in this case. You get the idea that Myron is a pretty stand up guy and that he's played "hero" a few times before during his life. You also know that he's a former athlete that never really made it "big" but that his life went in a different direction. In Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries) he tries to protect two teenage girls by making them promise him that if they are in trouble they'll call him. One of the two girls is the daughter of his life long friend Claire Biel and the other one is ErinWilder, the daughter of Ali whom Myron has just started dating.

Aimee does call Myron late one evening and that is where the plot takes off. Did Aimee run away? Was she kidnapped? Who was involved? Of course Myron is the first suspect but because Aimee was 18 there is no case to be pursued by police. There are many twists and turns in the book to make it more than what it might seem. I'm always a fan of a book that takes you in a direction that is so different than you would even have thought. I did figure out one of the twists, but I do think that the plot was set up to take you in that direction. What I really enjoyed was that the pieces of the puzzle didn't come together until the very last pages. So if you are one of those readers who goes to the end and reads the last few pages, don't because you'll ruin it for yourself.

I have another Harlan Coben book on my shelf to read, The Woods,but I like a little bit of a break before I read an author again. Given how good this book was I'll definitely anticipate reading the next one.

Final Take: 3.75/5