The No.1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

On June 30, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn ThrillerLeave a comment

The No.1 Lawyer Cover

Publisher: Century (Trade Paperback – 3 April 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 423 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The blockbuster team of bestselling author James Patterson and former lawyer Nancy Allen return with the outstanding and highly entertaining legal thriller, The No.1 Lawyer.

I have been having an outstanding time getting into the various works of James Patterson the last few years, especially as he produces so many excellent books in collaboration with a range of exceptional authors. This includes 2 Sisters Detective Agency and The Murder Inn with Candice Fox, Death of the Black Widow with J. D. Barker, Lost with James O. Born and The Perfect Assassin with Brian Sitts, just to name a few. One of the more interesting people he has been collaborating with is veteran lawyer and author Nancy Allen. Best known for her Ozarks Mysteries and Anonymous Justice series, Allen has also cowritten two legal thrillers with Patterson, including The Jailhouse Lawyer and Juror No.3. The No.1 Lawyer is the third collaboration between Patterson and Allen and proved to be an amazing amount of fun.

Stafford Lee Penney is a high-flying lawyer with a shining reputation in the city of Biloxi. The son of a notorious mob lawyer, Stafford Lee has worked his way out of the mud and holds the distinction of being the best defence attorney in the state of Mississippi. However, this dubious title comes at a cost, and Stafford Lee’s marriage is in the toilet and his home life is a mess. Throwing himself into his latest case, Stafford Lee defends a prominent doctor accused of a heinous murder in the trial of the century.

Determined to show that he’s the best, Stafford Lee provides an impassioned defence in this controversial case. However, Stafford Lee is unprepared for the fallout of his decision to defend the undefendable, when his wife is murdered and he loses everything. Broken and devastated, Stafford Lee sinks into a drunken losing streak that destroys his reputation and ends his once promising career.

With the help of his friends, Stafford Lee attempts to return to legal profession he loves so much, even if just on the periphery. But he is unprepared for the dark truth that his wife’s killer might still be on the loose. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that someone is targeting Stafford Lee personally, and he soon finds himself accused of murder. To survive, Stafford Lee needs to once again become the No. 1 lawyer of Biloxi to win the biggest trial of his career, his own.

Patterson and Allen are in strong form as they bring together an outstanding and highly exciting legal thriller that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. The No.1 Lawyer was an awesome book, that wowed me with its cool court scenes, intriguing protagonists, and thrilling plot.

The team of Patterson and Allen come up with a fun and compelling narrative for The No.1 Lawyer and it was one that I found hard to put down at times. The authors find the right balance of legal thriller, murder mystery and character driven storylines throughout The No.1 Lawyer and you really get drawn in as a result. The first half of the book is firmly anchored around a big murder trial that the protagonist has been hired as the defence lawyer for. This proves to be a fascinating case, especially as it raises some intriguing ethical concerns about Stafford Lee defending a likely guilty man, and the case gets highly personal and crazy at times. This first half of the book also introduces some key plot points that become very relevant later, while also showcasing the main cast in a great way. This first part of the book ends on some big moments, and while I was hooked all the way there, the compelling conclusion to the first part of the story ensured that I had to keep going with The No.1 Lawyer.

After the death of the protagonist’s wife, the story goes in some fantastic and personal directions as Stafford Lee ends up spiralling and very much losing his way. This is easily the most emotionally charged part of The No.1 Lawyer, and you really come to appreciate the author’s character work and how they cover grief and loss. A good chunk of the middle of the book is dedicated the protagonist rebuilding his life one brick at a time, while he also finds his way back into the legal profession, albeit at a much lower level than before. These various scenes are really heartfelt, and the authors also use them to further set up additional plot points for the rest of the book.

The final third of The No.1 Lawyer is where all the action unfolds, and Patterson and Allen don’t hold back, with additional murders, frame jobs and a new trial where the protagonist must defend himself for murder. I really enjoyed how bleak things got for the protagonist here, especially after seeing him get back on his feet in the previous part of the book, and it was great to see him once again get into top legal form to defend himself. The big trial here was very fun, as Stafford Lee stopped caring about decorum and decided to go for a very aggressive defence, and the resulting scenes were pretty damn fun. There was also a compelling murder investigation in the sidelines, which melded well with the legal thriller parts of the book. The big reveal of who was behind the killings was very interesting, if not too surprising, and while I liked how it turned out, especially the violent confrontation, I would have preferred a fun court sequence to reveal the truth. Still, Patterson and Allen more than make up for this with the final big twist, which I thought was extremely clever, and which will blow more than a few people away. I had such a great time with this amazing and epic story, and this was easily one of the most entertaining narratives of 2024 so far.

I am a big fan of legal thrillers, and Patterson’s writing style combined well with the knowledge of Allen to create a very good example of the genre. The various court scenes and accompanying legal work are well showcased, and you really get drawn into the outrageous and captivating court sequences as a result. The cases being discussed also prove to be quite complex, and I enjoyed seeing the various secrets and lies that the authors hide within the details. I also had a good chuckle at Patterson and Allen producing a fun homage to John Grisham here with The No.1 Lawyer, especially as they featured a legal thriller down in Biloxi. The two provide their own excellent take on this infamous city, and I liked the small town feel you often got with everyone knowing each other, especially as that led to some intriguing legal complications. Everything is kept very sharp and fast paced, and the multiple quickfire chapters that are so typical of a Patterson book help to keep readers extremely engaged with the plot.

While there is obviously a lot of focus on murder and legal proceedings in The No.1 Lawyer, I felt that human elements of the story helped to make this book particularly good. Nearly all the main characters in The No.1 Lawyer are deeply flawed in ways that only humans can be, and the authors do a wonderful job showcasing this as the plot continues. This is particularly true for protagonist Stafford Lee Penney, the young hotshot lawyer whose obsession with his career has cost him his marriage and a normal homelife. We follow Stafford Lee through the many highs and dramatic lows of his life, which presents a rollercoaster of emotions to the reader which are so damn compelling. The many scenes where Stafford Lee loses everything and finds himself in a drunken depression were very moving, and the authors did an amazing job of capturing his grief and despair. Watching him rebuild himself with the help of his friends was an excellent part of the book, and you really grow attached to him as a result, which makes the trials that follow even more intense. I also appreciated how the way in which the book captures the many pressures associated with being a top-notch lawyer, especially as it shows that no matter how hard it gets, the protagonist loves his profession and the thrills that comes with it.

The No.1 Lawyer also features a fantastic supporting cast that move the story along in some interesting directions. Stafford Lee’s two close friends, Mason Burnett and Jenny Glaser prove to be his emotional rock for much of the book, and the various scenes where they support Stafford Lee at this worst are some of the strongest in the entire novel. Jenny’s concurrent investigation into the various killings around Biloxi also prove to be an interesting part of the book, especially as it often clashes with Stafford Lee’s wishes, and she proved to be a fantastic female lead. However, I did think the inevitable romantic arc between Stafford Lee and Jenny was a little forced at times, and the book might have been fine without it. Other key characters include Stafford Lee’s original client, who proves to be a fun key suspect, a notorious Biloxi gangster, and the various members of the state’s court system, all of whom prove quite invested in Stafford Lee’s various cases. The opposing prosecution for Stafford Lee’s main trials is of particular note, especially as the cases get quite personal for them. All these characters, and more, prove to be excellent additions to the plot and I really enjoyed the fun directions the authors took them in.

Overall, I had an amazing time with The No.1 Lawyer, and it proved to be a very epic and entertaining book that I really got invested in. The brilliant team of James Patterson and Nancy Allen created an excellent legal thriller, and I really appreciated how compelling and exciting the story got at times. Slick, entertaining, and loaded with substantial emotional charge, The No.1 Lawyer was a fantastic novel that is really worth checking out.

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Crucible of Chaos by Sebastien de Castell

On June 5, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery2 Comments

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (Audiobook – 7 December 2023)

Series: Court of Shadows – Book 0.5

Length: 12 hours and 32 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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In the mood for a witty, intense and highly unusual murder mystery? Make sure to grab Crucible of Chaos, an outstanding and impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell, which serves as a prelude to his Court of Shadows series.

Earlier this year I was very lucky to receive the first book in Sebastien de Castell’s Court of Shadows series, Play of Shadows. Set in the author’s Greatcoats universe, Play of Shadows was a truly epic and outstanding read that saw an unlucky actor with unusual gifts attempt to unravel a dark conspiracy inflicting his city. I deeply enjoyed Play of Shadows, which was one of the best books I have read so far in 2024, and I was intrigued to check out more from de Castell, an author who had previously impressed me with his hilarious standalone novel, The Malevolent Seven. While de Castell has several great series to his name, the book that caught my eye the most was the late 2023 release, Crucible of Chaos, which apparently served as a prelude to the other Court of Shadows novels. Curious to see how this prequel would turn out, I grabbed the audiobook version of Crucible of Chaos and started listening to it, and boy was I glad that I did.

Travelling duellist and scholar Estevar Borros is a Greatcoat, one of the king’s legendary sword-fighting magistrates. However, even amongst the unusual ranks of the Greatcoats, Estevar is peculiar, not just for his girth, but because of skills in deductive reasoning and his obsession with investigating the supernatural. Known as the King’s Crucible, Estevar has travelled the lands of Tristia, seeking out unusual occurrences and trying to determine whether their cause is natural or supernatural. However, even this renowned investigator of supernatural is unprepared for the chaos awaiting him in Tristia’s most holy site.

Summoned by his old acquaintance Abbot Venia, Estevar travels to Isola Sombra, an isolated island abbey considered the religious heart of Tristia. According to Venia’s letter, the monks of the abbey are starting to fracture into factions following the recent murder of the gods, each with their own ideas of who the nation should worship in the future. A frightened Venia needs Estevar, in his position as a magistrate and an authority on the supernatural, to arbitrate the debate and to help keep the fighting monks in line.

Despite his better judgement, Estevar, already suffering from a wound after a failed duel, agrees to travel to Isola Sombra, but what he finds there will chill him to his very soul. Arriving amid a brutal storm, Estevar finds that the monks have fallen into madness, and now three factions are at war on the island, desperate to claim it for their own. Worse, the abbot has been murdered, and evidence of dark magic lingers throughout the abbey.

Determined find a reasonable explanation for the insanity infesting Isola Sombra, Estevar begins his investigation, hoping to find the source of the chaos rippling across the island. Alone except for a mysterious girl and his trusty mule, a wounded Estevar needs to face off against three very dangerous groups of monks, each of whom have deadly intentions for the interfering Greatcoat. Worse, there are far more dangerous things awaiting the inhabitants of Isola Sombra, even if Estevar doesn’t believe in them. Can the justice-loving Estevar stop the insanity of Isola Sombra with his deduction, sword and courtroom etiquette before it’s too late, or has the King’s Crucible finally found a mystery to insane for even him?

Wow, what an amazing and compelling novel. Crucible of Chaos was another outstanding book from de Castell, and one that really grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Containing an elaborate story, great writing, amazing characters, and so much more, Crucible of Chaos was a joy to read from start to finish, and one that I have little choice but to give a full five-star rating.

De Castell came up with an impressive novel that sets a classic detective story into The Three Musketeer inspired Greatcoats universe. Readers are quickly introduced to two of the main characters, Estevar Borros and his trusty steed, as the dejected pair arrive at Isola Sombra to investigate a religious feud enveloping the island and its abbey. While that is an interesting premise for a story, de Castell raises the stakes by introducing murder, mysterious mysticism, fearful locals, unnatural storms, and three warring factions of monks, which Estevar needs to unravel to get his beloved justice. What follows is a complex and highly entertaining murder investigation as Estevar, with the help of a mysterious girl, begins to interrogate key members of the remaining monks to find out what they know and how their fighting and the resulting murder came about. This proves to be quite addictive, and I found myself getting really drawn into this excellent mystery and the unique fantasy elements surrounding it.

The story takes a very interesting turn around halfway through as Estevar gets some dramatic proof that the events on Isola Sombra are more supernatural than he thought they would be. This leads the protagonist into some dark places as he tries to fully understand everything that is happening, and who is ultimately responsible for the crimes committed. De Castell cleverly lays out some intriguing revelations, as well as some tragic secrets that are cleverly hinted at by false memory and lies, and I had so much fun following all the breadcrumbs. Everything leads up to several great confrontations, as Estevar first deals with some political intrigue that ties Crucible of Chaos into the rest of the series, before once again facing the strange powers haunting the island. There are some inspiring moments here, especially as strange bedfellows fight together against the darkness, before the protagonist initiates a unique trial to reveal the whole truth. The solution to the mystery is very clever, and I was really impressed with how de Castell pulled the whole thing together. The conclusion really goes over-the-top as justice meets religion in some dark ways, and you will come away very impressed and satisfied with the dark, yet hopeful, story that emerged.

I love the tone that de Castell set out for Crucible of Chaos, mainly because there are so many elements that he managed to fit into his story. The blend of mystery, character development, and unique fantasy inclusions from his pre-existing universe is extremely awesome, and I loved how the author managed to create such an elaborate and focused story. The investigation element of Crucible of Chaos was the book’s true heart, and I have a lot of respect for the complex series of crimes that emerged, especially as de Castell managed to incorporate religious conspiracies, political intrigues and supernatural occurrences into the mystery’s solution. There are so many moments of desperation, despair, and dark hope contained within this book, and the reader is constantly left feeling either intrigued by the mystery or shocked by the revelations that emerged. It helped that de Castell’s characters are all so vibrant and entertaining, and there is a captivating humour that runs through the book that proves hard not to enjoy. This whole novel comes together with a great pace that never lets up, and I honestly could not stop listening to Crucible of Chaos at times, especially when all seemed dire, or the protagonist was on the hunt for justice.

As I mentioned above, I came to Crucible of Chaos after reading Play of Shadow, so I was interested in seeing how it would fit into both the Court of Shadows series and the Greatcoats universe. While there are obvious connections to both, for the most part Crucible of Chaos is more of a standalone novel than anything else, as the plot is primarily focused on the intense mystery the protagonist finds himself trapped in. While there are a lot of strong references to previous Greatcoats novels, de Castell does an outstanding job of rehashing these events in a thorough and sensible manner, allowing the readers to get all the necessary context that they need. Readers also do not need to get this book first to enjoy the next book in the series, Play of Shadows, which was reassuring in hindsight, and I kind of like how independent the two books are from each other. The only real connection lies in a couple of revelations towards the end of Crucible of Chaos that hint at dark deeds on the horizon and a shadowy hand manipulating events from afar. As such, Crucible of Chaos is a very accessible book for new readers and serves as a great introduction to the various series associated with it.

I will say that Crucible of Chaos did provide some interesting insights into the nation of Tristia, which serves as the primary setting for the Greatcoats series. There are substantial examinations of the nation’s history, the backstory from the prior books, and other worldbuilding that de Castell has previously come up with, and I found this to be quite fascinating. The often fractured and duellist obsessed nation of Tristia is an amazing background for this story, and I enjoyed the multiple discussions about the role of the Greatcoats as magistrates and keepers of the king’s peace, especially as the protagonist is quite passionate about the ideals of justice they represent. However, a lot of Crucible of Chaos’ focus lies around the religion of the world, as the gods of Tristia become a major aspect of the plot. Indeed, key events of the original Greatcoats series become vitally important here as the protagonist needs to consider the impact that the previous murder of the gods has had on the current religious institutions. I really liked the constant contrasts between the philosophies of human justice and religious practice that becomes recurring theme in Crucible of Chaos, and I rather enjoyed seeing both unique elements of this landscape.

While I loved the story and the dive into the Greatcoats universe, the absolute best part of Crucible of Chaos were the exceptional characters that de Castell set his narrative around. Each of them was complex and endearing in their own fun way, and I really enjoyed the powerful storylines that the author wrote around them. The most prominent of these is protagonist and point-of-view character Estevar Borros. A member of the king’s Greatcoats, Estevar was a very distinctive protagonist, mainly because he didn’t fit the typical fantasy protagonist mould that most readers would be familiar with. A rather girthy and older duellist, Estevar is nonetheless a formidable warrior, often able to overcome younger or more in shape opponents through skill and trickery. However, for this adventure, Estevar recently lost a duel due to his own arrogance and is forced to investigate the events on Isola Sombra while wounded and exhausted, and with his tools and authority missing. I deeply appreciated the multiple handicaps that de Castell placed on his protagonist, especially as it enhanced the intensity of the plot, and it was compelling to see Estevar deal not only with his wounds but his own dark temperament, while trying to solve the case. Despite his disadvantages, Estevar proves to be a capable investigator, and his deductive ability, which results in him being shown as a supernatural obsessed cross between Sherlock Holmes and Porthos. I deeply enjoyed how determined and curious Estevar was throughout the plot, and he was a fun character to follow as he keeps up a genial and pleasant demeaner for most of the book, with some fun cracks of humour. However, we do see some great flashes of emotion from Estevar at key moments, especially when he realises just how deranged the crime he is investigating is. I was a huge fan of Estevar from the opening pages, and he is a protagonist I would love to see again in the future.

Aside from Estevar, de Castell features several other exceptional characters that you have a fantastic time following. This includes the mysterious young female lead, Caeda, who serves as Estevar’s impromptu assistant during the investigation, determined to help find the truth on the island. Shown initially as an energetic and enthusiastic figure, Caeda plays well off Estevar, and I liked the entertaining partnership they formed, even if Caeda is keeping secrets, which eventually leads to some tragic revelations. However, the character you are most likely to fall in love with is Estevar’s mule, Imperious. Much more than a stubborn mule, Imperious is the bravest, most rambunctious and expressive character in the entire novel, and de Castell has a lot of fun throwing him into the story in entertaining ways. A dangerous and near unstoppable figure, Imperious stole every scene he was in, and you honestly end up caring for this heroic mule more than any other character in the book. Throw in a cadre of mad monks, including an obsessive inquisitor, a wannabe general, and a lecherous sorcerer lord, and the cast of Crucible of Chaos proves to be really fun and intriguing to follow.

While I was tempted to grab a physical copy of Crucible of Chaos, I ended up getting the audiobook version instead, which proved to be an epic format to enjoy the book in. Coming in with a runtime of 12 and a half hours, this was a moderately long audiobook, but it was one I managed to power through in less than a week due to how caught up I got in the story. I found that the audiobook format really helped me to enjoy the complex narrative that de Castell came up with, and having it read out helped me to appreciate the depictions of the dark abbey and the elaborate mystery that much more. It helped that Crucible of Chaos was narrated by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Joe Jameson, whose work I enjoyed so much in the Legacy of the Mercenary Kings audiobooks (The Kingdom of Liars, The Two-Faced Queen and The Voyage of the Forgotten). Jameson has a great voice for fantasy fiction, and I loved how he brings the elaborate story of Crucible of Chaos to life with his recitation. The narrator had some great voices for the various characters, and while a few are similar to those he used in other audiobooks his other works, they all expertly fit the character they were assigned to perfectly. I particularly enjoyed the distinctive and overly accented voice that Jameson gave to the main character, Estevar Borros, which perfectly fit his foreign origins, as well as his personality and physical attributes. This booming, cheerful, yet penetrating voice, really captured the protagonist, and I could always envision this amazing character whenever Jameson spoke. This, and other great voices, really helped to turn the Crucible of Chaos audiobook into something really special, and I cannot recommend this format enough to someone interested in this book.

Overall, Crucible of Chaos proved to be a remarkable and highly impressive novel from Sebastien de Castell that I had such an outstanding time reading. Combining a unique story with great characters and compelling elements from the Greatcoats universe, Crucible of Chaos was a truly epic novel that I could not get enough off. I look forward to seeing what other intriguing adventures occur in the rest of the Court of Shadows books, and this is swiftly becoming one of my favourite ongoing fantasy series.

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The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh

On September 15, 2021May 23, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller12 Comments

The Devil's Advocate Cover

Publisher: Orion (Trade Paperback – 27 July 2021)

Series: Eddie Flynn – Book 6

Length: 403 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Bestselling thriller author Steve Cavanagh returns with another exciting and over-the-top fun legal thriller, The Devil’s Advocate, an awesome read with a very entertaining plot.

Randal Korn is an evil man, a dangerous killer, and an unrepentant corrupting influence on everyone around him. Unfortunately for the residents of Sunville County, Alabama, Randal Korn is also their District Attorney, who uses his skills and influence to get the legal system to commit his killings for him. Known as the King of Death Row, Korn has sent more men to the electric chair than any other district attorney in US history, deriving great pleasure from every life his prosecutions have taken. However, not all of Korn’s victims have been guilty, a fact that Korn knows and deeply relishes.

When a young woman, Skylar Edwards, is found brutally murdered in Buckstown, Alabama, the corrupt sheriff’s department quickly arrests the last person to see her alive, her innocent African American co-worker Andy Dubios. After the racist cops quickly beat a confession out of him, Andy is set to stand trial with Korn prosecuting a seemingly airtight case. With the entire town already convinced of his guilt and with no chance of a fair trial, Andy’s death looks certain, until Eddie Flynn arrives in town.

Hired after Andy’s previous lawyer goes missing, former conman turned brilliant New York lawyer Eddie Flynn heads down to Alabama with his team to try and save Andy’s life. However, the moment he arrives, Eddie begins to understand just how stacked the deck is. Thanks to Korn’s immense influence, the entire town is hostile to him, the police are refusing to cooperate, witnesses are threatened or arrested by the sheriff, the judge is already on the prosecutor’s side, and any potential juror will already believe that Andy is guilty. To save his client’s life, Eddie will have to use every single trick he has to con the jury into finding Andy not guilty, but even that might not be enough. Worse, it soon becomes apparent that the killing of Skylar Edwards was only the start. A dangerous murderer still stalks Buckstown, killing whoever gets in their way to achieve their own sinister agenda, and their sights are now firmly set on Eddie.

This was a pretty awesome and wildly entertaining novel from the talented Steve Cavanagh. A lawyer himself, Cavanagh burst onto the crime-fiction scene a few years ago with his debut novel, The Defence, the first book in his Eddie Flynn series. There have since been several other Eddie Flynn books, each of which places the protagonist in a unique legal situation. I have been meaning to read some of Cavanagh’s books for a while now due to the awesome sounding plot synopsis and I currently have a couple of his novels sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance yet, although I think I will have to make a bit of an effort after reading The Devil’s Advocate, which I was lucky enough to receive a little while ago. The Devil’s Advocate was an outstanding and captivating novel and I swiftly got drawn into the exciting and amusing narrative.

The Devil’s Advocate has an awesome story to which is extremely addictive and enjoyable. When I picked up this book, I initially intended only read around 50 pages in my first sitting, however, once I started I honestly could not put it down, and before I knew it I was halfway through and it was well past my bed time. Cavanagh produces an extremely cool narrative that starts with an awesome scene that introduces the main antagonist and ensures that you will really hate him. From then, Cavanagh quickly sets up the initial mystery, the introduction of the legal case, and the plot that brings the protagonist to Alabama. The rest of the narrative neatly falls into place shortly after, with the full details of the case, the corruption of the main setting, and the massive injustice that is taking place, coming to light. From there, the protagonists attempt to set up their case while facing sustained and deadly opposition from pretty much everyone. While the initial focus is on the legal defence aspect of the thriller, the story quickly branches out into several captivating storylines, including an examination of the antagonist’s corrupting influence on the town, planned action from a white supremacist groups, attempts to run off or kill the protagonists, as well as mystery around who really killed Skylar. All these separate storylines are really fascinating and come together with the plot’s central legal case to form an exceptionally fun and electrifying story. The reader is constantly left guessing about what is going to happen next, especially with multiple red herrings and false reveals, and I ended up not predicting all the great twists that occurred. While I did think that Cavanagh went a little too political with the overall message of the book, The Devil’s Advocate had an outstanding ending and I had an exceptional time getting through this thrilling story.

One of the best parts of this entire story is the outrageous and unfair legal case that the protagonists must attempt to win. This case forms the centre of The Devil’s Advocate’s plot, with most of Eddie and his colleagues’ appearances focused on their upcoming legal battle. Cavanagh really went out his way to create a truly unique and compelling set of legal circumstances for the protagonists to wade through, with the case so tightly sewn up against their innocent client before they even get there. Despite this, the protagonist goes to work with a very effective, if unconventional, legal strategy that plays to the antagonist’s underhanded tactics. The entire legal case soon devolves into crazy anarchy, with both sides doing outrageous actions to win, which Cavanagh writes up perfectly. I found myself getting quite invested in the case, especially after witnessing several blatant examples of the prosecution’s corruption, and these terrible actions really got me rooting for the protagonist, who had some entertaining tricks of his own. This all leads up to an excellent extended trial sequence, where the various strategies and manipulations in the first two-thirds of the novel come into play. There are some brilliant and entertaining legal manoeuvrings featured here, with the protagonist initially focusing more on pissing off the prosecution and the judge rather than producing alternative evidence. However, there are some great reveals and cross-examinations towards the end of the book, as Eddie has a very good go at dismantling the case. The way it finally ends is pretty clever, and I really liked the way some of it was set up, even if it relied a little too much on a minor character’s conscience finally flaring.

Cavanagh also featured some great and entertaining characters in The Devil’s Advocate, with a combination of new characters and returning protagonists from the previous novels. The author makes great use of multiple character perspectives throughout this novel, especially as it allows the reader to see the various sides of the battle for Buckstown’s soul. Seeing the moves and counter-moves of the protagonists and antagonists enhances the excitement of the novel, especially as it shows the creation of several traps that could potentially destroy Eddie and his client. Most of the characters featured in the novel are very entertaining, although I think in a few cases Cavanagh went a little over-the-top, with some of the villains being a bit cartoonish in their evilness.

The main character of this novel is series hero Eddie Flynn, the former conman who now works on impossible cases as a defence attorney. Eddie was an awesome central protagonist, especially as his unique sense of justice and criminal background turns him into one of the most entertaining and likeable lawyers you are likely to ever meet. I loved the very underhanded way in which he worked to win his case, and the variety of tricks and manipulations that he used were extremely fun to see in action, especially as it rattles the police antagonists and completely outrages the other lawyers and judges. I loved his style in the courtroom scenes, especially as most of his appearances eventually end up with him thrown in jail for contempt (it is a pretty wise legal strategy). Eddie has a very fun code in this novel, and I think that I will enjoy seeing the earlier novels in which he transitions from conman to lawyer.

Eddie is also supported by a fantastic team from his small law practice, each of whom get several chapters to themselves and who serve as great alternate characters who in some way overshadow the main protagonist. These include his wise old mentor character, Harry; the younger lawyer, Kate; and the badass investigator, Bloch. Each of them brings something fun and compelling to the overall story, and I liked the way that Cavanagh ensured that they all get their moment throughout The Devil’s Advocate. I really enjoyed some of the great sub-storylines surrounding these three supporting protagonists. Examples of this include Harry, a genuine silver fox with the ability to attract a certain type of older lady, who serves as the team’s heart and soul, although he’s not opposed to some improper legal tactics. I also enjoyed Kate’s appearances as a secondary trial attorney, especially as she serves as a good alternate to the flashier Eddie, while also finding her feet in a murder case that has rattled her. I personally enjoyed the gun-toting investigator Bloch the most, mainly because of her hard-assed attitude and inability to be intimidated by the various monsters lurking around town. Bloch has some very intense and exciting scenes, and it was really entertaining to see her stare down rabid militiamen and crooked cops. These protagonists end up forming an impressive and cohesive team, and it was a real joy to see them in action.

I also must highlight the outstanding villain of the story that was Randal Korn. Korn is a truly evil and terrifying creation who is pretty much the direct opposite of the more heroic Eddie. Cavanagh has clearly gone out of his way to create the most outrageously despicable antagonist he could, and it really works. Korn, who apparently is a bit of a pastiche parody of five real-life American prosecutors who always seek the death penalty, is a man who became a lawyer solely so he would have a legal way to kill people. The pleasure he receives from controlling people and ensuring that they die, even if they are innocent or undeserving, is terrifying, and it ensures that the character will go to extreme lengths to win his case. The author does a fantastic job painting him as a despicable figure, including through several point of view chapter, and there are some interesting examinations about his psyche and his desires. Having such an easily hated villain really draws the reader into the narrative, mainly because the reader cannot help but hope that he gets what is coming to him. Despite that, I think Cavanagh went a little overboard in some places (the self-mutilation and the rotting smell are a bit much), and the whole soulless creature angle is layered on a bit too thickly. Still, the author achieved what he wanted to with this antagonist, and I had a wonderful time hating this character from start to finish.

The final point-of-view character that I want to mention is the mysterious figure known as the Pastor. The Pastor is another antagonist of this novel whose identity is kept hidden from the reader for much of the book. This is mainly because he is the real killer of Skylar Edwards, whose death was part of an elaborate plan. The Pastor is another great villain for this novel, due to his crazed personality, murderous tendencies and horrendous motivations for his crimes. I think that Cavanagh did a great job utilising this second villain in his novel, and I liked the tandem usage he had with Korn. I was especially impressed with the clever mystery that the author had surrounding his identity, which was kept hidden right till the very end. It took me longer than I expected to work out who the Pastor was, thanks to some clever misdirects from the author, but the eventual reveal was extremely good and helped tie the entire story together. Readers will have a lot of fun trying to work out who this character is, and I really enjoyed the extra villainy that they brought to the table.

The fantastic Steve Cavanagh has once again produced a captivating and intense legal thriller with The Devil’s Advocate. This latest Eddie Flynn thriller was an amazing ball of crazy fun that I powered through in two sustained reading sessions. With some over-the-top characters, a clever legal case, and an exciting overarching conspiracy, The Devil’s Advocate proved to be next to impossible to turn down and is really worth checking out. I will definitely be going back and reading some of Cavanagh’s earlier books, and I look forward to seeing what insane scenarios he comes up with in the future.

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The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

On November 15, 2020April 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Thriller17 Comments

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 10 November 2020)

Series: Mickey Haller – Book six

Length: 421 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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The master of the modern-day crime fiction novel, Michael Connelly, presents his second release of 2020, The Law of Innocence, which sees the return of one of his most iconic protagonist, the Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller, who is forced to defend his most important client yet: himself.

Defence lawyer Mickey Haller is flying high after a series of high-profile wins in court. However, his life is about to come crashing down around him when he is pulled over by police and the body of a former client is found in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is swiftly charged with murder and slapped with an unpayable $5 million bail that forces him to stay in the infamous Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

Determined to prove that he has been framed, Haller chooses to defend himself and starts to construct his case in prison. With the help of his expert team, including his half-brother, Harry Bosch, Haller attempts to discover who is really behind the murder and why he is being targeted. However, the answers and a viable alternate suspect seem elusive, and Haller soon finds himself the target of everyone in the criminal justice system that he has managed to alienate throughout his career.

With the trial quickly approaching and a vengeful prosecutor angling to get Haller the death sentence, the defence will need every trick at their disposal if they are to save Haller’s life. However, this entire case sits at the centre of an elaborate conspiracy, one where anyone who knows anything is at risk. Can Haller survive the case and his dangerous prison sentence, or will this be the last trial for the Lincoln Lawyer?

The Law of Innocence was an impressive and enjoyable book from Michael Connelly, who has once again written a top-notch crime fiction novel. I have really been getting into Connelly’s work over the last couple of years and I have had an exceptional time reading his last three novels, Dark Sacred Night, The Night Fire and Fair Warning. Due to this, and the fact that I really liked its plot synopsis, The Law of Innocence was one of my most anticipated reads for the year, and I have been looking forward to it for a while. This is the sixth novel to feature Mickey Haller as its protagonist and point-of-view character, and the 35^th overall novel to be set in Connelly’s overarching crime fiction universe. I had an amazing time reading this book, another fantastic outing from Connelly.

Connelly has come up with an exceptional story for this excellent book, and it is one that I really enjoyed. Indeed, I actually got so caught up in The Law of Innocence’s awesome narrative that I managed to read the entire book in just one day, not even realising that I had stayed up till 3am to finish it off (work the next day was not fun, but staying up was worth it). The story that Connelly utilises in this novel is extremely compelling and intriguing, as it forces the protagonist to not only solve a murder but also prove to the court that he did not commit it. This leads to an intense, emotional and clever story that combines a fantastic murder mystery plot with some excellent legal thriller elements, while also placing the protagonist in significant danger while being held in prison. There were a number of amazing elements to this book, and the story flows at an extremely fast pace whilst following a crafty but likeable protagonist. Connelly makes sure to continue to explore Haller’s personal issues at the same time, featuring the supporting characters and family members from the previous Mickey Haller novels, including an old flame with whom Haller finally gets some closure. The Law of Innocence also featured Connelly’s most iconic protagonist, Harry Bosch, who attempts to help Haller clear his name. While Bosch was a little underutilised, especially considering how much he was featured in some of the pre-publishing advertising, it was great to see him in another book and it was interesting to see more of the relationship between these estranged half-brothers. The Law of Innocence also contains some interesting connections to previous Mickey Haller novels, and fans of this protagonist will be intrigued to see which characters make a return. While I really enjoyed most of the story, I did feel that ending was a little weak. The entire conclusion to the case occurs rather suddenly towards the end of the book and it feels a little forced and simplistic. It also lacked the excitement of the rest of The Law of Innocence, and I would have much preferred something a little more shocking or some major courtroom shenanigans to really round out the book. While this ending was a bit disappointing, I still think that The Law of Innocence’s story was still substantially strong, and I had an exceptional time getting through it.

One of the things that impress me about Connelly’s writing is his ability to create substantially different crime fiction novels based on the protagonist he is featuring. For example, his Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch novels are excellent police procedurals, while his Jack McEvoy books feature clever investigations by a journalist. The Law of Innocence, on the other hand, was written as a legal thriller, due to it being a Mickey Haller novel. This proved to be an interesting change of pace from the previous Connelly novels I have read, but I really enjoyed it, mainly due to the sheer amount of legal detail that the author fits into the novel. Connelly does an amazing job fitting an entire fascinating legal case into this book, going all the way from the arrest to the conclusion of trial. Along the way, The Law of Innocence covers everything from case preparation, pre-trial hearings, bail, jury selections and the main trial, while also containing a lot of descriptions and discussions about the criminal justice system in Los Angeles. Due to the fact the book is told solely from Haller’s point of view, there is a natural focus on the art of defending a client, with a number of the tricks of the trade being featured. I found all of the legal aspects of The Law of Innocence to be extremely fascinating, and Connelly makes sure to explain all of these legal details in a comprehensive and easy to follow way. I loved seeing Haller work his legal magic throughout the book, especially as the reader gets to see into Haller’s mind and find out what he was actually planning and how successful his various gambles actually are. It was also particularly cool to see him forced to deal with the handicap of defending himself whilst being stuck in jail, especially as he was not able to investigate the crime himself or have access to his usual resources. Overall, my first experience of one of Connelly’s legal thrillers turned out to be very enjoyable and I thought that the author wrote an awesome story around it. I look forward to seeing what cool legal cases Connelly comes up with the next time he utilises Haller as a protagonist, and I am sure it will make for another fun read.

Another interesting part of this book that I quite enjoyed was the clever inclusion of COVID-19 into the plot. The plot of The Law of Innocence is set over the course of a couple of months, from late 2019 to March 2020, with the coronavirus slowly becoming more prevalent as the book proceeds. This starts with some throwaway mentions of the virus and Wuhan in the parts of the book set in November, which the reader would initially attribute to a cute mention that was not going to go anywhere. However, as the book progresses, the references to the virus become more and more numerous, until it actually becomes a major part of the plot, with the protagonist suddenly facing the reality of it when his legal team walk into prison wearing face masks. I found it deeply fascinating to see the author utilise the coronavirus in his book and it was rather compelling to see the impacts it had on the central plot, with elements of the court case, such as jury selection, fast-tracked to ensure that the case could be held before everything got shut down. Connelly was actually quite subtle with how he featured the coronavirus in his story, and I felt that the growing levels of concern that the characters show in this book realistically matched what people felt in real life, with excellent depictions of the shift from mild indifference to panic buying. This was honestly one of the first books I have read that mentioned the coronavirus (although I imagine quite a few books next year will have it as a central plot point), and I felt that Connelly handled it extremely well, being an accurate and impactful part of the book, without overly distracting the reader from the central case or overwhelming them with details or experiences everyone is currently extremely familiar with. This excellent inclusion of real-life elements into a great fictional story is one of the reasons I always enjoy Connelly’s writing, and I look forward to seeing how he addresses the coronavirus in some of his future books (for example, how it might impact murder investigations in a Renee Ballard or Harry Bosch novel).

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly is another captivating and awesome crime fiction novel that comes highly recommended. Featuring the antics of defence lawyer Mickey Haller, The Law of Innocence is an amazing legal thriller that readers can really sink their teeth into. Fun, exciting and compelling, The Law of Innocence is an excellent novel, and both established fans of Connelly and newcomers to his work will be able to dive into this book extremely easily. I had an amazing time reading The Law of Innocence and I look forward to Connelly’s next exceptional read.

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The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

On August 27, 2020March 1, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery14 Comments

Publisher: Michael Joseph (Trade Paperback – 4 August 2020)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 344 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Australian crime fiction sensation, Megan Goldin, returns with an impressive third novel, The Night Swim, an intense and heavy-hitting read that quickly drags the reader in with its captivating narrative that refuses to let go.

Following the success of the first season of her true crime podcast show, Guilty or Not Guilty, which set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall has become an overnight sensation and a beacon for people seeking justice or their freedom. Determined to keep her momentum going, Rachel decides to set the latest season of her podcast around the most contentious trial in the country, a high-profile rape case in the small town of Neapolis. The town’s golden boy, a famous swimmer with Olympic potential, has been accused of raping the popular granddaughter of the town’s legendary police chief. The resultant case has divided both the town and the country, and many are eager to see how the hearing unfolds.

Arriving in Neapolis, Rachel begins her own investigation, interviewing people of interest and trying to provide an unbiased version of the case to her listeners. But as she attempts to unwind the legal and moral complexities surrounding the case, Rachel finds herself distracted when she begins to receive a series of letters from a mysterious woman. This woman, Hannah, is a former local who has returned to Neapolis because of the trial and is requesting Rachel’s help in getting long-overdue justice for her sister, Jenny Stills, who died 25 years earlier.

Officially, Jenny’s death was ruled as an accidental drowning and barely anyone remembers who she was or how she died. However, Hannah’s letters reveal a far different story about a poor girl who was brutally murdered and whose memory and legacy was tarnished from beyond the grave. As Rachel beings to investigate the death of Jenny, she soon finds parallels between this old case and the modern-day rape. Something truly rotten occurred 25 years ago in Neapolis and now the past has come back to haunt those involved. Can Rachel bring justice after all these years and how will her findings impact the current trial?

Now that was a powerful and compelling read from Goldin, who has once again produced an excellent and impressive read. Megan Goldin is a talented Australian author who debuted back in 2017 with The Girl in Kellers Way. I first became familiar with Goldin when I received a copy of her second book, The Escape Room, in 2018. I really liked the curious synopsis of The Escape Room, and once I started it I found that I was unable to stop, resulting in me reading it entirely in one night. As a result, I was quite eager to get my hands on Goldin’s third book, The Night Swim, and I was really glad that I got a chance to read it. This new standalone crime fiction novel proved to be an extremely intriguing read with an outstanding story that expertly deals with some heavy and controversial issues and which takes the reader on an intense and memorable journey.

At the centre of this book is a complex and multi-layered narrative that is loaded with emotion, mystery and social commentary. The main story follows Rachel as she arrives in Neapolis and attempts to uncover some background behind the events of the rape case she is covering. This part of the story sees Rachel interview several key witnesses or associated individuals to get their side of the story, explores how the case is impacting the town, witnesses the details of the dramatic court case and then reports her finding and feelings in separate extended chapters made to represent a podcast episode. Rachel also investigates the events that occurred 25 years ago to Jenny Stills. Rachel is guided in this part of the story by Hannah’s mysterious letters, which paint a detailed picture of Hannah’s childhood and her memories of the events that occurred. Rachel follows the clues left in the letters as well as her own investigations to attempt to uncover what really happened all those years ago and who the culprits are.

I really liked how Goldin split out the story, especially as it combined cold case elements with a modern legal thriller and investigation. Both the present case and the historical crime had compelling, if dark, narrative threads, and I really appreciated where both storylines ended up. Naturally both cases were connected in some way, especially as a number of key people associated with the modern-day rape, such as the police investigators, lawyers, the parents of both parties and several other characters, were in Neapolis 25 years earlier and are potential suspects in this previous crime. While I was able to guess who the main perpetrator of the Jenny Stills case was about halfway through the story, I still found it extremely intriguing to see the rest of the story unfold and the joint conclusion of both narratives was rather satisfying. Some of the key highlights of this story for me included the exciting and dramatic court scenes and I also enjoyed the use of the true crime podcast in the story. Having the protagonist run a successful true crime podcast or television show is a story element that has been a little overused in recent years, but I still find it to be an intriguing inclusion, especially as Goldin utilised it well in this novel as both a plot device and a forum for the character/author’s social musings. Overall, this was an excellent piece of crime fiction with an impressive narrative that will draw the reader in and ensure that they will stick around to see how it all unfolds.

One of the most distinctive aspects of The Night Swim is Goldin’s frank and comprehensive look at sexual assault crimes. The book’s narrative focuses on two separate but similar sexual assault cases that occurred within 25 years of each other. Goldin not only provides details of these crimes but also dives into other elements of rape and assault, such as how victims are impacted in the aftermath, how sexual assault crimes are viewed in society and very little has changed around this in recent years. This novel paints a particularly grim picture on the entire legal process surrounding the process for investigating and prosecuting rape cases and there are some fascinating, if horrifying, examinations of how society still has trouble coming to a consensus when it comes to these crimes, and how cases like these can divide communities and nations. There are a number of examples contained within the plot about the public perception of the crimes, with doubt and blame being placed on rape victims who are forced to relive their assaults in different ways and who face unfair and often malicious attacks on their reputations and psyches. It was also interesting to see the author examine some of the fear that women experience all the time at the possibility of an attack, and the protagonist’s emotional podcast posts are particularly good for exploring her experiences and thoughts on the matter. There is also a clever and apt bit of symbolism around this in the form of a caged mockingbird at the protagonist’s hotel who is bothered by several random men for not singing, which I thought was rather striking and memorable. Goldin does a fantastic job diving into this subject and she really pulls no punches in showing what a terrible and mentally damaging crime this is, as well as the impacts that it has on the victims. Because of this The Night Swim is a bit of tough book to read at times and some readers may find a lot of the content quite distressing. However, I really appreciated that Goldin spent the time exploring this subject and it proved to be a captivating and memorable addition to the story.

The small fictional town of Neapolis also proved to be a great setting for this novel, and I liked the way that Goldin utilised this location in The Night Swim. I think that the author was able to produce an excellent approximation of classic small town America, complete with social power players, economic troubles, well-to-do former residents who have returned to face their past and old secrets and lies that are only now bubbling to the surface. It was really intriguing to see the protagonist uncover all the secrets of the town, especially the ones told in Hannah’s cryptic letters and childhood musings. It was also fascinating to see the impacts of family reputation and parental legacy on how crimes are investigated and covered up and this becomes a major factor in both of the cases being investigated. I also liked how Goldin examined how a controversial sexual assault case could divide a small town like Neapolis, with all the resultant friction and disagreement obvious for an outsider like Rachel to observe. Overall, this was a compelling setting, and I think that it really helped to enhance the intriguing narrative that Goldin produced.

With this third impressive novel, Megan Goldin has once again shown why she is such a rising star in the crime fiction genre. The Night Swim is a powerful and captivating read that expertly examines a heavy, relevant and surprisingly divisive real-world topic and utilises it to create a clever crime fiction story set across 25 years. This was a truly outstanding piece of fiction, and the combination of a great mystery, dramatic writing and an in-depth examination of crime and society proved to be rather compelling and memorable. While The Night Swim is a standalone read, I think that the protagonist introduced in this novel has some potential as a repeat character, and it might be interesting to see her travel around the country, investigating crimes for her podcast. In the meantime, The Night Swim comes highly recommended and I look forward to seeing what Goldin comes up with next.

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The Holdout by Graham Moore

On March 4, 2020August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Thriller4 Comments

Publisher: Orion/Penguin Random House Audio (Audiobook – 18 February 2020)

Series: Standalone

Length: 10 hours and 15 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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From acclaimed author Graham Moore comes an amazing new thriller story that is one part legal drama, one part murder mystery and 100 per cent awesome: The Holdout.

The Holdout is an outstanding standalone book that I have been looking forward to for a little while now. I really enjoyed the sound of the premise when I first heard about it, so I was really glad when I received a copy of this book. Moore is probably best known as a Hollywood screenwriter, having written the screenplay for The Imitation Game, which won him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, Moore is also a novelist, having previously written two books, The Sherlockian and The Last Days of Night, the latter of which I read and enjoyed back in 2016. The Holdout is Moore’s first foray into contemporary fiction, and he has produced quite a fantastic read.

It was the trial of the century. Jessica Silver, the 15-year-old heiress to a vast fortune, vanishes and the prime suspect is her African American teacher, Bobby Nock, with whom she was having an inappropriate relationship. With substantial evidence against him, a verdict of guilty for Jessica’s murder seemed assured, until one juror voted not guilty. This one holdout, Maya Seale, refused to alter her verdict and was eventually able to convince the other jurors to change their votes. Their resulting decision would shock the country and change the juror’s lives forever.

Now, 10 years later, Maya is a successful defence attorney who has tried her hardest to move on from the infamous trial that ruined her life, until Rick Leonard, her fellow former juror and secret lover during the trial, tracks her down. Rick has spent the last 10 years obsessing with case, believing that they let a guilty man go free. Now, to mark the 10th anniversary of the trial, a true-crime show wants to interview each of the jurors in the hotel they were sequestered at during the trial. At the end of the interview, they will be presented with new evidence that Rick has uncovered which he believes definitively proves Bobby Nock’s guilt. While initially reluctant to go, Maya ends up making an appearance, only to find Rick dead in her hotel room.

Now the prime suspect in Rick’s death, Maya is forced to relive the infamy that has dogged her for years. Determined to prove her innocence, Maya begins interviewing the only potential witnesses to the crime, the former members of the jury who were gathered at the hotel. However, her investigation reveals that Rick has been digging up dirt on each of the former jurors, and several of them may have had a motive to kill him. As she digs deep, Maya begins to believe that the solution to this current murder lies in the trial that brought them together. Did they let a guilty man go free all those years ago, and is that decision coming back to haunt them with lethal consequences?

Wow, just wow, this was a pretty incredible thriller novel. Moore has pulled together quite a compelling and complex read which presents the reader with a fantastic and intricate story that combines an excellent legal thriller with a captivating murder mystery to create a first-rate read.

The Holdout’s story is told in alternating chapters, with half of the chapters set back during the original trial in 2009, and the rest of the book is set 10 years later in the present day. The 2019 chapters are told exclusively from the point of view of Maya as she attempts to uncover who killed Rick Leonard, while each of the chapters set in the past are told from the perspective of a different juror as they observe the events surrounding the trial. This is a really clever storytelling technique as it presents the reader with two connected but distinct storylines. The storyline set during the original trial is a legal drama-thriller in the vein of 12 Angry Men or Runaway Jury, and it shows various points of the Bobby Knock murder trial and the jury deliberations that followed. Through the author’s use of multiple perspectives, the reader is able to see how the various members of the jury came to their ultimate verdict, what factors influenced their decisions and what they thought about the various people involved in the case and their fellow jurors. The storyline set in the present day, on the other hand, reads more like a murder mystery, and it deals with the protagonist’s hunt to find Rick’s killer in order to prove her innocence. Both of these separate storylines work extremely well together, especially as the Maya storyline explores the impacts of the events that occurred during the older timeline. I also think that Moore did an excellent job jumping between the various time periods and character perspectives, and this clever storytelling style helped to create a compelling read with a fun flow to it.

At the centre of this novel lies two fantastic and complex mystery storylines set around 10 years apart. The first one of these revolves around what happened to Jessica Silver in 2009, while the other involves the murder of Rick Leonard in 2019. Both of these separate cases are really intriguing, and they present the reader with some clever twists, compelling potential theories, alternative suspects and conflicting evidence, so much so that the eventual solutions to these mysteries are actually quite surprising. While both of these two mysteries work really well by themselves, the real beauty is in the way that they combine together throughout the book. The solution to the Rick Leonard murder is strongly rooted to the original 2009 trial with the jury, while the eventual revelation about Jessica Silver doesn’t come out until the events of the 2019 murder are concluded. I really enjoyed seeing both of these mysteries come together, and it was cool to see the motives for one case be revealed in a prior timeline, while the protagonist investigated in the present.

I also had a great appreciation for the legal aspects of The Holdout, as the author dives deep in the United States court system and shows off what happens during a murder trial. There are some tricky legal scenes throughout this book, and one of the major appeals of the 2009 storylines is seeing the entirety of the murder trial unfold. Moore also does a great job exploring how the jury system works and how jurors deliberate and decide upon a person’s innocence and guilt. There are some intriguing examinations of the jury system throughout the book, and it was interesting to see what information they are given and how a jury could come up with one verdict when the rest of the country has already decided. The use of multiple perspectives works well during the 2009 part of the book, and I quite enjoyed seeing how the disparate jurors had different opinions about the information presented to them. The 2019 storyline also contains some intriguing legal scenes which are shown from the perspective of Maya as a successful defence attorney. As a result, these scenes contain fascinating information about legal strategy and defence plans, and it was a little scary to consider innocent people being advised that their best legal strategy for a crime they didn’t commit was to claim self-defence. The Holdout also tried to show the chaos that surrounds a high profile court case, including examining the crazy media coverage, the impact of public perception, and the fact that people involved are often more concerned with making money or advancing their careers rather than finding out who actually committed the crime. All of this is extremely fascinating, and I enjoyed seeing Moore’s take on the current legal system, especially as he comes across as somewhat critical of it at times.

Moore has also filled this book with a number of complex and relatable characters in the form of the jurors, who you get to know throughout the course of both storylines. Thanks to the two separate timelines, you get to see how the events of the trial affected these people as each of them had their lives completely ruined thanks to one decision they made 10 years ago. Thanks to the use of multiple perspectives during the earlier timeline, you actually get to briefly see inside the mind of each of the jurors, and explore how events in their past lives, plus the stress of the trial helped influence their verdict. I also found it fascinating to see how the not-guilty verdict impacted on other characters associated with the trial, such as the family of Jessica Silver and the accused, Bobby Nock. This was especially true in the case of Bobby, who, despite being found innocent, was controversially prosecuted for another crime and was then subsequently hounded by the media for years, resulting in some compelling scenes around this character in the 2019 storyline. I also have to point out the underlying theme of obsession that the author expertly inserted into this story. Obsession with the trial affected several characters within the book, causing many of them to act in unpredictable ways to achieve their goals. This obsession came from a number of places, including from guilt, a sense of righteousness, a desire for revenge or to find justice, and it was quite compelling to see what this obsession drove some characters to do. One member of the jury in particular is driven to do some very dark things that were completely out of character to the person who was introduced in the earlier storyline, and this characters development was extremely fascinating to behold. Moore did an amazing job with these characters, and I really liked seeing how the events depicted in the book influenced and impacted them.

I ended up listening to the audiobook format of The Holdout, which was narrated by Abby Craden. The Holdout audiobook runs for just over 10 hours and I found myself flying through this novel, especially when I became obsessed with working out the overall solutions to this book. Craden is an excellent audiobook narrator, and I previously enjoyed her work on Recursion by Black Crouch last year. For The Holdout, Craden comes up with a number of distinctive voices for the various characters featured within the book. Each of these voices fit their respective characters extremely well, and I think that Craden did a good job portraying these character’s various ethnicities and genders. All of this really helped me to enjoy this incredible story, and this format comes highly recommended as a result.

The Holdout was an absolutely incredible read that does a fantastic job showcasing Graham Moore’s superb skill as a master storyteller. This amazing novel expertly combines together a compelling legal thriller with an addictive murder mystery in order to produce a first-rate story with some captivating twists and intriguing character developments. The Holdout gets a full five-star rating from me, and I am very excited to see what this remarkable author produces next.

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The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

On November 7, 2019April 19, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery29 Comments

Publisher: Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 22 October 2019)

Series: Ballard and Bosch – Book 2

Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the masters of modern crime fiction, Michael Connelly, returns with another book in his bestselling interconnected crime universe. In The Night Fire, Connelly once again brings together the outstanding team of Ballard and Bosch for another exceptional murder mystery.

Back when he was a rookie detective, Harry Bosch was mentored by one of the LAPD’s best homicide detectives, John Jack Thompson, who helped stoke his internal fires of justice to ensure that no case ever goes unsolved. Now, years later, Thompson is dead, and at his funeral, the now retired Bosch is given a gift from his widow: a murder book for an unsolved crime. The case revolved around the murder of a young man in a gang-controlled alley nearly 30 years before, and it appeared that Thompson secretly took the book when he retired from the force. What was Thompson’s connection to the case, why was this one murder so important to him and why did he keep the murder book a secret for so long?

Determined to get answers, but already committed to helping his lawyer half-brother Mickey Haller defend his client in a tricky murder case, Bosch takes the book to Detective Renée Ballard for help. Ballard, Hollywood Division’s resident detective on the night shift (known as the Late Show), and Bosch have recently formed an unofficial partnership in order to work on some of Bosch’s old, unsolved cases. Identifying several inconsistencies in the cold case, Ballard decides to start digging deeper, while also investigating a suspicious death by fire that occurred on her beat.

Together Bosch and Ballard are an effective investigative team, and it does not take them long to identify a potential killer. However, the more they dig, the more they begin to realise that Thompson might not have taken the murder book to solve the murder, but to ensure that nobody ever tried to investigate it. Can these two detectives get to the truth, and what happens when their various investigations put them in the line of fire of some very dangerous people?

The Night Fire is the latest book in Connelly’s shared crime universe, which features the various adventures and investigations of several of his iconic protagonists. This new novel is a fantastic piece of crime fiction that once again combines together two of Michael Connelly’s most intriguing characters, Bosch and Ballard, after their outstanding first team-up in 2018’s Dark Sacred Night. This is the 22^nd book featuring Bosch, Connelly’s original and most utilised protagonist, while Ballard has so far appeared in two prior novels. This book also briefly sees the return of Mickey Haller, another one of Connelly’s protagonists, who has appeared in several legal thrillers within the universe such as The Lincoln Lawyer (which was adapted into a film of the same name).

Just like in Dark Sacred Night, the plot of the book is shown from both Bosch’s and Ballard’s perspectives, as each of them gets a number of separate point-of-view chapters (about half each) to tell their respective stories. While there is a lot of crossover between the two characters, especially when they are working together on their joint cold case, both of them do their own independent investigations and have several chapters where they deal with their various personal issues without the other character being present. However, they also both appear in a number of chapters together, allowing the reader to not only get an interior view of the character but to see each of them through the other’s eyes.

One of the main things that I love about the Michael Connelly books I have read are the multiple cases that the protagonists investigate simultaneously, many of which may or may not be connected in some way. In The Night Fire for example, the story features one cold case that brings Ballard and Bosch together at the start of the book and which they work together on, while both characters have separate cases to work on. Bosch becomes involved in the legal defence of one of Mickey Haller’s clients who is on trial for murder, and this then evolves into the hunt for the murderer of a judge. Ballard on the other hand does most of the investigative work on the cold case, mainly because she is the one with access to the LAPD’s resources. At the same time, she is also investigating several other crimes that come across her desk during her night shifts at Hollywood Division. These include a homeless man who was burnt alive in their tent, the apparent suicide of a young girl and the discovery of a truckload of illegal immigrants. While some of these cases do not go anywhere or are investigated by a different part of the LAPD, Ballard does find herself fully investigating several different cases and getting some rather interesting results. I really enjoyed this cool combination of varied cases and examples of police work, especially as it combines together a decades-old murder with several recent crimes. There are some really complex and compelling mysteries involved with these cases, and I found myself getting drawn into each of them, as they all featured some clever police work and an intriguing bunch of potential suspects. The cold case in particular was great, as the reader not only needed to figure out who the killer was but also why Bosch’s mentor was so concerned with the murder. While it was a little disappointing not to get some follow-through on a couple of Ballard’s cases, I thought that all of these mysteries come together into an excellent overall narrative that does an outstanding job keeping the reader’s attention. I also loved how two of the cases eventually come together in an unexpected way, resulting in an explosive conclusion, while the results of another murder investigation had a very emotional impact on one of the protagonists.

In addition to the great mysteries and fictional examples of police work, one of The Night Fire’s biggest strengths is its two protagonists, Ballard and Bosch. Both of these protagonists are excellent characters with strong backstories, and I really enjoyed how the two of them played off each other. In this novel, both Ballard and Bosch are outsiders to the LAPD. Ballard has been banished to the night shift for reporting a sexual assault by a superior officer, and now has serious trust issues when it comes to many of her male counterparts. Bosch on the other hand, after a long career with the police, is now retired, and thanks to some of his actions that forced him out the LAPD, many of the police no longer see him as one of them, a point reinforced when Bosch helps Mickey Haller free a murder suspect. This outsider viewpoint makes the team-up between both of them a lot more interesting, as both characters are still learning to trust the other, even after the success of their first case. I really liked how the relationship between the two of them grew throughout this book, and their different viewpoints and experiences turn them into an effective duo. Both characters go through some big moments in this book, including some medical issues with Bosch, Ballard standing up to her attacker and the various emotional impacts of the case, and it was great to see how they helped each other out. This is definitely a team-up I want to see again in the future, and I really hope that Connelly continues more of these adventures with Ballard and Bosch.

Just as I did with Michael Connelly’s previous book, Dark Sacred Night, I ended up listening to the audiobook version of The Night Fire. This audiobook runs for just over 10 hours, and features the vocal talents of Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin. I quite enjoyed the audiobook version of The Night Fire, as not only did it allow me to power through this book is short order (I think it only took me three days to finish it off) but its use of two separate narrators was done really well. Throughout the course of the book, Welliver is the voice of Bosch (which is a good fit as Welliver actually plays this character in the Bosch television show), while Lakin is the voice of Ballard, and they each narrate the chapters for their respective characters, including most of the dialogue. Welliver and Lakin are exceptional vocal talents, who did an outstanding job of bringing Bosch and Ballard to life. Both of these narrators really get to grips with the characters and are able to capture a lot of their various nuances in their performances.

Another great thing about this audiobook was the amazing way they utilised the two separate narrators. I really liked how the book was split between them, and it ensured that both sets of chapters had a great distinctive feel throughout the book, and the reader was never left in doubt who was narrating the chapter. The only exception to this is any dialogue the other point-of-view character has in that chapter, as that character’s narrator will then speak instead. This means for example, while Welliver is the primary narrator during Bosch’s chapters, whenever Ballard speaks during these chapters you get Lakin’s voice. While it was a tad disconcerting at times to suddenly hear the other narrator’s voice in the middle of a lot of dialogue in the primary vocal talent’s chapter, it did save the reader from getting confused by having to listen to two different versions of the protagonist’s voices. Overall, I would strongly recommend the audiobook version of The Night Fire to anyone interested in checking out this book, and I know that I will be utilising this format again in the future for Connelly’s next book.

In his latest crime fiction masterpiece, Michael Connelly once again knocks it out of the park with this fantastic new addition to his connected crime universe. The Night Fire is an exceptional murder mystery that makes excellent use of its two main protagonists to tell a rich and exciting narrative, filled with a number of intriguing investigations and cases. This is probably my favourite Michael Connelly book that I have read so far, and it gets a full five stars from me. A fantastic new entry from the king of crime fiction, this is a must read for all fans of the genre.

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