DWD's Reviews

Originally published in 2003. The most likely candidate to win the presidency is an Oregon Senator. He has a winning public personae, but he is a violent, horrible man in reality. He beats a high end prostitute to death simply because he enjoys inflicting violence. His people cover it up. Everyone is shocked when this Senator is found beaten to death. It looks like the prostitute's pimp killed him. When the pimp kills his court-appointed attorney in the lock up, no one will defend him until Amanda Jaffe is convinced to do it. Once Amanda starts her investigation, it turns out that things are a lot worse than she thought... I almost stopped reading this book after the first 50 pages or so. There are very few likable characters anywhere in this book. Everyone seems to be outright evil or compromised.  The only real positive was that the horrible Senator character died a violent death. Let's face it, that's not much of a positive. But, I stuck with it and, eventually, this boo...

Fantastic Narration by Jonathan Davis Published by Harper Audio in April of 2013 Performed by Jonathan Davis Unabridged Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes Phillip Margolin I have been a fan of Phillip Margolin for years but I have been disappointed with some of his newer books. Sleight of Hand started out fairly weak but the second half was much stronger. There are two plots at work in this novel. Dana Cutler, appearing in her fourth novel is hired for a bizarre cross country case involving a 500-year-old scepter from the Ottoman Empire. The other story involves fashionable couple Horace and Carrie Blair. Horace Blair is a multi-millionaire international businessman and Carrie is much younger and is a career-focused prosecutor. When Carrie disappears, Horace is charged with her murder and eventually these two stories come together with a true sociopath and that's when the book starts to move. The best part of this audiobook was the performance of the reader, Jonathan...

Originally published in 2010. Published in 2011 by Harper. A death row case, the Supreme Court and Homeland Security politics come together in Supreme Justice . The central question of the death row case is does the government have the right to withhold information deemed to be important to national security in a murder trial? In the case featured in the story, Sara Woodruff is a police officer on death row for killing her former lover. She denies any involvement and points the finger at suspected connections with the CIA and Homeland Security. She is sure he was kidnapped from her apartment and executed and the government's refusal to talk is going to cost her her life.. The Supreme Court building If the story had been told from the point of view of Woodruff's defense team this book may have been quite suspenseful, entertaining and informative. Instead, it is told from the point of view of a set of ongoing Margolin characters: Dana Cutler, Brad Miller and Keith Eva...

Lots of plot threads eventually tie together Published by HarperAudio in 2012. Performed by Jonathan Davis. Duration: 9 hours, 38 minutes. I have been a Phillip Margolin fan since I read his book The Burning Man nearly 15 years ago. I worked at a used book store at the time and I remember turning a couple of people on to Margolin's stuff. I must admit that I have not read some of his more recent books, not out of lack of interest, but mostly due to the pressure of a massive To-Be-Read pile (do you REALLY need to add yet another book to the pile?). Phillip Margolin So, when I came across a Margolin audiobook, I knew that this was a good chance to catch up while not adding to the To-Be-Read pile, since I usually listen while doing things like driving. So, what did I think of Capitol Murder ? First, this book is at least the third book in a series following the adventures of Brad Miller and Dana Cutler. This is not really a problem because Margolin sets up things e...

Finally, Margolin is back on his game! I've read Margolin's books since I came across The Burning Man but I've been sorely disappointed by many one of them since because they have never approached the power or the storytelling of that book. Phillip Margolin While  Wild Justice  is very much different than The Burning Man , it is a great page turner. I found the story to be inventive, if not twisted. Although, I figured out who the killer was with about 100 pages to go, there were so many plot twists that I doubted my conclusion several times. The ending was tension-filled and full of poetic justice. I'll be reading more. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here:  Wild Justice (Amanda Jaffe #1) by Phillip Margolin . Reviewed on October 26, 2004.

Good, fast-paced roller coaster ride If the first two opening scenes don't grab you than you had better check your pulse and see if you're still alive! Phillip Margolin Others have reviewed  The Associate  and correctly stated that it is not a pure legal thriller. True enough. There are legal parts to this story, but the case is not resolved through fancy legal footwork. Rather, the thriller becomes a mystery too and we race along with our heroes to see if they can save everyone and expose the villains. Is it great literature? Hardly. But, it's a lot of fun and I tore through it like a starving man at a buffet.   I rate this book 5 stars out of 5 and it can be found on Amazon.com here: The Associate by Phillip Margolin.   Reviewed on February 1, 2005

Good thriller set against a series of coincidences Margolin comes through with The Last Innocent Man , a book that keeps the pages turning but at times I wondered about the series of incredible coincidences that linked all of the characters together (I won't go into them here, for fear of revealing too much of the plot for those who have not yet read the book). Are you looking for a book that leads the protagonist through a series of difficult choices until finally everything is forced to come to a head? Than this is your book. However, be aware that you'll be forced to suspend your sense of disbelief from time to time as well. I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Last Innocent Man .  Reviewed on September 10, 2004.