Ein brillantes Erstlingswerk!: Inhalt:

Chloe Larson steht kurz vor dem Juraexamen. Sie hat einen Freund, mit dem sie sich mit zunehmender Zeit schlecht versteht. Eine Nachts, schleicht ein Mann in ihr Haus und vergewaltigt sie. Dieser Moment verändert alles in ihrem Leben und zwölf Jahre später, sie lebt allein, bekommt sie als Staatsanwältin den Straftäter der Cupido- Mordserie vor Gesicht und erkennt sofort, dass es sich dabei auch um ihren Peiniger handelt.
Sie steht vor der Wahl, den Fall aufgrund von persönlicher Befangenheit abgeben zu müssen oder das Geheimnis für sich zu behalten und ihren Peiniger vor den Schöpfer treten zu lassen.

Zum Autor, zur Schreibweise:

Jilliane Hofmann hat einen echten Heimvorteil. Die ehemalige Staatsanwältin bringt all ihr Wissen mit in dieses Buch und kennt jeden genauen Ablauf eines Gerichtsprozess von der ersten Anhörung bis zum Urteil. Sie brilliert damit, dass sie dem ganzen Prozess Menschlichkeit verleiht und das Gewissen der Personen zu durchleuchten. Der Prozess ist keineswegs trocken oder langatmig, sondern besticht durch abwechslungsreiche Wendungen und spektakuläre Funde. Das Ende gefiel mir besonders gut, denn das Konstrukt, dass ich mit Fragen beworfen hatte, warf endlich Antworten zurück und alles ging wunderbar auf und vor allem war vieles logisch nachvollziehbar. Das Buch habe ich innerhalb eines Tages gelesen und hat mich vollends begeistert, denn die 100 Kapitel auf 376 Seiten verteilt, ergeben pure Abwechslung, jedoch wird alles Notwendige gesagt.

In this fine novel which was nominated for the Anthony Award for the Best First Mystery Novel, a preditor stalks and rapes law student Chole Larson and escapes.

Twelve years later, a string of murders have occurred in the Miami area. A policeman pulls over a car for a traffic offense and when the driver of the car refuses to allow the policeman to check his trunk, a K-9 unit is called. The dog smells something and when they pop the trunk, they find the body of a dead girl with a missing heart. William Banting asks for a lawyer.

He's brought before the court and prosecutor, C. J. Townsend. She wonders, is Bantling the serial killer or a copy cat? Then, she hears the man's voice and remembers it. Even though it's been twelve years, C. J. remembers the attack, the break up of her relationship and her nervous breakdown. She moved to Florida, changed her name and passed the Florida bar exam. She's able to survive with drive and periodic visits to her analyst.

When C. J. recognizes the voice, she becomes more determined than ever that the man who raped her and killed the woman in the trunk gets what he deserves. Now, she must be careful that she stays impartial but still gets her retribution.

This is a wonderful plot driven novel. C. J. Townsend is a first rate protagonist, sympathetic, yet strong in her resolve. The author adds an interesting but somewhat predictable plot twist at the end which heightened the enjoyment.

Film rights have been sold and the film is currently in development. ( )

Eeeyow....I was looking for something different to listen to and I guess I found it. Just a little too much gore. I happened to pick up an abridged audio version but it was enough. It's not that it wasn't well written and it most certainly had its own thrilling aspects so I'm quite sure it would be just what some people would love---just not my particular favorite. It was definitely clever. ( )

I normally don't read mystery novels because for the most part they not creative and I can predict them within a few chapters. The only reason I ordered this book from Paperback Swap was because I wanted something to listen to while I drive to work. This one had 13 cds and seemed slightly interesting. That being said, this book is AMAZING! It definitely has me reconsidering my "no mysteries" stance. There was no forced romance that felt like it was put there simply to have women interested. There is a little romance but, even though it's written by a woman, it is also not all consuming throughout the novel. The true story is the mystery and Chloe herself, the romance is just a by product. I thought that was a great way to go. I really hate when female characters spend the entire book mooning over someone when their life is literally falling apart. I just found out that there is being a movie made of it so I'm sure they'll play it up in just the way I hate.

Hoffman was able to surprise me several times, which is another reason I loved the book. If I can figure it out too soon, then I'm bored. And the twist she takes near the end...well, that was genius. I knew there was something more than the story we were being told but I simply didn't see it. Maybe it's because she didn't leave enough clues for the reader to get there on her own until she reveals a key piece, but it also didn't feel wrong when I did figure it out. It was more like "Of course!"

Like I said, I listened to the audio version. I was little confused because the cover and the cds both said they were read by Martha Plimpton but the beginning and end cds stated that it was read by Kathe Mazur. I had to do a serious search to even find a version with that name being read. Everything I saw said Martha Plimpton read the abridged version and the one lonely site I saw with Kathe Mazur listed said it was unabridged. I listened to the unabridged version but you'd think they'd put the right person reading on the cover! Very weird.

I highly recommend this book. If you listen, get the unabridged version. I can't imagine what they could possibly leave out in the abridged version. It would have to be terrible. ( )

Here we go again: another legal thriller by another former prosecutor that hangs the plot entirely on an attorney’s decision to act with a complete and utter lack of ethics. As a member of the legal profession who struggles frequently with ethical issues myself – like every practicing lawyer – I’d be tearing my hair out except that I have none left after a few years of reviewing legal thrillers.

This is not a small matter in this exceptionally hyped first novel by Hoffman, who was once an Assistant State Attorney and a Regional Legal Advisor for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. There’s no question that it isn’t supposed to bother the reader much; one is expected to excuse the attorney for what she does because she was once the victim of an exceptionally brutal rape. But it colors the entire novel, and makes C.J. Townsend an unsympathetic character notable only for her willingness to twist the law, to lie, and to suborn perjury in order to prosecute and execute a man who may or may not be a bloody serial killer.

The ethical problems are only the beginning of what is wrong with this novel. It depends on a level of coincidence that strains credulity. It assumes that Townsend, an allegedly brilliant lawyer who has been practicing for a number of years, has never heard of the statute of limitations – the category of laws that limit the time within which a crime must be prosecuted. The defense lawyer is so thoroughly disarmed by her sympathy for Townsend that she desists from providing her client with a strong defense, a situation that would cause any other lawyer to withdraw and allow tougher counsel to defend the capital case that may result in her client’s death with the required vigor. And the police are led around by the nose, one of them, of course, having fallen in love with Townsend. It’s not only lawyers who will have trouble with this book; it’s intelligent readers, too.

All that said, it must be acknowledged that Hoffman knows the basics about how to plot, and can move things along at breakneck speed. She can describe a courtroom scene so convincingly that you’d think you were sitting in the jury box. She knows how to write a write graphically about ugly crimes, but not cross the line into violent pornography. If you can suspend your disbelief completely – say, on a Saturday afternoon when it’s snowing hard and your pile of new mysteries is running low – you may well get some real enjoyment out of this book.

Still, it is by no means the new Presumed Innocent that some are touting it as. Hoffman and Turow have nothing in common based on the evidence of this book. Still, I finished this book hoping that Hoffman will use her evident talent to better effect in her next novel.

Originally published in The Drood Review of Mystery, Volume 24, No. 11, p. 7 (Jan/Feb 2004)