(1997)I found this book hard to warm up to because I just couldn't be very sympathetic with the main character Ben who gets in over his head after he leaks the decision of the Supreme Court he is clerking for. He becomes the target of more and more blackmail. He gets his roommates and fellow clerk involved which results in tragedy. I never found his plight to be more than he deserved. (Booklist)Meltzer is a bit of a wunderkind. A young attorney and speechwriter for President Clinton, he managed to wrangle credit out of Columbia Law School for writing his first novel, a peppy, amusing, and suspenseful little thriller primed for major commercial success with film and foreign rights in the bag and a spot in the Literary Guild lineup. The story begins on Ben Addison's first day at work as a clerk for the Supreme Court. So crucial is the contribution of the clerks to the Court that they are referred to as the "tenth justice," and Ben, precocious and ambitious, is terrifically excited until he's taken down a notch by his brusque co-clerk, Lisa Schulman, a no-nonsense gal who quickly gets involved up to her skeptical eyebrows in Ben's troubles. Too eager to succeed, Ben foolishly breaks the Court's rule of confidentiality and soon finds himself under the thumb of a blackmailing mastermind. Ben enlists the help of his three roommates--a senator's aide, a reporter, and a State Department employee--and inadvertently stirs up a hornet's nest of distrust, fear, and anger. As Ben, his nearly alienated buddies, and intrepid Lisa try to establish the identity of their adversary and his inside source, Meltzer scrolls out dialogue worthy of a high-quality prime-time sitcom. This could be an action version of Friends or Spin City; in fact, picture Michael J. Fox as Ben, and you've got the flavor of this witty, almost violence-free, fresh, and satisfying page-turner. Donna Seaman

Author series - read before Fleming

I'm not at all sure how I missed this when it first came out but what a treat to find it now. This is a fabulous story. Ben Addison and Lisa Nathan are two of the very few chosen to clerk for the Supreme Court. They are the crème de la crème. But, one small mistake takes them into a book full of trust and mistrust. This story has characters who are so real, I swear I would recognize them on the street. And this mystery plot is so good that the pages turn themselves and there isn't even one single murder. Meltzer's next book is already out and I may not be able to wait for the paperback. This guy is way young so I'm hoping we are looking at years and years of great reads. ( )

I really did enjoy this, but it was pretty clearly one of Meltzer's earlier works. I've read some of his more recent works and found them impossible to put down--this one started out that way, and ended that way, but there was a good chunk in the middle where I was sort of wandering along and enjoying it, but not finding it to be so compulsively readable as I might have liked. As always, though, his characters were great, and the plot was full of twists and turns. I think I am glad that it wasn't the first of his works which I wandered into, but I'd certainly recommend it to readers who enjoy legal thrillers or works of suspense. ( )

Another fast paced thriller tied to the Supreme Court. Great to read after several heavy duty reads. Read a paperback copy I found on paperback swap.

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