No more of his ( )

Afer Dark, by Phillip Margolin, is the best mystery/thriller I’ve ever read (and believe me I’ve read many). To me the evaluation of how good a book is can be determined in how long it takes one to read it. I read After Dark in less than two days. It is a masterful work of penmanship with a twisted plot that keeps you reading to see whodunit, but the plot is so intricately woven, you never can decide what the resolution will turn out to be. Publishers Weekly called Margolin’s style “whiplash plotting”, which is an excellent description. This was a complicated story with a great deal of legalese that could only be done through Margolin’s background as an attorney. If you are a mystery/thriller buff like me, then read this book. I think it was wonderful.

I loved this book...I couldn't stop reading it...you know, one of those I stay up late to read even though I know I will regret it the next day! ( )

Attorney Abbie Griffen is in the middle of a messy divorce when her husband, Judge Robert Griffen, is killed by a car bomb. She believes it to be the work of Charlie Deems, a man she put on death row. Is he also behind her subsequent arrest for her ex-husband's murder? And what to make of the lawyer that comes to her rescue?

Now, don't get me wrong - this book has more good things going for it than bad. However, I found it a bit hard to suspend disbelief at times. In particular, I could not accept that any prosecutor would go to trial with Charlie as their key witness - it just wouldn't stand up. And neither would any thought of Abbie (the Ice Queen) falling for Matthew (the OCD unmarried-at-50 homebody). The affair bewteen Tracey and Barry was too twee and predictable. There is a lack of focus, too. Whose story is it? Tracey's? Abbie's? Matthew's? Charlie's?

I figured out who murdered Charlie very early in the piece, but the story was written well enough that I gladly stuck it out to see if I was right. (I was, but my theory about the motive was a tad off). I totally missed the sub-plot about why Robert was killed, though.

This is not Margolin's best work ('The Burning Man' gets that honor) but it is a good enough read for a long holiday weekend. ( )