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(3.95) | 7 | "It's hard to sit still when your client is scheduled to die in fifteen hours!San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka is surprised when California governor Chuck Dusenbury offers eleventh-hour clemency to Sedaka's Death Row client Clayton Burrow - convinced to do so by the dying mother of the victim. But there is a condition: Burrow must reveal where he buried body.The problem: Burrow insists that he is innocent and claims that he was framed by the missing girl herself. Until then, Sedaka - who only recently took over the case - thought that Burrow was guilty. But now that Burrow has rejected the clemency offer, he is not so sure. Thus begins a race against time to unravel the mystery, aided by his secretary, an enigmatic legal intern and his own computer expert son.Alex finds evidence of school bullying, marital infidelity and even child abuse. But with the clock ticking down to Burrow's execution, Alex is frustrated at every turn by elusive evidence that casts doubt on Burrow's guilt, but is not enough to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the courts or the governor at this late stage.And as the execution looms ahead, the race turns frantic... and dangerous.Perfect for fans of John Grisham, Scott Turow and Harlan Coben, Mercy is the first in a series featuring San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka.… (more) |
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It's hard to still when your client is scheduled to die in fifteen hours.  | |
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The David Kessler who wrote this is the David Kessler who wrote A Fool for a Client - not the David Kessler from the FDA or the one who wrote the book about the Falashas. | |
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▾References References to this work on external resources.  Wikipedia in English (1)
▾Book descriptions "It's hard to sit still when your client is scheduled to die in fifteen hours!San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka is surprised when California governor Chuck Dusenbury offers eleventh-hour clemency to Sedaka's Death Row client Clayton Burrow - convinced to do so by the dying mother of the victim. But there is a condition: Burrow must reveal where he buried body.The problem: Burrow insists that he is innocent and claims that he was framed by the missing girl herself. Until then, Sedaka - who only recently took over the case - thought that Burrow was guilty. But now that Burrow has rejected the clemency offer, he is not so sure. Thus begins a race against time to unravel the mystery, aided by his secretary, an enigmatic legal intern and his own computer expert son.Alex finds evidence of school bullying, marital infidelity and even child abuse. But with the clock ticking down to Burrow's execution, Alex is frustrated at every turn by elusive evidence that casts doubt on Burrow's guilt, but is not enough to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the courts or the governor at this late stage.And as the execution looms ahead, the race turns frantic... and dangerous.Perfect for fans of John Grisham, Scott Turow and Harlan Coben, Mercy is the first in a series featuring San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka. ▾Library descriptions No library descriptions found. ▾LibraryThing members' description
| Book description |
San Francisco lawyer Alex Sedaka is surprised when California governor Chuck Dusenbury offers eleventh-hour clemency to Sedaka's client Clayton Burrow - currently on Death Row - on the condition that Burrow reveals where he buried the body of the victim. But he is even more surprised when Burrow turns down the offer, insisting that he was framed by the missing girl herself. Until then, Sedaka – who only recently took over the case – thought that Burrow was guilty. But now he is not so sure.
Thus begins a race against time to unravel the mystery, with the unlikely cooperation of the mother of the missing girl, who persuaded the governor to make the clemency offer in the first place. Aided by his secretary, legal intern and computer expert son, Alex finds evidence of school bullying, marital infidelity and even child abuse. But with the clock ticking down to Burrow’s execution, Alex is frustrated at every turn by elusive evidence that casts doubt on Burrow’s guilt, but is not enough to satisfy the rigorous requirements of the courts at this late stage.
As the execution looms ahead, the race turns frantic… and dangerous. Combining elements of Harlan Coben, John Grisham, Dan Brown and Prison Break, MERCY, this is the first in a series featuring US lawyer Alex Sedaka. | |
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Alex Sedaka is the lawyer of a death-row client, Clayton Burrow (his name reminded me of Lincoln Burrows of “Prison Break” fame, another death-row inmate), who is a few hours from execution. The Governor calls Sedaka to a last-minute meeting with the mother of the young woman Burrow allegedly killed. The deal is simple: make Burrow reveal where he buried the body and the Governor will grant clemency.
Simple, but complicated. Burrow insists he is innocent and rejects the clemency offer. This rejection gets Sedaka thinking that perhaps his client is innocent after all. So begins a race against time to find evidence that will let Burrow off the hook. Sedaka, with the little resources at his disposal (a devoted secretary and a devious assistant) starts unearthing surprising facts that never came to light during the trial. He unveils bullying in school, child abuse and unwanted pregnancies ending in abortions overseas – to put together the puzzle of the dead woman.
The plot is interesting. The chapters are kept short and timed according to the sequence of events. The pace is fast and there is rarely a dull moment (except for the inevitable legal mumbo-jumbo that every legal thriller author feels compelled to inflict upon his readers). But something does not work. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think the problem starts about halfway through the book. The story becomes too complex and too unbelievable. New characters are introduced and new, unlikely, links are found between these characters. It all becomes a little too much. Not wanting to reveal the punch line, you’re going to have to take my word for it.
This book is OK if you have a few hours to kill on a lazy afternoon, but don’t expect to find the new Grisham in Kessler. (