William Lashner

Victor Carl is a Philadelphia lawyer who, to his bitter regret, is about as far away from a job with a successful law firm, money, flashy cars, and, in general, a celebrity life style as it is possible to be without being bankrupt and homeless--all of which is looming around the corner. Deserted by one of his partners who had the gall not only to steal the firm's best clients but also to marry the society woman with whom Carl was sleeping, Victor--to put it mildly--is not a happy show more camper.

Desperately working a nearly hopeless civil suit, Carl is suddenly presented with the opportunity of collaborating with a very prominent, very successful senior partner in a prestigious Philadelphia law firm. Carl, who is delighted by a shot (at last!) at the big time, does not delve too deeply into the reason for this opportunity--he's more than happy to do (or not do) whatever is necessary to fit in, get along, and fulfil his fantasies of The Good Life.

Until he's asked to collaborate in selling out his client on a murder charge.

The plot is excellent, an outstanding legal thriller. The story is filled with fascinating and believable characters including an older Hassidic private investigator. Carl himself is a wonderful invention--a down-and-out lawyer who is just itching for a chance to sell out, a coward--yet underneath it all, someone who is going to play the game to win in his own (not necessarily nice) way . Some of the ways he uses are hysterically funny.

The story moves right along; the ending is wonderfully ironic. The relevance of the title does not become clear until near the end of the book.

This is the first book in the series, one that makes the reader eager for more. Highly recommended. show less

Number 4 in the Victor Carl, Philadelphia defense lawyer, series.

This book opens and develops much in the same way that Lashner’s 3rd book, Fatal Flaw, did, in that the plot turns on an event in the past, a known event but one that has critical consequences for the action. The event is a death, a 20 year old murder in which Carl’s client, Joey Cheaps, was involved. Unfortunately, Joey has the nerve to be murdered on Lashner before paying his bills (typical), but in the same area in which show more the 20 year old murder took place.

Carl, who is nothing if not stubborn, decides to investigate Joey’s murder, getting into his usual trouble with the police and underworld figures. But at the same time, his own past comes due, as his father lays dying in a hospital, waiting for a risky operation that may save his life or hasten his death, and tells an unwilling Carl the story of his own first love--a nice counterpoint to the main plot.

Lashner really doesn’t write legal thrillers or police procedurals as much as he writes psychological “thrillers”, where EVERYBODY’S psyche is part of the plot--and he does this extremely well.

But his best point, as far as I’m concerned, is his character creation. Philadelphia is some weird place if it has only a fraction of the truly odd characters who populate Lashner’s novel. My favorite in this one is a vamp, a woman who lives totally for herself, sees her life as a work of art--Alura Strascinzky. Alura Strascinzky--are you serious? Lashner is, and she is one of his one-off wonders. I had already concluded that Lashner has a good deal of fun with his books, and this book just confirms me in that notion.

Lashner is excellent in evoking a sense of place and character. His plot is as always, convoluted, with extremely satisfying twists and turns. The books are well-written and tend to keep you up late at night. Highly recommended. show less

Bagmen is the eight novel in the Victor Carl series by author William Lashner. Lawyer Victor Carl is down on his luck when he is recruited by an old college friend to make a pay off to someone blackmailing a congressman. But when the blackmailer later turns up dead Victor suddenly finds himself arrested for her murder and his only hope of survival rests on a group of bagmen, people who work in the shadows of the political world and help make problems disappear.

The writing in this novel had show more just the right mix of humour and sarcasm and brought out some classic one-liners and dialogue reminiscent of the great Raymond Chandler. Read the full review here show less

There’s nothing easier than falling in love with an old girlfriend. That’s what Philly lawyer Victor Carl finds out when he hooks up again with a femme fatale who’s definitely bad for his health.

In the middle of the night, a knock on Victor’s door can only mean trouble. Two cops invite themselves in, asking where Victor has been. They also ask him about a doctor named Wren Davis. Victor sends them packing. As soon as they leave, a beautiful woman steps out of Victor’s bedroom, a show more towel around her naked body. "Who was that?" she asks. "The cops," says Victor. "What did they want?" she asks. "To tell me that your husband is dead."

Her name is Julia. She’s ridiculously lovely. Women like her date athletes and marry tycoons. They don’t hang out with second–rate lawyers on the edge of insolvency. But back in the day, Julia had agreed to marry Victor Carl. Then she deserted him, running off to marry a doctor. Now she’s back and she’s trouble with a capital T. Her husband has been murdered, Julia’s incriminated, and there are big bucks at stake. Naturally, Victor is on the case. show less