The Advocate's Dilemma

Reviewed on: http://readyourwrites.blogspot.com

Having been a child advocate herself, Teresa draws from some of the legal cases she's been a part of, in order to write her books. I found The Advocate's Dilemma to be the most raw, intense, in your face book she has written to date. Stealing a phrase from the book, the issues involved are "worse than murder".

In addition to Sabre, you have characters from the other books making return appearances. Bob Clark, Sabre's best friend, is around to provide comic relief of sorts. JP Torn, Sabre's private investigator, is around to help get to the bottom of things and have her back. New to the Advocate series is Detective Shane Klakken, of the San Diego Police Department. Detective Klakken and JP show more have a chilly relationship, which goes back twenty years. The Advocate's Dilemma takes you from the dark and dirty streets of San Diego to the lush beautiful views of La Jolla.

Dilemma centers around the family of fourteen-year-old Riley and eleven-year-old Marcus Foreman, two brothers put into bad situations by their horrible parents. Their father, George Foreman is a slimy drug user and considered to be scum of the Earth by everyone he meets. Dana Foreman, their mother, is an alcoholic and a drug user. The family is initially brought to the attention of the court system because the family is homeless and Marcus is found running around the streets alone at night.

The book starts off with Bob asking Sabre, "Why is there a dead man in your office?". You can only imagine the roller coaster ride you're about to take. This book draws from events you hear about in the news but can't possibly imagine. With mounting evidence pointing to Bob as the killer, he is arrested for the murder of George Foreman, who happens to be his client Dana's husband. The book doesn't have the immediate action that I am accustomed to from Teresa's previous books, but Dilemma builds up to it. You're given the opportunity to "ride along with" Sabre and JP as they attempt to find out who killed George Foreman and free Bob from jail.

JP stumbles upon something no one expects and is ready to go to the police with what he knows. Being a Juvenile Court Attorney, Sabre feels strongly about her sworn oath to protect minor children clients, no matter the costs. With that in mind, Sabre has to find a way or ways to have justice for her clients, other innocent victims, as well as justice for her best friend. Through a lot of questioning and research, Sabre and JP are able to expose and break up an illegal ring and find the best possible justice they can.

Readers of previous Advocate books have been asking for a more personal relationship between Sabre and JP. Maybe it happens and maybe it doesn't. I don't want to spoil anything. Sabre did a very good job of not really getting herself into trouble. She's finally learning to not take risks. (Or one can only hope.) You will get a more personal glimpse at John Phillip and there isn't a shortage of his JPisms. One of my favorites is, "butter my butt and call me a biscuit".

The Advocate's Dilemma will surprise you and keep you guessing up until the very end.

Teresa Burrell and her Advocate series just keep getting better and better. I love how she is able to mix in so many different story elements at the same time. I can't wait to find out what's in store for us next.

I received this book from the author, in order to provide an un-biased review.

Rating: 4 1/2 show less

I enjoyed this book immensely. Towards the end I could not put it down to even watch tv. I would definitely read more of hers. I didn't even guess the end and it came as such a surprise to me.

The Advocate, The Advocate's Betrayal, The Advocate's Conviction, The Advocate's Dilemma - each of Teresa Burrell's books is better than the last. Over the course of this series, I have become quite involved with her characters - they are so well developed, that it's not too hard to picture picking up the phone to call Bob or Sabre about a juvinile court case ot to ask JP to do a little sleuthing. And, her storylines are outstanding - each is more complex and involved than the previous one. Ms. Burrell's growth as a writer is readily apparent throughout this series, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next installments.

This is the 4th installment in the Advocate series and honestly I think the best because each book just gets better than the last. When Bob gets arrested for murder it's up to JP and Sabre to find the real killer while still protecting the child Sabre represents. We learn something about JP's past that he's not proud of, meet Sabre's mother and also learn of a secret that her mother has been keeping all these years. As with all of Teresa's books the ending is a fast roller coaster ride through the list of suspects, with things coming out along the way that leaves you saying "I did not see that." By the end you are left with a satisfied feeling that all is right with the 3 friends and a knowledge that the next book will be even better show more than this one.

I simply can't get enough of this series and I highly recommend this and all of the Advocate books. show less

Sabre's best friend and colleague, Bob, is accused of murdering the father of her minor clients. It is up to Sabre and JP to prove Bob's innocence and to find the actual culprit.

The story was quite nice, but I felt that there was consistently a bit too much detail or unnecessary descriptions that didn't really add to the plot.

When Sabre opens her office in the morning she is suprised to find a dead body sprawled across her desk. It starts to get interesting when the body is identified as the husband of one of Bob's clients. We add a cop who has a grudge against JP and things heat up fast.
It doesn't look good for Bob.
Again the book has its lighthearted moments and still addresses the problems parents pass on to their children. The cases assigned to the lawyers reflect everyday life and things children must endure in the real world but the author is not on a soap box.
There is always an unexpected twist. JP's expressions alone are worth the cost of the book and are an added bonus. I loved the book and would recommend it to all my friends.

This is book 4 of a series and I must admit, I haven’t yet read the first 3. Maybe if I had, then more of the background to the main characters would have been clearer, as some things weren’t explained (a fire?) and I had to use my imagination (perhaps wrongly) as to what had happened.

That aside, then was an enjoyable story about a murder and the circumstances leading up to it. I liked Sabre and JP and their interactions although not having met JP earlier, I didn’t quite understand some of his ‘JPisms’!

I did like the way the story was written and how the often delicate subject matter was handled sensitively by the author. There was also a good explanation of the legal processes that Sabre was undertaking so that I could follow show more what was happening.

Overall, an excellent story, with all the loose ends of the murder being tied up. I’ll be looking out for the previous 3 books so I can catch up.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it. show less