Hostile Witness

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 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!) show more 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

Brilliant protagonist. Victor Carl is not an attractive character. He's unsuccessful, untrustworth, not entirely ethical, not probably a coward...but you still want him to win. Maybe because of all those flaws, which he freely admits. Lashner's two earliest works (Hostile Witness and Veritas--now called Bitter Truth)--remind me a little of Flashman (George McDonald Fraser)--in the character's flawed nature and full disclosure of those flaws. Lashner later makes Carl more successful, braver, and more ethical, and I think the later books aren't as good for that reason. I love Victor Carl in these first two. Stopped reading the books after the fourth.

"Loved this legal thriller, first in the Victor Carl series, and read by Richard Ferrone, a favorite narrator. Victor is a small time Philadelphia lawyer, epitome of the ambulance chaser, recently abandoned by a legal partner who took along the best clients, and facing ever-mounting bills. He's approached by Prescott, a well-known attorney from a huge firm, with a great deal to settle one of Victor's questionable lawsuits, and the prospect of even more money, if he'll take on legal representation of the sleazy sidekick of a politician, or, is it the sidekick of a sleezy politician. His greed getting the better of him, he soon learns he is just to do what he's told, but he's not sure why, and he learns quickly as soon as he decides to show more truly represent his client.

Victor's method for keeping his clothes clean is inspired. He has a small washer dryer unit in his apartment. He uses the washer as a hamper and when it's full turns it on. The dryer is his closet and he just removes clothes from it as needed. The undershirts have a pink tinge and everything is creased, but what the hell, creased is his trademark, anyway. The scene where Veronica, a beautiful plaything, pops over at two in the morning and he describes the detritus in his refrigerator is classic.

I found the back and forth between testimony at the trial and Victor's rather contortionist sex with Veronica to be confusing and unnecessary. I have nothing against good sex, heaven forbid, but it just didn't seem appropriate at that point in the narrative.

Morris Kasputin (spelling?) , the fat little Jewish detective is a marvelous character. And his son, Mossad trained, completely the opposite, except in his deviousness. Things really begin to sparkle when Victor hauls out Rule 405A during a cross-examination. Even the judge had to look it up. "(a) By Reputation or Opinion. When evidence of a person’s character or character trait is admissible, it may be proved by testimony about the person’s reputation or by testimony in the form of an opinion. On cross-examination of the character witness, the court may allow an inquiry into relevant specific instances of the person’s conduct." Prescott about has a stroke.

Lashner is far better than the later Grisham and as good as the early stuff.

Favorite quote: "The only difference between a politician and a viper is that the viper's fangs retract." show less

A very well written legal thriller. Evidently this is the first in a series of books about attorney Victor Carl, so I'll have to seek out some more. He's not the typical protagonist. He's a Philadelphia lawyer who couldn't get into the best law schools or the best firms. He's working on a nearly hopeless civil suit, and the main thing he has going for him is stubbornness....he just refuses to give up. The investigator character is wonderful. He's given a golden opportunity and catches on sooner rather than later that there is a high price to pay. A very good book in this genre.

First book read in this series. I like Victor Carl. I really liked Morris, the Jewish investigator, and I hope he shows up in future books. Victor's partner, Beth, whom I also like, needs to play a more prominent role.

enjoyable characters with a believable storyline.

Kurzbeschreibung bei Amazon:
Victor Carl ist Anwalt. Er ist jung, pleite und ohne Illusionen. Aufstieg und Erfolg sind für ihn bis auf weiteres nicht in Sicht. Doch dann bekommt er die Chance seines Lebens: Er soll den engsten Vertrauten des Stadtrats Jimmy Moore verteidigen, die Anklage lautet auf Mord und Erpressung. Victor nimmt den Fall an - und plötzlich findet er sich im Rampenlicht der Medien und in den Armen einer schönen Frau wieder. Erst im Gerichtssaal erkennt er die Hintergründe dieses gefährlichen Spiels.

4.0 von 5 Sternen Spannender Anwaltskrimi, 27. Februar 2001
Von Ein Kunde
Rezension bezieht sich auf: Die Kanzlei (Taschenbuch)
„Die Kanzlei" ist ein interessanter Krimi aus der Sparte der Anwalts- oder Gerichtsromane. show more Er zeichnet sich aus durch einen überzeugenden Helden, den jungen Anwalt Victor Carl. Dieser ist ebenso ehrgeizig wie erfolglos und greift daraufhin gierig nach einer Chance, die ihm die Zusammenarbeit mit einer großen, renommierten Kanzlei eröffnet. Deren Mandant in einem Erpressungsfall ist der Lokalpolitiker Jimmy Moore, dessen Gehilfe Chester Concannon nun von Victor Carl verteidigt wird. Der Verlauf dieses Prozesses steht im Zentrum des Romans. Die Figur des Victor Carl ist faszinierend: Ein junger jüdischer Anwalt, der auf der Suche nach seinem eigenen Weg ist und sich daraufhin an seiner Herkunft ebenso reibt wie an der Gesellschaft, innerhalb derer er seinen Aufstieg machen will. Seine glaubhaft gezeichneten Stärken und Schwächen machen ihn sympathisch, auch wenn er zwischenzeitlich von einer Weinerlichkeit ist, die auf die Nerven geht. Dies sind dann auch die Passagen des Buches, die etwas anstrengend geraten sind. Zurückzuführen dürften diese und einige weitere kleine Schwächen auf den Umstand sein, daß es sich bei dem vorliegenden Buch um den Debütroman des Autors handelt. So wirkt beispielsweise das Ende etwas aufgesetzt, doch insgesamt ist William Lashner mit dem Anwalt Victor Carl ein überzeugender Held in einem interessanten Plot gelungen, auf dessen nächste Abenteuer man schon gespannt ist. Vielleicht ist dann der deutsche Verlag ja auch in der Lage, dem Roman einen Titel zu geben, der nicht so augenscheinlich an die Romantitel John Grishams anknüpfen soll. Dafür unterscheidet sich zumindest dieses Buch sowohl beim Plot als auch bei den Charakterzeichnungen zu deutlich von Grishams „Filmvorlagen". show less