Full Disclosure

During LibraryThing's 2021 Christmas card exchange a reader friend suggested I might enjoy reading novels by Beverley MacLachlin. Best suggestion ever to a reader who enjoys legal thrillers! I missed the advertisement that "Full Disclosure" was the 1st title in a series about character Jilly Truitt, criminal defense attorney but both can easily be read as a stand-alone although with any series I prefer to read the novels in order.

If a married woman is found dead in the matrimonial bed with no signs of a break-in then it's always the husband who committed the murder right? The police have arrested and charged Vincent Trussardi with his wife Laura's murder. The crime scene is ghastly exhibiting the brutality that ended Laura's life. But show more all are innocent until proven guilty and Jilly Truitt, and associates Jeff Solosky and Alicia Leung are defense team for this case with Richard Beauvais contracted for the investigator work.

As a reader there doesn’t need to be a trial for me to designate it as a compelling legal thriller. However, when the courtroom drama of a trial is written by an author clearly understanding the structure of the court system, courtroom procedures, familiarity with prosecution and defense and the motivation of their actions, jury selection, evidence, disclosure, tunnel vision, and reasonable doubt the authenticity is all the more fascinating.

Adding depth to the legal thriller is the portrayal of Cy Kenge, prosecutor and former mentor to Jilly in the hours outside of their offices and the court. I only wish I was familiar with more artists as mentioned during the course of describing paintings in various homes. I did recognize the novels Jilly and/or her foster mother Martha were reading that made me smile.

I solved one aspect of interest to Tilly in her personal life. I did not succeed in unraveling all of the legal twists. I highly recommend you read this credible novel written by the 1st woman to hold the position of Chief Justice of Canada and the longest-serving Chief Justice in Canadian history.

I am hopeful that Beverley McLachlin is currently at work on another legal thriller. I’m eager to read more of her writing. show less

When I heard that Canada’s first female Chief Justice had written a legal thriller, I had to check it out. Is there any better-informed legal authority who could shed light on the Canadian justice system?

Jilly Truitt is an ambitious criminal defense lawyer working in Vancouver. Despite warnings from several people, she takes on the case of defending a wealthy businessman, Vincent Trussardi, who is charged with murdering his wife. She hopes she can find something which will give the jury reasonable doubt to acquit her client. As she discovers that Trussardi comes with considerable baggage, she deals with her own past which involved foster care and drug abuse.

I appreciated reading a book written from a Canadian perspective. It shows show more the criminal justice system in Canada and what happens in a Canadian courtroom; this is a refreshing change from the plethora of American legal thrillers and television courtroom dramas. The book is truly Canadian in many respects: it shows the various neighbourhoods of Vancouver and makes reference to the Pickton’s pig farm, the vineyards of the Okanagan, and Indigenous art like Salish carvings. So what’s with the Americanized spelling of words like “color” and “favor” and “splendor”?

Unfortunately, there are weaknesses in the novel. For instance, there are so many people connected to Jilly who have had dealings with Vincent: her social worker, her almost-fiancé, her last foster father. What are the chances that a drug dealer known to Jilly would also have known the murder victim? Months pass for the truth of what happened to be discovered yet nothing is, but then after the verdict has been delivered, the truth is quickly revealed.

The identity of the murderer is fairly obvious. The list of perpetrators is very short considering how the victim was killed, so a Sherlock Holmes is not required to solve the case. There is considerable discussion of “tunnel vision” during the trial, but it seems that the reader is expected to suffer from this defect.

The book blurb mentions that Jilly “uncovers a startling revelation that will change not only the case, but her life forever.” This is not true. An astute reader will suspect the truth very early on because the clues are so obvious. Repeatedly conversations are cut short: “’No, I didn’t” and “’It’s over, Jilly’” are two statements made by people which Jilly should have followed up with “What do you mean?” but she doesn’t.

I feel uncomfortable criticizing the work of such an accomplished woman, but I would be less than honest if I ignored the flaws. The novel is a quick read with short, easily manageable chapters, and it requires little thought so the best I can say is that it is a good beach or airport read.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). show less

I'm not a crime fiction fan, but couldn't resist a novel by our recently retired Chief Justice, Beverley McLachlin. I enjoyed this story of Jilly Truitt, a criminal defense lawyer defending a man charged with murdering his wife. I found her character very believable, and while I figured out a key plot element early on, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story....there were enough other interesting relationships and story lines to engage me.

Jilly Truitt is a young, ambitious criminal lawyer making a name for herself.

When a wealthy businessman, Vincent Trussardi is accused of murdering his young wife, he reaches out to Truitt to defend him. This will be a high profile case with a significant retainer and Jilly is eager to take it on even though the evidence overwhelmingly suggests her client is guilty.

Full Disclosure is Beverley McLachlin’s first novel after retiring as the longest Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada for seventeen years, the first women to hold that position and the longest-serving Chief Justice in Canadian history.

As a jurist, McLachlin is formidable, as an author she’s just a beginner, and it shows.

There are a number of plot points in the show more book that stretched this reader’s suspension of disbelief nearly to the breaking point, but I hung in there expecting some insights regarding the Canadian legal system, the professionals involved and those they prosecute or defend.

There weren’t any. In fact, the lack of originality had me wondering if I hadn’t read this before. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it. The story takes place in Vancouver, Canada, my hometown and hers, and it was fun recognizing the restaurants, landmarks and neighbourhoods where the scenes unfold.

Unfortunately, as the novel draws to an end, and with many questions still unanswered, the author (out of desperation?) resorts to the old, tired technique of having her protagonist goad a suspect, Perry Mason style, into confessing. Of course, this confession is taped on a recorder hidden in her pocket and is used to exonerate her client. See what I mean about lack of originality.

Though it didn't have any real bearing on the novel, I was surprised and disappointed at the author’s treatment of a First Nation person in her story. Though a very minor character, when this young woman is challenged by isolation and unhappiness her choice is to become a drug addict and support her habit by prostitution.

With so many other positive possibilities out there, why did someone of the McLachlin’s stature and presumed sensibilities choose this clichéd depiction of our Indigenous people?

Despite the efforts of the best editors Simon and Schuster employ, I doubt Full Disclosure would have been published had it not been for the author’s significant profile which, like all books written by celebrities, assures at least some sales.

The real test will be McLachlin’s next novel. show less

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy of the book. The views expressed are my own.

This is a story about an up and coming female criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver, Canada. She had a difficult childhood as an orphan, not knowing who were her parents. She was finally taken in by a set of good foster parents after bouncing from foster home to foster home. She had some dangerous teen years, getting involved in risky situations including drug use. With the support of her foster parents, she settled down and went to law school. After graduation, she was mentored by a leading prosecutor.

After several years working with him, she set up her own private defence practice which has flourished. She is attracting high profile show more cases and clients. More and more, she takes on cases where she is defending people her former mentor is prosecuting and she often wins the case.

The story begins with her taking on a high profile murder case against her mentor. Their relationship is tested and there is growing professional jealousy, which will play out in the murder case. A highlight of the story is the trial on the high profile murder case. The narrative is from the defence point of view and there's some dirty tricks played by the prosecution. The arbitrariness of the trial process is on display, when not everything comes off as planned. It's an exciting story that continues on to the jury's verdict. Towards the end of the story, there's plenty of development of the trial lawyer's personal life, which turns her world upside down in a mostly good way.

This is a debut novel from a leading Canadian jurist, now retired. As you would expect, the technical details of the legal system are accurate. It's a good legal thriller which accurately portrays court proceedings without being stuffy. There's good character development of the protagonist trial lawyer and the others while interesting people, are left in her shadow.

A good read. show less

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jilly Truitt is a Vancouver defence lawyer, who represents on charges of murder, first a drug dealer called Damon and then a successful businessman called Vincent Trussardi. This was well-written and rooted firmly in its Vancouver setting, and I had initially planned to rate it 4*, but then the ending let it down. After the trial verdict, the reveal of actually what happened followed on so swiftly that it seemed absurd that things hadn't come to light earlier.

SPOILERS

Certain plot details - Jilly's parentage and the mystery of whose cocaine it was - were pretty obvious to the reader from early on, which was disappointing. As for the very ending - how many second chances show more does one man deserve? show less

Full disclosure
This is a first novel by Canada’s former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin. It’s very readable and introduces us to Jilly Truitt, an up and coming defence lawyer practicing in Vancouver. She has a dark past which involves her unknown parents, foster homes and drugs. Through a strong support system she succeeds in law school. She defends one of the city’s wealthiest citizens, Vincent Trussardi, who is accused of murdering his wife.
The details of Truitt’s past emerge during the investigation. Her interactions with the the Crown attorney Cy Kenge provide some interesting drama.
I found the ending a little too convenient but overall it’s a good story.