Reasonable Doubt

by Philip Friedman

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Ex-federal prosecutor Michael Ryan has been estranged from his son Ned for three years when Ned is murdered, bludgeoned to death in the private room of a Soho art gallery. His daughter-in-law, wealthy socialite Jennifer Kneeland Ryan, has been indicted for the crime. Jennifer insists she's innocent and begs her father-in-law to defend her. Though Ryan wants to believe she's guilty, he can't turn her away. He takes the case. And as his ambivalence toward Jennifer intensifies, as the painful show more truth about his son's life begins to emerge, Ryan realizes that his own life is also on trial -- as a father, as a lawyer, and as a man. show less

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2 reviews
"Hey-I'm on your side. I me an, look, I'd be crazy if I want ed to plead this one out. Where else am I going to get a case this big?'
Horray for dedication to the law and the search for justice, Ryan did not say.

Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Friedman

I read a lot of legal thrillers and most of them are by John Grisham. Reasonable doubt is not by John Grisham. It is one of the best legal dramas I’ve ever had the pleasure to read and any fan of legal dramas really should put this one on the list as there’s not a doll moment in the whole book. The writer really did a superb job.

So the story focuses on a woman accused of murdering her husband. They’ve got the evidence and they have a motive. Jennifer however, insists she is innocent.

She show more asks the father of her husband to represent her. Michael, the above mentioned attorney is grief stricken about having just lost his son and he’s not so sure he believes in Jennifer’s innocence but for his own reasons he agrees to represent her.

To say I enjoyed reasonable doubt is putting it mildly. I loved everything about it. I found the pacing was perfect and the characters believable.

Very often with reading legal thrillers I find some of the court scenes seems boring but that was not an issue here. I really commend the writer since these scenes crackle with energy. They were all very interesting. I also love that it goes into the jury selection process and we get to know some of the jurors. The characters are a mix of both good and bad making them pretty much like everybody else in the world. This is not just a legal story but a story of a fractured family and a father and wife both looking for redemption.

I flew through this book in one night. I love a good legal thriller when it’s done right and Reasonable Doubt is definitely done right. It remains one of my favorite legal thrillers to this day.
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7+ Works 998 Members

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Rawert, Matthias (Translator)

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Common Knowledge

Original title
Reasonable Doubt
Original publication date
1990

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Mystery
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PS3556 .R545 .R43Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1961-
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Statistics

Members
351
Popularity
89,691
Reviews
2
Rating
½ (3.50)
Languages
English, German, Italian
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
10
ASINs
5