Judgement Calls

The crime part of this story was great. The action was fast paced and suspenseful. I didn't see the twist at the end of the who and the why. On the other hand it was let down by the inclusion of the romance.

Because the romance was freaking ridiculous.

I like a strong feisty heroine. But that wasn't Samantha. Samantha was kind of stupid for a lawyer. For all her ambition she has no concept of politics. Particularly office politics. She was standoffish and judgemental to her coworkers. And some of it was justified (because the men were jerks) but I got the impression that she was always like that no matter what they said. Plus she never really tells them off, just gets shirty and is all, that's not funny. She's focused and narrow minded show more and honestly not all that likeable.

In terms of the romance she's a freaking psycho. Samantha and the love interest, Chuck (one of the police detectives) are high school sweethearts. They did the whole long distance thing for college but Samantha resents him for being the reason she didn't get to experience things others did. Not sure why she couldn't go out without him but whatever. She apparently decided law school would be different and made him apply to graduate schools with her. Except he decides he doesn't want to go to graduate school so she makes him choose. He tries to tell her he doesn't want to go to more school, he wants to be a cop. She laughs and tells him he'll never amount to anything and he walks out. So okay, not that bad.

But they reconnect on and off and this is a guy she's known her whole life and the second there's a rumour of wrongdoing on his part she throws him under the bus. What the hell? There's no loyalty in her. I didn't remotely understand why he wanted to be with her. Ever. Especially because he's apparently good looking, smart, well off, kind and reasonable. He could do better.

So considering Samantha was fairly unlikable 90% of the time, I'm kind of surprised I liked this as much as I did. But the other characters, the motives and the crimes themselves made up for it. I found myself flying through pages trying to figure out how it would end, how they would get justice. So, I'll likely pick up the next one. But for this one 4 stars. show less

This was a pretty good first effort from the daughter of legendary mystery writer James Lee Burke. Like her heroine, Samantha Kincaid, Alafair Burke was a Deputy District Attorney in Portland, Oregon. The book is chock-o-block with colorful details of life in a DA's office, although their inclusion sometimes interrupts the flow of the story.

The book has a decent plot with enough complications to keep it moving along at a good pace. The conclusion is a little far fetched, but Burke had built up to it reasonably well so it didn't come out of the blue.

Proving that someone can be smart, well educated, and loaded with material but still not produce great mystery novel, Burke's writing is second rate. The narrative is clunky, the dialog is show more stilted, and the jokes are flat. The writing seemed to improve in the second half, but it could be that I was just numb to it by then.

As a lawyer who would like nothing better than to write mystery books, I admire any fellow member of the bar who has achieved such an accomplishment. And, as a Portlander, I like to find a series set in my city. So I will probably give Ms. Burke a second chance. Otherwise, I don’t think I would bother. show less

I am a huge admirer of Alafair Burke's father, James Lee Burke, so I was excited to read his daughter's first mystery. Her style is nothing like his, but really quite good. This is a courtroom drama/detective novel and it was incredibly realistic and believably and ultimately very surprising. A bonus for me was that the book is set in Portland, where I lived for five years--and I recognized many of the places she describes. She does not have her father's gift of creating a strong sense of atmosphere--but she does have her own gift of creating a complex and believable plot and her knowledge of law makes the book especially interesting. The crime itself is detailed a little bit too graphically for me, and this is not the type of mystery I show more usually prefer, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I look forward to her next book. show less

While it isn't a book I'll need to read again, I enjoyed this crime novel. The protagonist was realistic--flaws and all, and her patient off-and-on boyfriend wasn't too perfect to be true.

The plot itself kept me going--enough that I had to peek at the end of the book (bad habit, but I just can't break it) a few times.

As a former Portlander of 12 years, I enjoyed the descriptions of the city and its quirks. If I can find copies of the other two Samantha Kincaid novels when I'm in Portland next month, I'll buy them.

I was surprised at how good this first book of Burke's was. No doubt she benefited from her Dad's years of experience, but she obviously has her own style. The story was really interesting and moved along quickly with a few hints and twists along the way.

I knew going in that this was a series so I understood the few loose ends that remained and wasn't bothered by them. I do hope that Kincaid's father is featured a bit more in the future books because he seems an enjoyable character.

The only complaint, and it's minor, is that the book is laden with acronyms. They don't bother me except when I have no idea what they refer to and I'm usually quick to do that. Burke does explain them, but for the most part after she's used them and not show more before. Stopping to go hmm, what does that stand for can be a bit distracting at times. show less

Good story, cop procedural. Author is the daughter of James Lee Burke. Samantha Kincaid is an asst DA in Portland, prosecuting horrible crimes of violence against teen prostitutes. Not so great narration. Sounds like the narrator fights (not completely successfully) to hide a British accent, for low life Portlandians...

Samantha Kinkaid is a prosecutor in Portland, and she is Alafair Burke's central character. Burke gives us good but not great characterizations, and a storyline that pulled me in.