Motion to Suppress

A good friend gave me a pile of books recently, including several by Perri O'Shaughnessy. This was my introduction to the O'Shaughnessy books, actually written by two sisters. I think I had avoided reading them on the basis of a vague suspicion that the novels would read as if written by a committee. I couldn't have been more wrong. This first book in their Nina Reilly series is seamless and engrossing.

In this debut, Attorney Nina Reilly is suddenly and surprisingly abandoned by her husband (also a lawyer), and not only that, he's taking back his home so she has to get out. So, she and her young son by a previous relationship head to her brother's home at Lake Tahoe while she figures things out. Matt and Andrea and their children are show more happy to have them stay. And that is followed by another sudden change when Nina rents a nice little office and hangs out her shingle to practice law on her own.

She hires a very practical and also very funny receptionist/secretary and waits in hope for her first client thinking about how many other lawyers there are in this small area. Well, one of the first clients becomes the defendant in Nina's first ever murder trial. Melissa (aka Misty) Patterson is a troubled young woman who seems to have murdered her husband. Not much about the case makes sense and Nina is under pressure from a smarmy big-time attorney to turn the case over to him, but something about Melissa makes Nina unable to turn her away. She digs in her heels, hires one of her ex-husband's old investigators, and starts on a difficult journey to the truth.

It's a fascinating case involving amnesia, shady doings at a casino where Michelle and her husband worked, greed, and infidelity, along with a mysterious event from Michell's childhood at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
I got so involved in it that toward the end I was even ignoring the football games on TV to finish the book. Now that never happens!

I recommend this O'Shaughnessy book at least and I'm anxious to dive into the second in the series. So glad my friend gave me a bunch of them. show less

This is the first book in a series featuring Nina Reilly, a lawyer who recently moved from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. One of her first clients is Misty Patterson, a woman with a troubled past who confesses to murdering her husband. She admits she hit him in the head with a statue but isn't clear about how his body ended up at the bottom of the lake. Nina has never tried a murder and tries to convince Misty and her family that she needs to hire a criminal lawyer but they want Nina and she can't say no. She hires one of her ex-husband's investigators and tries to find enough evidence to keep Misty out of jail.

I really enjoyed this fast paced legal thriller. Published in 1995, it seems a bit outdated in many places. The show more characters need to be a bit more developed but that's normal in a debut novel. I see there are now thirteen books in the Nina Reilly series and I definitely plan to pick up another one in the future. It's not John Grisham, but I didn't expect it to be. While a little too long, it was still an entertaining read. show less

Motion to Suppress by Perri O'Shaughnessy
Nina Reilly series Book #1
4.5★'s

From The Book:
Returning from her late shift as a barmaid at a casino in Lake Tahoe, Misty Patterson struck her violently jealous husband in self-defense. She admits that–but did she kill him? She says she can’t remember. Like so many times before, Misty blacked out and the rest of the evening is a blank. Now her husband has disappeared, leaving behind a trail of blood, and she’s the number-one murder suspect with no one to turn to for help.

San Francisco attorney Nina Reilly is also on the run—from a bad marriage and a worse career setback. Relocated to Lake Tahoe, Nina is resolved to recover her spirit, give her young son a secure home, and build up a show more small solo practice. But, when Misty Patterson walks in the door, a blond Barbie doll of a cocktail waitress accused of murder, it triggers a harrowing series of events that will change both women’s lives forever.

My Thoughts:
In this first book of the Nina Reilly series we are introducted to Nina who is a truly likeable character. We learn how Nina's marriage to Jack ends, and how as a newly-single mom, heads off to Tahoe to start a new life. We are also meet Sandy Whitefeather, Nina's receptionist, Nina’s brother Matt Reilly and his family.

Usually first novels are set in larger towns but Lake Tahoe works out well for the setting. I liked how the author provided so many possible suspects for Anthony’s murder. She never ruled out Misty or Anthony’s ex-wife, her husband, Misty's lover, Misty's therapist and his wife, and employees at the casino where the couple worked all have possible motives. Even Misty's parents cast suspicion on themselves with their strange behavior. There's enough crime to form a great story and deliver a good level of suspense right up to the trial. The court proceedings are quite dramatic, similar to that which you would find on television. Real justice is rarely that exciting. The story is easy to follow and relatively light, making this a quick, fun read. show less

Let me start by saying that I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book! It was fast-paced, intelligent, suspenseful and exciting, all the way to the very last page!

I first became interested in this novel after reading the cover story of the August 2002 edition of BOOK PAGE about Mary and Pamela O'Shaughnessey ("Sisters in Crime: Career Crossroads turned Siblings into Co-Authors"). These two women are sisters who use the pen name "Perri O'Shaughnessey" in their wonderfully unique brand of legal thriller - one in which the main character is a female attorney. Even though the O'Shaughnessey sisters have written a number of these novels, I decided to get to know Nina Reilly from the beginning, which is MOTION TO SUPRESS.

I show more can't remember the last time I was so drawn to a character. Nina Reilly is intelligent and strong-willed while at the same time being as human as the next person in her faults, doubts and desires - this makes her seem so real that one can't help but want to see her succeed. I can't wait to read the next novel!

If you think you've had enough of the typical legal thriller, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this book. Kind of a feminine combination of Grisham, COLUMBO and QUINCY. Have fun with this one - and when you start it, give yourself long stretches of reading time. You won't want to put this one down! show less

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Misty Patterson has problems: an abusive domineering husband and amnesia from her childhood. And now she has a new problem: her husband gets abusive again and she conks him with an Eskimo statue, hard enough seemingly to hurt but not to kill. Then she blacks out. He's found dead a few days later after having been hit a second time with the same statue and dumped in the lake. And Misty doesn't know what happened. Enter her lawyer, Nina Reilly, who is newly separated from her husband, newly separated from her neat legal firm, and new to the Lake Tahoe area. And her idea of a perfect introduction to the area is NOT a high-stakes murder case where everyone thinks Misty did it. Maybe even Misty herself.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The Lake show more Tahoe community comes alive as do some of the characters -- Nina, herself; Misty; Nina's assistant. Lots of interesting facts about the area and the impact of the lake on a dead body. Well-written, all the characters are real, and adequately developed for the story. In fact, it's an impressive array: Nina's ex-husband on the peripheries along with her brother, sister-in-law, and Nina's son; Paul, her investigator who's warm for her form; a string of Misty's lovers and their very jealous wives and girlfriends; Misty's parents; and a couple of doctors who are trying to help Misty remember her past. A few loose threads are left for the next story in the "series", if it does indeed become a series. And, on the legal side, the solution is handled in an interesting courtroom finale that is not like simple Perry Mason reruns. A good beginning for "Perry O'Shaughnessy", which is a pseudonym for two sisters: Pamela (a lawyer) and Mary O'Shaughnessy (a writer).
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The point-of-view switches from Misty to Nina to Paul in various chapters, and the switch does not really develop Misty's or Paul's character enough to justify the switch. Unfortunately, I figured out the three key elements of the "mystery" before the end of the story. Didn't expect the ending, at least not exactly, but I did expect the "baddie". There are a couple of places where it is a little heavy on the "legal" side, interpreting case law, which is a likely result of one of the two authors being a lawyer.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Should have suppressed some of the legal side
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow her on social media. show less

Michelle (Misty) Patterson had enough. When her husband once again practically rapes her, she manages to reach a heavy object and strike the back of his head. He’s injured; maybe even knocked out for a bit. But she didn’t kill him! Or, did she? When she woke up, he was not there. She doesn’t remember anything that happened after she struck him. A few days later, they find his body under his friend’s boat at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. It wasn’t the only time that Misty had repressed memories. She could not remember the first ten years of her life. What did those years have to do with now?

Nina Reilly has her own problems. She and her husband, Jack, are both attorneys. He caught her cheating. She leaves with her son, Bobby, and show more moves from their home in San Francisco to her brother’s home in Lake Tahoe where she sets up a small practice for herself. She hires Sandy Whitefeather, a Washoe Indian, to be her legal secretary. Sandy is outspoken, but very good at learning her new job. Nina’s first client is Michelle Patterson. Nina calls upon an old friend and retired cop, Paul van Wagoner, to do some investigative work for her.

Misty and Nina are exact opposites in many ways, at least at the beginning. Misty had her great looks and her great body, but lacked enough self-esteem to know she could become so much more. Nina has a great business sense and relies on her instincts about people. She wants to believe Misty — she really does. But, several things just don’t add up. There are several suspicious characters which engage the reader to do some of their own sleuthing. The writing was sporadic at times slowing the flow down. This is the debut novel for the author (a sister writing team). I rated Motion to Suppress at 3.5 out of 5. show less

a reasonably alright legal mystery-thriller. the denouement was a bit over the top, and it was not difficult piecing together the whodunnit. but it was still entertaining, the characters have great potential, and the lake tahoe/coastal california settings were well done.