Old City Hall

With great difficulty, I stopped reading partway through the book and started at the beginning again, in order to read it aloud to my disabled husband. It was one of the best-written books we've shared for a good while.

The characters were distinct, interesting, and believable. Some reviewers have commented that they would've liked more character development. I perceive this as a compliment to Rotenberg, who made the characters so appealing and then left us wanting more! I look forward to what I hope will become a mystery/suspense series.

The author used short chapters, alternating between several locations and intertwined story lines. Each chapter ended with a question that made us read on, but usually the next chapter added another show more question! However, the eventual denouement was satisfying, tied up the loose ends, and made sense.

So many extras were included, beyond the "whodunnit" story: views on life in Toronto from different perspectives of folks not born and raised in Canada, history and use of language, and legal proceedings that (I imagine) were quite realistic.

I eagerly await more from Mr. Rotenberg! show less

This book was a pitch perfect police procedural. Set in a busy and multicultural Toronto, it begins with Kevin Brace, the beloved national radio talk show host, meeting his newspaper delivery person early one morning with bloody hands, telling him that he killed her. And with that, the story is off and running.

There's a huge cast of characters and, to Rotenberg's credit, they are all complex and easy to tell apart. The central crime was well thought through from the beginning and the setting atmospheric. There's a lot to be said for a crime novel that provides a roller coaster plot without descending into unbelievability. Toronto is vividly described, the story taking place while the Maple Leafs look like they finally have a shot at the show more Stanley Cup. I'll be looking for this author's next book. show less

I'd give this 4 stars, but I'm rounding up to 5 because it's a first in the series, and I didn't expect it to be so good.

I loved the twists and turns of the story, but perhaps even more, I loved the characters. Almost all of them were likable except the ones who were not supposed to be. Even the prosecutor was interested in justice rather than just winning his case. He had said that his role was not to win or lose a case, but to ensure that the integrity of the system is upheld. Of course, most people are too jaded to believe something like that, but it turns out that he really did believe this. Very much, it seems.

The client was a real mystery. The only words he spoke were basically "I killed her". So, of course, any astute reader show more would know he didn't do it - much too easy. But how does a struggling defense lawyer defend a client like that?

Speaking of which, I loved the defense lawyer, Nancy Parish, a divorced woman in her late 30s struggling to get by with a wry sense of humor which I found very entertaining. I'll look forward to future appearances for her.

Lots of other interesting people in this story. I liked it so much, I'm going to jump right in to the 2nd book of the series while they are still fresh in my mind. show less

When Mr Singh, a newspaper delivery person, arrives with the paper for a well-known radio personality he expects the usual repartee, instead he is greeted by his customer with bloodied hands claiming that he "killed her". But the problem is, he won't speak to anyone, including his attorney or the police. Detective Ari Greene must work with defense and prosecution to try and find out what happened.

Excellent writing, well-developed characters, and a strong sense of place, brought together by the Stanley Cup playoffs where Toronto's team, the Maple Leafs have a chance at the cup, this is an intriguing mystery, enhanced by courtroom drama. Rotenberg has worked as a criminal defence lawyer based in Toronto since the 1990s so his legal show more knowledge is solid.

The title comes from Toronto's old city hall that was re-purposed as a court house. This is the first in a series that I read in 2009 and enjoyed so much that it deserved a revisit. show less

"Old City Hall" is breathtakingly good. It's a crisply paced murder-mystery with a satisfying plot and sufficient twists to keep it addictive and infectious to the very end. Actually, I would not pigeonhole "Old City Hall" as just good for the murder-mystery genre - it is a fine book, period.

The novel boasts an intriguing and consistently sympathetic cast of characters, the most colourful and endearing of which is the city of Toronto itself. Rotenberg rounds out the story with historical and cultural background on the city, and behind-the-scenes legal, law enforcement and incarceration insights that add interest and dimension to the overall story without unduly slowing down the plot momentum. And whoa ... underpinning the whole thing show more with a Toronto Maple Leafs subplot of sorts - how great is that? Rotenberg handles a complex narrative with a confidence and deftness that belies the fact that this is his first novel. show less

This is fantastic read.

Rotenberg handles a complex narrative with a confidence and deftness that belies the fact that this is his first novel. The plot is inventive and multi-layered, with all sorts of twists and turns. The characters are believable and empathetic – they feel like old friends by the end of the book. Even the "minor" players came to life – and some of them become key later in the story. Rotenberg’s background as a criminal lawyer is evident in the credible police procedural, courtroom and legal byplay. His fondness for Toronto, his home town, shows through in the detailed descriptions of everything from the trams rumbling along Gerard Street to the eclectic homes on the Islands.

I couldn't put it down - and I can't show more wait for the next outing of this cast! show less

With a murder and a confession within the first few pages, this book would seem to have nowhere to go. Wrong! The plot, which delivers as many twists as a corkscrew, kept me reading far too late one night.

The book is well paced and the characters fully developed: the detectives; the accused and his family; the prosecutor, and witness Mr. Gurdial Singh; none are cardboard characters or placeholders.

It was a rare pleasure to read, and I hope for more novels from this very talented Canadian author.