The Final Judgment

This murder mystery is a combination mystery and family drama. The mystery is pretty good, but the family drama component, while well conceived, caused the narrative to drag at crucial moments, I found.

Also, Patterson has, at least in this book, two narrative tics that I found increasingly distracting. First, the adverb "utterly," which should probably never be used, is used here too frequently. Characters stand "utterly still," or the night is "utterly quiet." Once during a novel, OK. Twice, perhaps. More than that is utterly too much. But worse, many, many times during the novel, at least two dozen, the protagonist realizes things, or impressions come to her, "all at once." As in, "All at once, Caroline realized that this girl was show more looking at life in a new way." "All at once, it came to Caroline that the prosecutor knew no more than she did about . . . " That sort of stuff drives me nuts and drains away my ability to enjoy a book.

The mystery and even the characters were interesting, although I must say I had the ending pegged pretty early on. Overall, for me, an OK murder myster. For my taste, Patterson needed to tighten up the flashbacks and tidy up those cliches. Hard core mystery genre buffs may be more forgiving than I of these flaws, though. show less

An emotional "who done it", once again RNP presents us with a story so realistic and so captivating that it is hard to put down. I liked how he interweaved the past with the happenings of the future. Not overdone but, enough that it kept things interesting.

my first richard patterson, but definitely not the last. Amazing plot and great writing. I was a fan of grisham but outgrew and was looking for someone better. Patterson's legal thrillers are really good and engrossing. Highly recommended.

An ibteresting book. Must have read it long time ago, right after I bought it, but apart from a general 'comfyness', the story did not ring a bell.

I liked it. The way it was built, the way Caroline's history was woven into the present, the plot twist at the end.

good @ Caroline Masters + judge — goes back to family in N.H. — case for her daughter

A young man is brutally murdered. His distraught girlfriend is the prime suspect. Her aunt, Caroline Masters, about to take up a top job in the US Court of Appeals, decides to defend the young woman in the murder trial. But this will be Caroline's first contact with her family in almost twenty years, and as she prepares the case and goes through the trial, long forgotten secrets re-surface, pitting Caroline against not only the police and prosecution, but also against her father (a retired judge), her sister and the memory of her young self when she, too, lost a boyfriend in suspicious circumstances.

quick read - I really enjoyed this book

A Caroline Masters novel. Where Caroline goes back to roots in New Hampshire where a young girl is accused of the murder of a boy friend. The novel addresses Caroline's youth and a love affair. The girl Greta is in reality her daughter. The plot involves the father and Caroline's sister (now Bret's parent). In the end the Caroline's father is the killer trying to protest his granddaughter from the person being murder. Grandpa kills him self.