Undue Influence

I think Martini is better than Grisham, particularly his courtroom scenes. In Undue Influence, Paul Mondriani is defending is sister-in-law, Laurel Vega, who has been accused of murdering the new wife of her erst-while husband, a state legislator who is under investigation by the feds for bribery. Laure|’s two children become pawns in a tense drama that pits her attorney unwittingly against the mob and a local police lieutenant who hates the contents of his abdominal cavity. The evidence against Laurel is overwhelming ,and the case has some neat surprises for the reader.

In my opinion, a far better writer than Grisham. I had figured out a few pieces of the puzzle and recognized them as significant and I had even figured out "whodunit," but I certainly never was able to put all the pieces together. The plot was intricately woven. Loved it.

This book has a great plot but the execution of it is a bit shaky. Phil Ogden drew up a simple will at the request of an elderly man. The man wanted everything left to a particular Jewish synagogue. A year later, the man died and left $8 million behind. And, it turns out, he was Catholic. This book had more potential that it actually realized but it had enough to carry me through to the end.

I don't normally read these types of courtroom dramas, but I found this one entertaining. Lots of action, and interesting writing. A bit too tidy, the way everything is completely wrapped up, and a bit too many plot twists, but still an engaging page turner.

His worst short story collection, but he still gets a 3 out of 5. Some stories are average, and some are exceptional. It's still a good book.

Although I semi-guessed the final twist, this was a fantastic read!

A challenging legal story about a murdered woman whose husband accuses his ex-wife of the murder. The accused's brother-in-law is the lawyer. It is full of twists and turns to the very end, where it gets even more convoluted.