JO: FINAL JEOPARDY BY LINDA FAIRSTEIN
The main character, Alexandra Cooper, Assistant District Attorney is in all sorts of trouble. Jo said it was a really good story with lots of excitement. She thoroughly enjoyed it and said it was well written. She would really recommend the book.
WENDY: THE EVANGELINE BY D.W. BUFFA
The author is an American who was a lawyer for ten years. He is well known for his Joseph Antonelli novels. This is his eighth novel and was considered his best novel at the time. It is a story of a captain of a luxury yacht that is shipwrecked. Some of the passengers get away on the only lifeboat left and kill some of the others to eat. When rescued, the captain of the yacht is charged with murder. The action is exclusively in the courtroom with the main character an older lawyer with poor health. The defendant doesn't necessarily want to be found innocent as he suffers guilt. The book explores the moral and ethical dilemma of how to survive. The book is easy to read but some parts are a bit contrived. The plot is lean but it has enough twists to be a page turner. Wendy probably wouldn't read anymore of his books.
ANNE: THE FIFTH WITNESS BY MICHAEL CONNELLY
The author has written about twenty books and Anne has read most of his books. Micky Haller is normally a criminal lawyer but has no cases at the moment. Instead he is doing foreclosure cases. His office is in the backseat of his car. A client, Lisa Trammel, is driving him crazy. She is a loud, obnoxious ex-teacher. She is noisily threatening her bank manager and a restraining order is taken out. When the bank manager is murdered, Lisa is charged and Haller now has a criminal case. At first he doubts her innocence but comes to believe her. There are twists during the court case and after the trial. This is not one of Anne's favourites. Anne prefers the Bosch series.
JOAN: AND THE SEA WILL TELL BY VINCENT BUGLIOSI
The first 200 pages or so follow the true crime and the rest is the courtroom drama. The crime setting is a beautiful, uninhabited tropical island called Palmyra in the Pacific Ocean. In 1974 two couples, quite independently, set out to stay on the island. The first are a wealthy American couple sailing on their yacht "Seawind". The second couple, who are unmarried, are on a reconditioned old sloop. The male has been in prison. In August the young couple sailed back to Hawaii on the Seawind which they repainted and renamed. They were charged with theft of the yacht and then murder. Vincent Bugliosi was a prosecutor for many years but changed to defence attorney. He thinks Jennifer may be innocent and decides to defend her. Joan found it interesting in relation to the differences in courts here and in America, as well as finding the case very interesting. It is 730 pages long but it is gripping. Joan really enjoyed it.
PRUE: THE KING OF LIES BY JOHN HART
John Hart won two Edgar Allen Poe awards for best novel, one in 2008 and the other in 2010. This book was his first book written in 2006. The author trained as an accountant and lawyer so the story rings very true. It is written in the first person. It is a faced paced easy read, although a little gruesome in parts. The book is set in the American south. Jackson is the son of a" rags to riches" lawyer who married an "old money" girl. Jackson's sister and father have an argument and the mother intervenes and falls down the stairs. She breaks her neck. His father disappears and is found dead. Jackson and his sister become suspects. There is a real turn around regarding the will. Prue said she would read the rest of his books.
ROSEMARY: THE STREET LAWYER BY JOHN GRISHAM
Rosemary has never read his books. She was told by a friend it was not one of his better books but she enjoyed it and found it interesting. The main character, Michael is an up and coming greedy lawyer in a huge Washington company. He is taken hostage with other colleagues. The homeless man who took them hostage is killed and Michael discovers a whole new world of homelessness. He becomes a street lawyer. Rosemary said she would read another John Grisham novel.
PAULINE: PRESUMED INNOCENT BY SCOTT TUROW
This book was published in 1987. It is set in a fictional mid western county in America. The chief deputy prosecuting attorney, Rusty Sabich is asked to look into the murder of Carolyn Polhemus, another attorney, who has been raped and murdered. It is an inconvenient time for Rusty's boss as he is in a campaign for re-election. Rusty is not keen because he has had an affair with Carolyn. A lot of evidence points to Rusty, including fingerprints on a glass. Rusty is arrested and then there is a trial. There are sub plots as well. Pauline said it was well written. She was quite impressed and it had a lot of detail.
BEV: FIRST DEGREE BY DAVID ROSENFELT
This is the second book in the series and the main character, Andy Carpenter, a lawyer, is now famous. His girlfriend was a policewoman who reported a corrupt cop. She had to resign and she became Andy's investigator. The corrupt cop is found decapitated and she is framed for the murder. The rest of the book is the court case. The sarcastic sense of humour in the book appealed to Bev. There were cover ups right up to the FBI and the army so they couldn't get access to records etc. Bev said she really enjoyed it and it was an easy read.
LAURA: THE TRIAL BY FRANZ KAFKA
The book was written in 1914 and the author is Czech. It was originally written in German. It is a strange book but it is meant to be strange.Joseph K is placed under arrest when he goes for breakfast in the boarding house where he lives. He doesn't know why. He is told there will be a trial but he goes to work as normal. Nobody knows when the trial will take place. He eventually goes to court but it is held in an apartment block. The judge doesn't know what Joseph is charged with. Nobody knows what is going on. It is like a bad dream and he becomes paranoid. The court process happens while Joseph's work life is going on as normal. Laura enjoyed the book, although it wasn't a page turner. She found the main character arrogant. Laura felt it provoked thought but it left you up in the air.
PAT: THE ATTORNEY BY STEVE MARTINI
The author is a former attorney. The book is a courtroom thriller but Pat didn't find it a thriller. The main character is a lawyer who has relocated his practice to San Diego. A previous wealthy client has followed him. The client is the legal guardian to his granddaughter but the client's daughter has decided she wants her back. She abducts her with the help of a "do-gooder", who is then later found murdered. Everything points to the grandfather and there is a trial. Pat said it was an okay read. She found it very realistic.
SOFYA: RED NOTICE: A TRUE STORY OF HIGH FINANCE, MURDER AND ONE'S MAN FIGHT FOR JUSTICE BY BILL BROWDER
This is a true story but reads like a thriller. Bill is an American. He works in investment. He invests in Eastern Europe, Poland and then Russia. He made a fortune heading the largest investment fund in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After revealing corruption and contacting newspapers who published the corruption, he got into trouble. He received a "Red Notice" which Interpol issues. He wasn't allowed in to Moscow and didn't know why. He hired a young emancipated tax lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky to defend the case while he watched from London. Sergei uncovers corruption and is arrested and then put in prison. Sophia said all the judges were corrupt. She enjoyed the book but found it difficult.
SHEILA: THE PELICAN BRIEF BY JOHN GRISHAM
Sheila didn't like the beginning but kept at it and it suddenly caught her attention. A supreme court judge is murdered. Nobody can understand why it happened. The American legal system is full of greed and corruption. A student female lawyer prepares a legal brief. The brief gets into the hands of someone who doesn't like it and somebody tries to murder her. Sheila said it was written well and came together beautifully. She also said the book had "grits".
PAMELA: THE MAGNA CARTA OF KING JOHN AD 1215
Instead of a book, Pamela brought in a copy of the Magna Carta for us to discuss. It was written 800 years. It is in Latin. One of the clauses translates to read "To no-one will we sell, to no-one will we deny or delay right or justice." (meaning there cannot be a trial without evidence, presumed innocence before trial). It also led to the Writ of Habeas Corpus Act. It eventually sank into the English consciousness and it created a culture of the rule of law. It was an interesting way to look at the effect The Magna Carta had on our present day justice system. It is often seen as the basis of liberty and justice.
CONNIE: JUDGE AND JURY BY JAMES PATTERSON AND ANDREW GROSS
A well known New York detective has just captured a leading Mafia boss. He is sent to goal. There is a trial. Each juror is sworn in. The Mafia henchmen are trying to blackmail the jurors.The jury must be sequestered. They are kept at a hotel and taken by bus back and forth to the court. One of the jurors, a single mum, has a son who is allowed to visit under escort. The Mafia arrange to put a bomb under the bus and the mother of the boy is the only survivor. The mother and the detective get together and decide to get the member of the Mafia who put the bomb under the bus. Connie said she enjoyed the trial but not the rest of the book.
KRIS: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE
The novel was published in 1960 just before the American Civil Rights Act of 1965. It won the Pulitzer prize in 1961. The narrator is Scout Finch, an unusually intelligent and confident girl. It covers the period from the age of about five to nine years old. She lives with her father Atticus, a prominent and well respected lawyer and her brother Jem in Maycomb, a small town in Alabama. It's set during the great depression but the Finch family are a little better off then most. Atticus agrees to defend a Negro named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white woman from an extremely poor family. The woman's father hates Negroes. Atticus is a man of great integrity and although the townspeople cannot understand why he would defend a black man, they have a great respect for him. The story shows the threat that hatred, prejudice and ignorance pose to innocent people like Tom Robinson.
JUDY: UNDER YOUR SKIN BY SABINE DURRANT
Sabine is an English writer. Judy said she was waiting for the court scene but it did not come. It's a murder mystery-psychological thriller. Two of the main characters are a female television presenter who has an ideal existence and her husband, a financial guru. They come from poor backgrounds but have done well. They have one daughter, a perfect child. They have a surly Czech nanny. It is written in first person by Gabi, the television presenter. She is jogging on the common and finds a body. There is no evidence to link her to the body but she is arrested. She does not bother to call a lawyer as she doesn't see it as a problem. Her husband is overseas and unable to be contacted. There are a few interesting twists and a quick conclusion but Judy didn't like the ending.
JULIA: PRIOR BAD ACTS BY TAMI HOAG
Tami Hoag is Julia's favourite author. The book is also known as "The Dead Sky". It involves a brutal crime. She said it was a really good book and she could not put it down. Another book written by Tami Hoag that Julia found good was actually two books in one. The first was called "Night Sins". It was about the kidnapping of a boy in a small American town. The second book is called "Guilty as Sin" involving a second kidnapping. The same country attorney is one of the main characters in both stories. Judy said "it's good the way the two books are together as you find out what happens".
BETH: THE PERFECT KILL - 21 LAWS FOR ASSASSINS
Beth didn't read it as she said "she doesn't want to be an assassin" but she did read many other books for comparison. The first was The Disappearance of Peter Falconi, followed by Unsolved Murders in Victoria, Unsolved Murders in US, Corrupt Police NSW, Stalker in America and History of Norfolk Island. After reading these books she said people have feet of clay, they are sometimes incompetent and self serving and not always nice to the people they love.
DIANN: THE CHINESE MAZE MURDERS BY ROBERT VAN GULIK
Diann said "don't read it". It's too hard to read. If you like crime you may like the challenge.
DIANE: PRESUMED GUILTY BY BRETT CHRISTIAN
The story begins in Western Australia where many innocent people were still being convicted wrongly because of the police culture. Many returned servicemen joined the police force. There was a tribal culture. The police protected each other. There were no consequences to the police because of their mistakes. The wrongly convicted were never compensated when found innocent. Di wondered how many people were innocent but she thought it was a really good read. She said it was a brilliant book.
TAM: THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK OF GREAT TRIALS BY JEREMY STOLJAR
The book covers twelve historic trials from 1788 onwards. It included the first trial, the trial of Ned Kelly, Lindy Chamberlain and Jihad Jack. Tam did not read all twelve but she enjoyed what she did read. She said the book builds characters and the defence was brilliant. The author is a lawyer and writes well.
In September we will read and discuss various titles by the author Somerset Maugham
