Crime

This was one of those books I had trouble putting down. I've read the previous books in the series and liked them, although I didn't remember the characters when I read this one. Perhaps I will for the next book, but I don't think it really matters much, and I believe this book could be read by itself. I liked Greene and Kennicott, the cops, but they were not really the most important characters. There were several really interesting characters in the story, which is what makes this such a good book. But looking back at my review of the first book, I see this one features a character from that book, a lawyer by the name of Nancy Parish.

At various points in the story, it was hard to decide who was good and who was bad, as many were both at different times. Some of them were like actors playing a part and doing what they believed was expected of them. In fact, one, the judge, was an actual actor. The defendant, a young man who got a bad start in life and was often on the wrong side of the law, seemed to often be acting out the part of a tough criminal but wasn't real good at it. At times he seemed to be basically good, then later seemed to be spoiled bad boy. Sometimes, with other characters, we just don't know when they are telling the truth.

I liked reading about the Canadian judicial system, with their robes and all. And the cold weather they were having was nice to imagine during our 90 degree days we've been having in my neck of the woods. ( )

I gotta say, I wasn't expecting much from this novel going in. I've read fewer and fewer legal thrillers lately because, quite frankly, they were boring or unforgivably stupid in both premise and execution (I'm looking at you Mr. John "I used to give a shit about my readers but not any more" Grisham).

But with this novel, I was taken in almost immediately. Rotenberg got to the action quickly, set up the main storyline immediately, and then brought in the key characters cleanly. Were some of the cast a touch wooden? Maybe a touch, but it's also a reasonably large cast, so that's forgivable. On the other hand, were most of them well-drawn? Yes.

And the story was immediate and gripping. So, now that I've started with book three in the series, I'll definitely be going back and checking out the rest. If you enjoy legal thrillers, then this is a fantastic author to look into. ( )

A father and his very young son head to Tim Horton's for a donut. Shots ring out and the little boy lies dying. Who fired the shots and who is the mystery witness who has vanished into the underground of Toronto. Here is another complicated murder case for Avi Greens and Officer Kennicott to solve while Defense councilor Nancy Parish takes on the case of the man accused of firing the fatal shot.

If you are familiar with Toronto, you may find reading about action taking place in locales you know interesting. It may make the story a bit more real. Especially interesting to me is the bits one learns about the Canadian legal system centred around murder trials. ( )

Finished and as usual this author did not let me down. They call him the Canadian Grisham, but I think he is much better than several of Grisham's novels have been. His storylines are always great, and his characters and court cases equally good. This is the third in the series and I hope their are many more. ( )