The Color of Law

A Novel

By: Mark Gimenez

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A poor-boy college football hero turned successful partner at a prominent Dallas firm, who long ago checked his conscience at the door, catches a case that forces him to choose between his enviable lifestyle and doing the right thing in this masterful debut legal thriller.

Clark McCall, ne'er-do-well son of Texas millionaire senator and presidential hopeful Mack McCall, puts a major crimp in his father's election plans when he winds up murdered, apparently by Shawanda Jones, a heroin-addicted hooker, after a tawdry night of booze, drugs, and rough sex.

Scott Fenney, who's worked his way to being a partner at an elite Dallas law firm, is assigned to provide Shawanda's pro bono defense after the federal judge on the case hears him deliver an inspiring, altruistic, and completely insincere, speech to the local bar association. Scott plans to farm the case out to an old law school buddy, do-good-attorney Bobby Herrin. But his plans go awry when Shawanda puts her foot down in court and refuses to be passed off to the lawyer she considers the lesser attorney.

As the case unfolds, pressure is exerted on Scott to deter him from being too aggressive in his defense of Shawanda. That pressure becomes palpable as Scott is slowly stripped of the things he's come to care for most. Will he do the right thing, at a terrible cost, or the easy thing and keep his hard-earned fabulous life?

With echoes of early John Grisham, The Color of Law is a provocative listen that marked the stunning debut of a major new talent.

©2005 Mark Gimenez (P)2005 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is a well-calibrated contemporary morality play, set in get-rich-quick Dallas, with tours of country clubs and gated communities, and knowledgeable forays into Darwinian legal tactics. Gimenez also gives us a hateful character who becomes more sympathetic the more he fails. Fast-paced and thought-provoking fare." (Booklist)

Must read!

Great book! Engaging storyline and characters. Parallels to To Kill A Mockingbird spot on. Love the Dallas setting and plot.

The Color of Law

Very good! More a story of human nature than a murder mystery. Very Funny too. Good Beach Book!

Power and greed without empathy

I enjoyed reading this story. The characters were nicely developed. I did have an issue with the author's Black characters though. Every description of the Black characters were a stereotype including the names he gave them. However, this is his story. I recommend this book if you enjoy a straight forward human understanding , empathy with a feel good climax and ending.

Sassyboots

I really like the book..looking forward to more by this author. Legal thrillers are my favorite.

Outstanding

Although I could almost always predict what was coming next, I still really enjoyed this story and found myself rooting for A. Scott Finley.

Finally a book worth listening to.

Loved this book! I’m very picky about narrators; no matter how good I’m told the book is, if the narrator sucks it’s just not worth listening to. This book is the best of both, a great story and a great narrator. Would make a great movie!

Great

Compelling, hard to put down. The narration adds to the story. Highly recommended

Outstanding!

What an outstanding debut character! As good as Grisham. Gimenez does a masterful job of creating tension throughout the story and has plenty of other interesting characters.

Excellent Legal Fiction, VERY Likable Characters!

Great story, well fleshed out, excellent narration too! Really enjoyed this one!
Try it, you won't be sorry.

Loved it

I listen to a lot of books from Audible. I adored this book. It may be a little simple and predictable, but it is written in such a wonderful way that kept me listening. The main character is a man that I would like to be. Yes it has a wonderful ending, and I loved it. I knew how it would end, but that was one of the things I enjoyed most. If you like a good story about good people against bad poeple. This is for you. I highly recommend this book. The narrator was awesome.