No Physical Evidence

De: Gus Lee

Narrado por: Dick Hill

Joshua Jin is an assistant district attorney whose life is in crisis after the death of his teenage daughter and the breakup of his marriage. Now he has been handed an impossible case involving the savage rape of a 13-year-old girl who refuses to talk. The ex-con charged with the crime was arrested on a hunch. The problem? There is no physical evidence. Jin's orders are simple: pitch a sound bite, dump the case, and save his boss the Chinatown vote during a politically charged election year. But Jin refuses to drop the case; even after he discovers that the opposing attorney is a brilliant, high-priced lawyer - and his one-time lover - who wants nothing more than to crush Jin in the courtroom.

First, however, he must win the confidence of Rachel Farr, his stone-silent client, a distant, troubled teenager who trusts no one. But when Rachel recounts her brutal attack, Jin is spurred into action, throwing his heart and soul into a case that is far more explosive than he had ever imagined.

©2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 2000 Gus Lee

Written like literature

Mr. Lee spins a well-constructed story and uses words like an artist uses brushes. I found the story a bit slow to start, but the experience was worth the wait. The story concentrates on the legal system in Sacramento. I know Sacramento very well and found Mr. Lee to use fictional license more than I would like. He went to school in Davis, so should know what highway goes where (Interstate 80 will not take you to Kyburz, which is on U.S. Highway 50) and not take such liberty with geography and place names. However had I not known the area so well, I wouldn't have noticed.

The biggest entertainment was the reader. Dick Hill reads this book with magic in his voice and conveys emotion and makes each character unique. He is an incredible master.

Very nicely written book

Joshua Jin is a Chinese-American prosecutor whose brilliant career is in jeopardy, largely because his personal life is in tatters. After the death of his young daughter, his marriage has disintegrated, and now he's coasting on autopilot.

Then he's assigned a dog of a case, that of deciding whether a rape can be prosecuted, or whether it even occurred. The victim; a 13 year old girl who fits the description of "at risk" to a T, and who isn't talking.

This book is a great listen, and I highly recommend it. This is the only Gus Lee title offered by Audible, which is kind of a shame.

Better then average

I know it's not a catchy headline, but I think it's pretty acurate. I went in with lower expectations, and enjoyed a nice story. It had me wondering and guessing a few times. A couple of nice twists at the end. Sit back - Relax - And let the old man tell you a story. It's a little graphic at times - But not tasteless. It won't knock Grisham off from a top spot (When Grisham was writing great books) But it's a pretty good courtroom drama. Easliy worth a credit - Or the 12.95 price I just saw on here.

For what it's worth... J

Could have been excellent.

I'm not sure if the author felt rushed or what but the end felt forced and wound up sounding contrived and confusing.

15 Stars! Twizzler-Twisty and Moving

Okay, we expect Character 1 in these things to start in a hole that gets deeper than a teenager's yawn in chemistry class. But... but... there are limits, huh? Not to Gus Lee. There are Jurassic fossils in shallower pits. And he tosses fat boulders faster than Michael Connelly pops out novels.

"OH NO! HOW WILL CHIN EVER GET OUT?!"

I mean you know he will right? So this thing becomes a puzzle wound tighter than a Dollar Store watch.. Which leads me to a few tips about NPE...

• First, Lee is maniacally addicted to metaphors or similes. When you start noticing the scenery, the play's in trouble... Ditto when you notice a writer's narrative tics.

• Second: The plot's intricately and richly spattered with clues. You've got to pay attention from page one.

• Thirdly: There's a big cast here which Dick Hill does a fine job of differentiating vocally, yet so many can distract a listener who cannot easily look back, and needs to instead drill into memories often made before the last break(s) the listener took.

• Fourth: There are abrupt scene changes that skip along the storyline. Some of the most noticeable are the results of a fly-like calendar leaps in the story.

Look my book grading's tougher than a three buck blue-plate dinner steak but if you like trial-fiction that's twistier than Twizzlers well, 'No Physical Evidence' deserves all 15 stars just for revealing, HOW CHIN WILL EVER GET OUT?!