Violent Crimes

An Amanda Jaffe Novel

By: Phillip Margolin

Narrated by: Therese Plummer

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Dale Masterson, a wealthy lawyer who has built a career representing coal and oil companies, has enemies—including his own son, Brandon, a fanatical eco-warrior who despises everything his father stands for.

When Dale is found beaten to death, Brandon is spotted fleeing the scene. He confesses to the murder, proclaiming it an act of revenge against his father's controversial clients. Veteran attorney Amanda Jaffe is hired to represent him, but what seems like an open-and-shut case quickly begins to unravel.

Weeks before Dale's death, a colleague at his large law firm was also the victim of a violent killing. A junior employee stands accused of Christine Larson's murder, but in the aftermath, questions emerge about the firm's business practices—as well as evidence of Dale's involvement in some troubling irregularities. Amanda suspects Brandon may not be telling the truth, but if he didn't kill his father, who did?

Smart, fierce, and unafraid of confronting the truth, even if doing so puts her in danger, Amanda begins to dig deeper. What she finds will force her to make the hardest professional decision of her life.

©2016 Phillip Margolin (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Short and bad narration

What did you love best about Violent Crimes?

I really like Phillip Margolin and have been a fan for 20+ years. He's an excellent writer.

Would you be willing to try another book from Phillip Margolin? Why or why not?

Yes, based on his previous books.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

When I read an audiobook, I want the narrator to be unobtrusive. I want him/her to blend with the content so I can focus on the story. In this book, I kept focusing on the narrator. It wasn't that she was horrible, but she kept whispering, and her timing was very slow. The book was already short. If she had read at a normal pace, it probably would have been 3 hours in length.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It didn't have enough substance to be a film.

Any additional comments?

This is the first book I've listened to where I was surprised when the ending credits hit. I thought, "you're kidding. It's over???" I was not pleased with the amount of content. I've read all of Margolin's other books and this one felt like it was written by someone else.

However, my dad read the book and loved it; so perhaps it was the narration that irritated me the most.

Riveting

This is the latest book in the Amanda Jaffe series. I have always enjoyed this series but it has been so long since the last book I thought Margolin had discontinued it. Amanda is a defense attorney in Portland, Oregon. It is great to have a book take place in some place other than NYC or LA. At the request of a fellow attorney, Christine Larson, Amanda successfully defends Larson’s paralegal, a former Navy SEAL, Tom Beatty, from a charge of assault. Then Larson is murdered and her body planted in Beatty’s place. Amanda accepts the defense of Beatty as she believed that Dale Masterson killed Larson because she was investigating his financial statements. She obtains the release of Beatty on bail when Masterson is murdered. Meanwhile, Amanda had accepted the defense of Brandon Masterson, an eco-warrior, when suddenly he is a suspect in the murder of Masterson. Now Amanda has an ethical situation in attempting to defend these two men.

The book is well written and the plot is convoluting and twisty. The pace is fast with lots of suspense. The ending of the book was a nice twist that caught me by surprise. I found this book hard to put down even as the clock ticked into the wee hours of the night. Therese Plummer does a good job narrating the book.

Super

Super! Loved the book. Totally entertaining. Always, akways, always enjoy his books on tape. wow

had me confused

all his other books I was able to figure out who the killer was midway through. this one had me until the end.

not one of the authors better books

disappointing. sophomoric attorneys with dialog that is unrealistic. Have read away better books from Margolin