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Summary: One of the finest legal thrillers written
Review: I am an avid fan of legal thrillers and it was a refreshing surprise to have read this brilliant novel. It is written in an unusual style, for it is rarely that we have the chance to enter the mind of the obvious perpetrator of a crime. The author very skillfully avoids to address issues that would make it very obvious who and why did it, thereby creating an atmosphere of mystery and tension, that makes this book unputdownable. Until the very end of the novel, the reader is unsure of what really happened, even though the writer speaks in the first person to the reader, as if confiding in him. I think it needs a lot of craftmanship and style to achieve this, and Ellis definitely has ample. Most of all, the author is extremely intelligent, and this makes the novel intelligent, a quality that all books of this genre should have. I am looking forward to the next book by this author, who has entered the hall of fame for the legal thriller genre, in my book!
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Summary: Intriguing storyline
Review: I enjoyed every minute of this novel. The author managed to keep me fooled until the very last page. I thoroughly enjoyed the courtroom pages as well as the narrator's curious exploits. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good crime fiction.
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Summary: Great book!!
Review: I had been a a five book losing streak, when I picked up this book at the library. I had never heard of David Ellis, but decided to give him a shot. I am sooooo glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well written, good plot, believable characters...action...suspense. It had all the elements of a great book. It beats anything written by Grisham lately....I recommend it highly!
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Summary: Clear Your Calendar..You Won't Want To Break Away!
Review: I read this novel based on the reviews here. Totaly engrossing. This story moved at breakneck speed with wonderfully developed characters. It makes the reader think, "What happened in that den, that fateful day?!?!" Marty Kalish is the star of this whodunit, how did it happen, how will he/will he (?) be cleared of the crime? Woven and woven again, this yarn will have you taut with wonder 'til the very last thread. I look forward to more from David Ellis and to cherished time in re-reading this one again. Make this your next suspense/thriller, for it is that in every sense.
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Summary: A fantastic new talent!
Review: I typically read almost 100 books per year, most of them fiction. I picked this one up on a lark and am so glad I did. What a novel! From page one, I was enthralled in the story. I held my breath during the fresh approach that Ellis uses as a story-telling technique. We watch the action unfold through the eyes of the main character and we think we know what has happened. The murder takes place early on and we "see" it happen. But did we see everything? We aren't sure. In fact we aren't sure until the very last page of the book.I was pleased to read a mystery/crime novel that wasn't all police procedural or all court-room drama. The story is fleshed out very nicely, and I found the characters to be multi-dimensional. There are several sub-plots to the story but they all relate to the main theme and serve to push the experience forward. And most importantly, I really cared what happened to the characters. I am looking forward to Mr. Nellis' next work with great anticipation. It will be hard to top this one but it will be fun trying.
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Summary: Better than Grisham
Review: If you like Grisham and Turow, you will enjoy this new writer. I work at a library and I hear from other people that his 2nd book, Life Sentence, is good too.
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Summary: Couldn't put it down - then wished I had never picked it up
Review: In an interesting twist on the typical legal thriller, "Line of Vision" is told from the perspective of the defendant. The first-person narrator, investment banker Marty Kalish, tells us of his affair with Rachel Reinhardt, abused wife of a prominent cardiologist - and how he kills her husband to protect her. From the start Marty's story raises questions: Was he really having an affair with Rachel? Did he really kill her husband? How far is he willing to go to deal with the aftermath of his crime? Although Marty isn't very likeable, his story grabs you from the outset and keeps you reading. It looks like I am in the minority here, but I felt cheated by the ending. Legal thrillers are supposed to have surprises at the end, and there were certainly plenty of hints that there was more going on than met the eye. And defendants who don't tell the whole story to their lawyers are pretty much standard for the genre. But a protagonist/narrator who keeps so much from the reader until the very end? Not fair!
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Summary: Stupendous
Review: In Highland Woods, investment banker Marty Kalish is having an affair with Rachel Reinardt, wife of renowned cardiologist and philanthropist Derrick. She tells Marty that her spouse beats her and shows him her scars. Mart hates Derrick for having what he wants and abusing her. Marty goes to Rachel's house expecting quality time with his beloved, but instead sees Derrick hitting her. Enraged, he picks up a bench and smashes through the glass patio door. Marty kills Derrick, but has the foresight to bury the body and clean up any evidence that points to him in spite of the freezing temperatures. Having law school experience, he knows that "every criminal makes a mistake." He tries desperately to act normal at work and among friends. Meanwhile, police detectives Cummings and Nicholaos begin to look at whether Rachel had an affair that led to her spouse's disappearance and probable death. It will be hard to imagine any legal thriller being better than LINE OF VISION. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action although the tale is told in the first person by Marty. This not only provides the audience with a radically different perspective on how just our legal system truly is; it furnishes an incredible insight into Marty. David Ellis has written an incredible tour-de-force that is must reading for sub-genre fans as a fresh exciting new voice has raised the quality level of this genre. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: You can't put this spellbinding story down....
Review: In this ingenious first novel, David Ellis tells the story in this psychological legal thriller through commentary by the main character, Marty Kalish, an investment banker. Kalish, an up-and-comer in a prestigious firm, tells us his story in real time and flashbacks of a love affair with married socialite Rachel Reinhardt. Early in the novel, we learn that Marty killed her surgeon husband who was in the process of beating Rachel. Or what did happen? Marty proceeds to build alibis, ditch evidence but is still arrested for the murder despite the lack of a body or any physical evidence connecting him to the murder scene. Through the preparation for the trial, we learn more about Marty whose life was focused on succeeding in business to build up personal wealth. Except for a close relationship to his nephew, Marty has few redeeming relationships in his life. You do build a strange kinship with him in his struggle to build a defense and in his reactions to events with his former lover. The most spellbinding part of this novel is that as it proceeds, Marty's exposition of what really happened keeps changing....This baffles both the defense lawyers and the reader and when the final solution unwinds in the last pages, you may be surprised. However unlike other surprise endings this one ends in a very satisfying way, with ends tied up very logically. I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced novel and look forward to future legal thrillers by Mr. Ellis.
Rating:
Summary: A heart-stopping original thriller!
Review: It seems like there's an awful lot of lawyers turned authors writing legal thrillers right now, but David Ellis's LINE OF VISION is a wicked, heart-stopping original thriller that is impossible to put down.
Marty Kalish, a young investment banker, is accused of killing his lover's husband. Marty is an opportunist---devious and manipulative as he uses his friends and the legal system to suit his needs during his trial. You may not always like Marty, but there's something you have to admire about his deviousness. This is an extremely well-written novel, where things are not always what they seem, but Ellis manages to pull all the plot twists together by the final page. Looking for a really great page-turner? LINE OF VISION is it.
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