Rating: 
Summary: A Fast and Enjyable Read
Review: As with most of Philip Margolin's novels, there is nothing fancy about "The Associate". This is simply a very readable, thoroughly entertaining, and hard-to-put down legal thriller. What "The Associate" lacks in believable or deeply developed characters or setting, it makes up for with a quickly moving and multi-threaded plot that is sure to hold one's attention. A series of parallel story lines and plot twists fuse together in a conclusion that while mostly predictable, is still well worth the journey. All in all, "The Associate is traditional Margolin fare: a clever and well conceived story line that while ultimately forgettable, is lots of fun while it lasts.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Satisfying
Review: I rate this novel somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. There are some nice plot twists, but overall the story is a disappointment. Without revealing plot, I can only say that the "bad guys" are a disappointment and not really that menacing or believable. The main character also makes some silly mistakes that make you crazy as it is obvious what is he is walking into. The best characterization lies in the female investigator who helps sort out what is going on. If you are in to lawyer suspense, I recommend you skip this one and go on to other novels this auther has written (or finish all of your Baldacci reads first...).
Rating: 
Summary: Very difficult to put down
Review: I picked up a copy The Associate in an airport bookstore on the recommendation of a total stranger. I wish I new who she was so I could thank her, because The Associate was a great book -- an absolute page turner. Thankfully I had a six-hour plane ride that allowed me to read the book in one sitting. The work is a cross between early John Grisham and early David Baldacci. The book follows a young, hardworking attorney who stumbles into a series of events that quickly spin out of control as he fights for the truth and to save his life. The Associate is packed with action, suspense, plot twists and good character development. This was a great initiation to Margolin's work. I will definitely be going back for more.
Rating:
Summary: NOT HIS BEST, BUT STILL WORTHY
Review: FIRST OFF, FELLOW REVIEWERS, PLEASE WATCH HOW YOU SUMMARIZE THE STORY. ONE REVIEWER IN THIS SERIES LET OUT SEVERAL KEY PLOT TWISTS! DON'T FORGET...EVERYBODY'S NOT READ IT YET!
With that out of the way, I must say that I was disappointed somewhat in the novel. Margolin takes a little more time in this one in capturing us right away. After the interesting opening, there is too much time before any more significant scenes ensue. Also, in this book, his hero, Daniel Ames, is certainly likeable, but he comes across pretty stupid in some of the things he does. Like going into someone's house and finding the place ransacked; a good lawyer would NEVER do something like that; and when he arranges to meet Briggs later, he doesn't use good sense to take someone with him; and then he later agrees to meet Dr. Sergei Kanadiov (something like that!), and again goes alone. His criminal background also seems superfluous, and like other reviewers, don't think he'd have been admitted into the bar association.
HOWEVER, once things get cooking, Margolin proves his skill in throwing some red herrings in. The identity of the woman in the photograph really took me by surprise, although I figured who she really was in her past. I liked some of the other characters, too, particularly Billie, the police detective; Joe Molinari, Dan's friend who really pulls through. Flynn is utterly despicable, as is Briggs. It takes a while to get hooked on this one, but it's better than most other books out there.
RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: Skin deep's OK . . . sometimes
Review: Mr. Margolin puts together an interesting set of characters who, at least initially, seem real. Or a least they start out convincing us that various people that we have known in our lives might have gotten themselves in this kind of fix. But the truth be known, silk stocking law firms don't ever hire blue collar hard cases, and the State Disciplinary Commission never licenses lawyers who have been in jail. But no matter, we like Dan Ames, tough guy turned articulate lawyer seeking justice, in kind of a graduate school version of "can't we all be friends?". Dan's got the age old problem that every young lawyer gets asked by pretty girls at parties, "how do you defend someone whom you know is guilty?" Justice Cardoza once said, "when the lawyers tell you it's not about the money, it's about the principle . . . it's about the money." And here the money is about the defense of a birth control pill that causes horrific birth defects. Sensitive topic (albeit not as sensitive as some of the real life issues Mr. Margolin has dealt with, for which we Margolin fans all wait patiently.) But the problem with the characters is that we never get to know them. They're superficial. Kate falls in love with Dan, but all she can tell us is that he's "a nice guy." There's a villain in here, actually several, but we're not sure how they got there. Having said that, Mr. Margolin treats his characters equally well, with strong women and inquisitve, apologetic men. So in the words of my children, that's kind of cool. A good fast read. Well written and exciting. Worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: The Associate
Review: This book is so engaging! It's not a hard read but it is hard to put down. I enjoy the story lines of each character and the method he used to build the characters. I haven't even finished reading the book before I wrote this review although I'm close.
Rating: 
Summary: Page turning thriller
Review: Take this book with you on your next plane trip, as it will keep you focused and entertained from the time you buckle up until you reach your destination. Even though "The Associate" is a real page-turner, it is slightly convoluted. Added information in regard to some characters might have made the story more realistic and tied things together better for the reader. As with other Margolin writings, this one has its share of blood and violence. However, the nearly unbearable, gut-wrenching terror is somewhat diminished in this book, and that is a positive. If you like thrillers, you will enjoy the intense fear depicted in "The Associate".
Rating:
Summary: OK for Beach or Airplane
Review: Philip Margolin's books rarely demand much from the reader, but despite their flaws, they somehow manage to keep the pages turning. I picked this one up in an airport and finished it two flights later.
That said, I can't recommend this book as anything more than an adequate potboiler. Margolin always seems more interested in the mechanics of the legal system than in developing believable characters or dialog, and in this book his trademark courtroom duels are relegated to the sideline. Even action sequences in which violence explodes unexpectedly fail to engage-a recurring flaw in Margolin's books, which are written on the intellectual level, rather than the visceral. If you don't believe me, read any of Alistair MacLean's books prior to Bear Island to see how a master can draw you so thoroughly into the action that the visceral trumps the intellectual. Still, there are times when you don't want to be too thoroughly engaged in the action. I wouldn't want to read a Dean Koontz thriller when I'm relaxing on a beach or camping in remote woodlands. Books such as this one are perfect for occasions when you want something, but not "too much."
Rating:
Summary: Uneven Legal Thriller
Review: Daniel Ames, an associate at a large law firm seems too overjoyed with his good fortune. When he gets talked into reviewing thousands of documents for an upcoming case, things start to go haywire. This is only the second Margolin book that I have read, Wild Justice being the first, however, Wild Justice was by far a better read. Daniel is about as naive a lawyer as I have ever seen and represents a weak main character. The suspense is weak and the plot jumped around so,that I frequently had to go back several pages just to figure out who's who and how they fit into the story. While I did manage to finish the book, this was not the best legal read.
Rating:
Summary: The Associate
Review: Humdrum legal thriller about a young lawyer who trusts his firm way more than he should. You've heard that one before, have you? Well, if bright, industrious, wide-eyed Daniel Ames had been up on his Grisham he might have taken fewer lumps. Reed, Briggs, Stephens, Stottlemeyer and Compton of Portland, Oregon, oh-so-elite, employs and regularly victimizes the oh-so-willing Daniel. One night, predictably, he gets suckered into a grunt work task that has exploitation written all over it. The case happens to involve a huge Reed, Briggs client-Geller Pharmaceuticals, makers of Insufort, billed in a venomous supermarket tabloid as "Son of Thalidomide." Geller and Insufort are being accused of causing horrifyingly severe birth defects-a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in progress. In turn, Arthur Briggs, senior member of the firm, accuses Daniel of having made a stupid and costly mistake. Not so, but suddenly Daniel finds himself being fitted for a scapegoat suit. Summarily fired, he's told to pack and be gone instanter. Resentful but powerless, Daniel obeys. To his surprise, he finds a message the next day from Briggs on his answering machine, apologizing and asking for a fence-mending meeting, not at the office, but in a remote country cottage. Even a cursory reading of Grisham might have helped Daniel dodge that one, too, but innocent that he is he trundles off. Naturally, he finds Briggs murdered. Naturally, he's framed for it. Things are going from bleak to bleaker. Fortunately for him, however, Kate Ross, investigator extraordinaire, is there to befriend him. With her help he turns the tables on an assortment of villains, while refurbishing a tarnished reputation and redeeming a blighted career, though not, praise be, at Reed, Briggs. Bland people, implausible plotting. Here, Margolin, who has tilled the legal thriller field with no mean success (Wild Justice, 2000, etc.), does little more than go through the motions.
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