Rating: 
Summary: Good if routine
Review: Margolin's latest book is an entertaining but relatively routine legal thriller. In this book - a semi-sequel to Wild Justice, as the two books share some characters - a young lawyer gets entangled in a high-stakes lawsuit over a medication that may or may not cause birth defects. People start getting murdered and the lawyer winds up as a suspect.The book has a good amount of suspense and plot twists, but it suffers from a weak main character who bounces from situation to situation without taking any real action of his own. He is a nice enough guy, but he rarely takes any initiative. For Margolin fans, this novel is good, but not great. People who are newer to the genre might be more entertained, but others will find that this story is nothing special.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I usually love Phillip Margolin's books and was so excited when I saw he had a new one but I was very disappointed upon reading this one. I think he may have written it a long time ago and resurrected it once he became famous. The dialogue is stilted and at times downright embarrassing, the plot is ridculously intricate for no good reason and the ultimate outcome is so obvious it makes you feel like you've wasted your time. I miss the old Mr. Margolin of "Gone, But Not Forgotten" and most recently "Wild Justice" - I hope he returns to that kind of quality writing soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprised I was surprised
Review: I never read a Margolin book I didn't like. Among these, THE UNDERTAKER'S WIDOW is my favorite. I don't believe that THE ASSOCIATE reaches the intrigue and peril that many of Margolin's other novels achieves, but it is still a worthwhile story. Margolin has the uncanny ability to produce an element of surprise. As a person reads Margolin's work, the reader attempts to predict the outcome. Margolin seems to anticipate this and twist his tale in unexpected directions. Thus, the reader sits on the edge of his/her chair waiting for the outcome - usually unanticipated. Following is a description of what happened in my head while reading THE ASSOCIATE. As I read, I anticipated an outcome. I thought, "this is too obvious!" I began to predict other less obvious outcomes. My brain was twisted in different directions. In the end, my initial prediction was the correct outcome. And, of course, I wasn't expecting my thoughts to be correct. I was surprised that I was surprised. In the end THE ASSOCIATE is a good story.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, entertaining - a good read
Review: This was a really good book, one that keeps you guessing from the beginning. I found myself running through some scenarios to try and figure out my best guess to what was going on, and was completely surprised with the ending. Being about a pharmaceutical company, this book is loaded with medical terminology and is pretty much on the mark in some rather complex principles. There were TONS of characters in this one, maybe a few too many. I had to keep up with who was doing what, who was on who's side, and who worked for which outfit. This only adds to the mystery of the novel, and, overall, I was really impressed with this one. I'll be reading more of Mr Margolin's works!
Rating: 
Summary: Plot device not so clever
Review: I read Margolin's preface, where he credits his wife for coming up with the "plot device that drives the book". While I enjoyed this book, I also figured out the "device" really quickly. It's a good, diversionary read, and the characters are interesting even if you can see exactly what is going to happen. Amanda Jaffe has a small role.
Rating:
Summary: Inside the World of High Stakes Litigation - Enjoyable
Review: Philip Margolin has written a fast paced novel with an intriguing plot in The Associate. Set inside one of Portland, Oregon's premier law firms, young associate, Daniel Ames, already tired from a day's efforts at research and writing pulls an all-nighter to review documents from his pharmaceutical client's files that have to be produced the next morning to the opposing side in a lawsuit involving a drug that allegedly causes birth defects. Missing the "smoking gun" report that would cripple the drug manufacturer in the lawsuit among the thousand of pages he reviews that night, Ames stumbles into a scheme of epic proportions involving a flamboyant, high stakes plaintiff's attorney who redefines the expression "stopping at nothing" to win his case and a web of murders and kidnappings that keep the pages turning in this very enjoyable novel. Rather than utilizing the traditional courtroom and witness testimony to reveal the plot's direction, Margolin chooses to unveil the mystery using a behind the scenes approach that is just as satisfying. We see how unfavorable documents can be shielded from disclosure by having employees write everything to the company's in-house lawyer and later invoking the attorney client privilege; we watch as private investigators chase lead after lead to uncover the facts; we see how the clever and devious can manipulate the system with a knowledge of the basics; and we see the tactics employed in high stakes litigation. The reader doesn't need the trial to reach a just verdict. The novel's brevity causes some shortcomings. Too little time is devoted to character development; the protagonist's blue-collar background and rise to success should have been expanded. The author moves the story along so adeptly that it leaves the reader wanting more details about life inside the premier firm where the associate toiled. I'll admit that Margolin cheats about some finer points of legal practice that might cause practitioners to protest (Bates stamping documents with individual numbers is too routine in big case litigation to forget), but overall the novel delivers a high energy read that is sure to satisfy.
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB mystery/thriller moves like a MISSLE!
Review: It starts like a guided missle and never lets up. The Associate starts in a gallery in an enticing prologue, when a lawyer sees a photo and almost faints. It then advances to what SEEMINGLY is going to be a mundale legal story, as a young somewhat naive associate in a law firm gets documents to review dumped on him at the last minute by an attractive co-worker who tells him she has plans for the evening and would he do her a favor?
And when Daniel Ames agrees to review the documents, his life is turned up side down, causing him to lose his job, be arrested and get drawn into an intricate murder plot/conspiracy with dozens of deceptions at every turn.
I LOVED this mystery novel. I sometimes have trouble reading fiction if the writer gets too carried away with his/her prose or the characters seem phoney. The Associate ranks as one of the best mystery/thriller novels I've read in many years. There are several reasons why I loved this book and YOU likely will too:
1)Ingenius plot: I thought I had guessed the key questions but I was totally wrong. The author brilliantly threw false clues my way and I fell for them every time.
2)A highly flawed character. Ames is self-absorbed through a lot of the book, makes a ton of mistakes yet we see him steadily grow.
3)Well etched other characters.
4)The legal setting: I'm not a lawyer and am now an entertainer but I worked on various newspapers in my old incarnation. This accurately portrays the jockeying for position, office politics, and ways that ambition impacts the way people think and often act in big corporations (a legal firm, a newspaper). The general public will love this book; lawyers will find it even more enjoyable (as will law students) for the depiction of a high-powered law firm.
5)The writing: Margolin doesn't waste words. There isn't a word, description or piece of dialogue that isn't relevant to the story.
6)The ending. I WON'T give it away, but when I finished this book I felt truly satisfied. You will NOT be disappointed that you read to the end -- but may regret that this wonderful book is over.
Great book...would make a GREAT movie!!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: It was an outline, and a contrived one at that. MAYBE the makings of a good novel were there, but the characters were so one-dimensional and the plot so unbelievable that I wanted to throw the book away. I hate it when good writers like Mr. Margolin treat their fans so shabbily. I'm mad at the publishers too.
Rating:
Summary: A Suspenseful Mystery That Won't Disappoint!
Review: The Associate by seasoned storyteller Phillip Margolin is a suspenseful mystery that will have the readers swiftly turning the pages-- A young attorney in a law firm gets tricked into reviewing thousands of pages of documents for a client who is charged with falsefying test results in their pharmaceutical company. A novel that will not disappoint!
Rating:
Summary: A clunking formulaic novel that never really grips.
Review: I read this book immediately after reading Jonathan Kellerman's "Flesh & Blood". What a disappointment it was. I felt that I was going back to Writing 101. It bore no comparison. I described Kellerman's book as a Roll-Royce. This book by Margolin is definitely the VW Beetle - worthy but dull. The Kirkus review tells you the outline of the story, and the story does have some merit. However I found that tying drug company errors to mass-murder too much to take. The characters were two-dimensional and just not adequately fleshed-out. And how often do we read of the new young idealistic lawyer saving the day against corporate greed and evil colleagues? Did I get the hint of Grisham in here somewhere? A decent read, but there are better writers. When I invest my time plus the cost of the book I expect a better return than I got. Sorry, Margolin fans.
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