Associate, The

Rating:
Summary: Gone and Forgotten
Review: Margolin's latest effort is a far cry from the giants such as After Dark and Gone, But Not Forgotten. The book premise is ludicrous and does not get started. The book's plot development holds no suspense and is by far the worst of all his efforts. Usually, his books are the highlight of my summerr reading activity but this fails to generate any excitement. I wish they would find the real Philip Margolin because he certainly did not write this book. Oh!! How the mighty have fallen. This book is about 300 pages too long. Once you get past the copyright page, it is all downhill from there. This book should be Gone and Forgetten. I strongly recommend that you do not "Associate" yourself with this novel and wait for his next effort. Please may the real Margolin come back and replace this imposter.

Rating:
Summary: Typical and tired...
Review: There is nothing fresh or particularly imaginative about this legal thriller. At it's best, it is a cookie-cutter novel, without any of the drama or suspense that the top authors in this genre (Grisham, Ellis, Lashner) weave so beautifully throughout their work. At it's worst, it relies on predictable plot twists that move this tepid novel along barely fast enough to keep the reader from putting it down for good. If you suffer from insomnia, then give this book a try. Otherwise, leave it aone.

Rating:
Summary: Good, fast-paced roller coaster ride.
Review: If the first two opening scenes don't grab you than you had better check your pulse and see if you're still alive!

Others have reviewed this book and correctly stated that it is not a pure legal thriller. True enough. There are legal parts to this story, but the case is not resolved through fancy legal footwork. Rather, the thriller becomes a mystery too and we race along with our heroes to see if they can save everyone and expose the villains.

Is it great literature? Hardly. But, it's a lot of fun and I tore through it like a starving man at a buffet.

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: Daniel Ames, a blue-collar associate at a white-collar law firm, gets snookered by a pretty colleague into reviewing thousands of pages of documents. The client, a pharmaceutical company, is charged with falsifying test results on a new drug that appears to cause horrendous birth defects. Daniel is sure the company didn't do it, but among all the documents he overlooks a letter that could destroy his client's defense. The opposing counsel gets hold of it, and the next thing you know, Daniel's smack in the middle of a murder as well as the attendant legal fraud and chicanery. Who else, besides its manufacturer, wants the truth about the drug trials covered up? Whose body, charred almost beyond recognition, was found in the lab along with a score of dead test monkeys? And what's the connection between a double kidnapping and murder that happened years ago in Arizona and the headline-grabbing lawyer that's trying to pin the blame on Daniel's client for the drug's terrible effects. This isn't Margolin's best, but it's still a promising read.

Rating:
Summary: Typical and tired...
Review: There is nothing fresh or particularly imaginative about this legal thriller. At it's best, it is a cookie-cutter novel, without any of the drama or suspense that the top authors in this genre (Grisham, Ellis, Lashner) weave so beautifully throughout their work. At it's worst, it relies on predictable plot twists that move this tepid novel along barely fast enough to keep the reader from putting it down for good. If you suffer from insomnia, then give this book a try. Otherwise, leave it aone.

Rating:
Summary: a lawyer in trouble
Review: How can you not love a book about a lawyer who gets himself in trouble? The associate begins with a photograph, which triggers a chain of events that takes the reader through years of unsolved mysteries. Our hero must solve them as well, in order to clear his name and stop a murderer. The action is thrilling, and the plot development is extremely good. You will not be dissappointed with this excellent novel.