Presumption of Death (Nina Reilly)

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing entry in the series.
Review: Attorney Nina Reilly returns to where she began her career, Carmel Valley, but a warm welcome she does not receive, instead she receives news that Wish, the son of her former assistant Sandy, has been arrested.

A series of suspicious fires have raged through the valley, and the latest fire has left a young man dead and Wish as the primary suspect.

Nina knows Wish is not an arsonist, or a killer, but a few questions bother her... why was Wish in the forest, why did his friend end up dead, and why is there a witness saying they saw Wish?

As the answers to these questions begin to surface, Nina finds a dark conspiracy running through the peaceful valley, and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her.

'Presumption Of Death' is not the best entry in the Nina Reilly series, it plods along, rather slowly, telling the tale of a town covered in secrets, but where the novel should have been interesting, it was confusing, and boring with too many characters, and the overlapping storylines of Nina's relationship, and Native American heritage.

I was surprised at how disappointing this novel was because bestselling author Perri O'Shaughnessy (the pen name for two sisters) has previously written great novels in this thrilling series. While not overly terrible, 'Presumption Of Death' is not that good, and does not contain the page-turning elements, or the interesting plot-line of the earlier novels.

Nick Gonnella

Rating:
Summary: Read the Reviews - FIRST
Review: I again made the mistake of buying a book without first reading the CUSTOMER'S Reviews (don't pay too much attention to the Editor's Reviews) - I waste a lot of money that way because I generally pick the books up at the grocery check-out because I NEED something to read. I THEN purposely don't read the reviews until I've either finished the book or in this case TRY to get into it. By and large the people who write the reviews like the same things I like. Anyway - this book was tiring - I too agree with the reviewer who mentioned the relationship between Paul and Nina - and Nina's inflexibility. There are flaws in every relationship because there are flaws in every human being. IF there was no compromise - there would be NO relationships. As to the character Wish - I "wish" he'd go away. Never did get very far into the book - so don't know how it ended. I want my $7.99 back!

Rating:
Summary: SOLID DELIVERY OF A CONTEMPORARY THRILLER
Review: Listeners have come to expect exemplary readings from voice performer Laural Merlington and she delivers again with "Presumption of Death," the ninth in the Nina Reilly series by the sister duo who write under the pen name of Perri O'SHAUGHNESSY.

After battling for some of Lake Tahoe's most challenging clients attorney Nina Reilly deserves a breather. But, we don't always get what we deserve, do we?

Nina is found in Carmel Valley with her steadfast boyfriend, Paul van Wagoner. He wants to tie the knot - she's not sure she's ready. Any thoughts of matrimony are put on hold when arson rears its deadly head. There have been two suspicious fires to date. A third inferno results in loss of life.

Regrettably, the suspect earmarked by the police is Wish, the son of Nina's former assistant. Not only that but the fatality was Wish's good friend, an auto mechanic who resented the changes taking place in his hometown.

As Nina and Paul begin their investigation it's not too long before they learn that those fires aren't the only burning issues in this picturesque community.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: a good read, but not the best in the "Nina Reilly" series
Review: Many things about this book, I liked. Nina is one of the more interesting female protagonists in the legal thriller arena, with a good cast of supporting characters in teenage son Bob, P.I./love interest Paul, Legal Secretary/Native-American activist Sandy Whitefeather, etc. (too bad the the evil lawyer Jeff Reisner is gone by now . . . .)

I liked the undercurrents of the complex relationships of the six neighbors in this book, who live near where a fire occurs that provides the story's setting. And Nina's feelings of restlessness and transition after leaving Lake Tahoe come across as authentic.

But I had a hard time with the ultimate resolution of the crime in this one. Without giving away the ending, the "perp" struck me as a bit implausible, as I feel the criminal plot would have unraveled on it's own much earlier in the story, the way the author has set it up (I can't say more without giving away the ending).

Overall, an entertaining & well-written book; not the best in the series, but not the worst either.