Semiautomatic

Rating:
Summary: fabulous legal Noir
Review: Following his bungled prosecution of a homicide case (see HOLLOWPOINT) Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giobberti toils in the surreal Brooklyn Appeals Office, the Siberia where those whose careers are over are exiled until they retire, quit, or die. His personal life feels as if he is at rock bottom but also still in freefall as he still mourns the death of his daughter and the separation from his wife.

However, he is given a second chance at redeeming himself and a return to the Homicide 0ffice if he prosecutes the suspect in the murder of a Brooklyn bodega owner. Elation turns to distrust and he wonders if he is being paranoid as he ponders why this particular case was given to him. No one will say a word to him especially why him, not even Laurel Ashfield, who had the prosecution before Giobberti received his so-called reprieve.

SEMIAUTOMATIC is a fabulous legal Noir that gives the audience an intriguing taste of Brooklyn, home of "the dumbest killers in the world". Andrew is a marvelous lead character as he struggles with a horde of maggots that eat away at his heart and soul. Still the key to this unique story line is that the plot hits the audience on three fronts. The obvious legal thriller is enhanced by the in-politics of the DA Office and by a human salvation story all tied together by Andrew.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Real, well written and could actually happen
Review: It would be a mistake to call this a legal thriller, just as it would be a mistake to believe that what happens in most American courtrooms is legally thrilling. This is taut, believable urban crime drama from someone batting .1000 right out of the box on his first two novels. It's not plot-crazed Grisham. It's a story and characters to think about and a protagonist you can actually buy. I loved it, just as I loved Hollowpoint, his first. The second is more enjoyable if you read HP and got the setup but Semiautomatic also stands on its own as a first-rate urban crime novel. Very good stuff.Can't waint for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Real, well written and could actually happen
Review: It would be a mistake to call this a legal thriller, just as it would be a mistake to believe that what happens in most American courtrooms is legally thrilling. This is taut, believable urban crime drama from someone batting .1000 right out of the box on his first two novels. It's not plot-crazed Grisham. It's a story and characters to think about and a protagonist you can actually buy. I loved it, just as I loved Hollowpoint, his first. The second is more enjoyable if you read HP and got the setup but Semiautomatic also stands on its own as a first-rate urban crime novel. Very good stuff.Can't waint for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Shavng with a Badger
Review: Reuland's first book Hollowpoint hooked me with the throw-away line, he was so tough, 'he saved with a badger'. Reuland's dialogue works so well that one feels himself at the bottom of the same hole his hero with the heart of dread, Gio is looking up from. You don't read about the someone's state of mind in a Reuland book, you feel it. That time when your girl left you and you couldn't eat for a whole day; that's what Semiautomatic makes you feel. The ketchup seen and reference to Coney Island whitefish had me laughing for hours. Just when you feel bottomed out, he describes someone as being 'dropped into the chair with a spatula' and the plot drags you back from the brink. The jacket says Chandler and Hemingway but it should say James Joyce written by Ed McBain.
Semiautomatic is a must read for those pilgrims looking for the new noire classic. It is full or great throw away lines and my favourite this time is "There are only wrong moves left"
Great read, Reuland deserves more readers and better support from his publisher. This is a guaranteed come back to next year.

Rating:
Summary: A legal thriller with character
Review: Rob Reuland's Semiautomatic is the follow-up to his excellent 2000 debut Hollowpoint. The author has brought back hard-bitten Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giobberti for another go-around on the borough's mean streets and in its grim halls of justice.

A bodega owner has been murdered in what seems to be an open-and-shut case. As Gio digs deeper, though, he senses that something is rotten underneath the surface. There's a reason he was assigned to this murder and, once he learns it, his outrage leads him to take on his corrupt bosses.

There are times when Semiautomatic suffers from an excess of personality, with machinegun sentences and clipped dialogue assaulting readers so fast they hardly have a chance to catch their breath. That is also part of the book's charm, though, as Reuland breaks out of the typical urban crime mold with his fresh, compelling protagonist and idiosyncratic style.

Semiautomatic is recommended to anyone who is tired of the usual, run-of-the-mill legal thriller and wants to read something that tells it a little more like it really is.

Reviewed by David Montgomery, Chicago Sun-Times

Rating:
Summary: More than just a legal thriller
Review: SEMIAUTOMATIC is Robert Reuland's second book following on from his impressive debut with HOLLOW POINT. Like his first book it is set in Brooklyn and features homicide prosecutor Andrew Giobberti. Also, like his first book, SEMIAUTOMATIC focuses heavily on the legal system and the faith that the central characters place in it.

It's been eighteen months since the events of HOLLOW POINT took place and Andrew Giobberti has been removed from his position in the DA's Homicide Bureau to the safer, more sedate dead end that is the Appeals Bureau. But now the DA has decided that Gio has served his penance and is now ready to prosecute homicide cases again.

The homicide case in question is the shooting of the owner of a bodega by a young black man who was robbing the store. At first glance it looks like a straightforward case with a witness who has identified Haskin Pool, the defendant, and is willing and able to testify to what he saw. But after reading through the case records, Gio can't help but feel that there is something more to the case that he's not been told about.

Gio is taking over the case from Laurel Ashfield, a young prosecutor who has been recently appointed to the Homicide Bureau. Laurel had worked the case from the moment it broke until trial only to have Gio brought in to take over at the last minute. Gio expects her to be resentful of him for being bumped to second chair, but surprisingly she is anything but. The reason that she's not is the big mystery of the story. It starts out as a nagging itch but soon leads to the greatest cause for division between the two lawyers.

This is a rather unusual book because although it revolves around a murder trial and features the prosecuting attorney who is trying the case, we never really experience any of the usual courtroom drama scenes. The only time the courtroom comes into play is in between sessions with Gio and Laurel discussing points of the case. As each day's proceedings actually begin we invariably fade to black and then cut to a later scene outside the court.

Social and moral values are put under the microscope as arguments from the younger, idealistic but rather naïve Laurel are countered by the more seasoned and realistic Gio. Reuland concentrates more on emotions and personalities pushing this mystery into a category beyond the mere legal thriller standing. It's dark, confrontational and proceeds to grab your attention as the true story of the case gradually unfolds.


Rating:
Summary: slow torture
Review: this book was like watching paint dry. there was little to no suspense. if the author would have taken as much time developing the characters as he did over describing every little detail of rooms, desks or the elevators, maybe he would have ended up with a half way readable novel. the characters didn't evoke any emotion from the reader except maybe disinterest.