Rating: 
Summary: Yawn
Review: Arch Gold -- is that supposed to be like Golden Arches, as in a famous franchise, because someone obviously wants this to become a franchise, I look at all the five stars begging for a series, one review's written by someone with the same last name as the author, and I think -- to become a franchise, you can't have a hero with the personality of a piece of iceberg lettuce, you can't have a book that never finds its own voice, that never provides you a laugh or a tear or gives you goosebumps (if I want to learn about the legal system I'd rather read a textbook, probably have as much suspense) -- but to be a fiction franchise, you've got to meet the Gold Standard, like Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe, you've got to have a main character readers really care about and identify with, which I'm sorry to say I didn't, and as for all these "twists and turns and surprises", I say, get over yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Sit back and relax
Review: Arch Gold is a public defender with a determination to pursue the truth no matter what the cost. When his client, Damon Tucker is charged with the murder of Charlotte King, Gold finds out exactly what that cost is. Is Damon to face the death penalty for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is something else going on here entirely? Heilbrun's writing makes it a joy to discover what happens. This is a quick paced book for a rainy Sunday afternoon when you want to get away and unwind. I found the characters intriguing and the plot engrossing. This realistic court room drama is as engaging is it is entertaining. I recommend it to anyone who likes crime fiction.
Rating:
Summary: An Impressive Debut Novel From a Talented Writer
Review: Arch Gold is the narrator and public defender in Robert Heilbrun's debut novel, OFFER OF PROOF. He is a straight talking, hardworking lawyer who understands the system and has enough experience to know that a trial is a game. He knows all too well that the high-minded notions of Truth, Justice, and Innocent Until Proven Guilty often get lost in the process: "Fewer than three percent of felonies in New York City got to trial. The system is geared toward guilty pleas, which is understandable since most defendants are in fact guilty. Only if a defendant decided to push the case to the limit did he really find out its merits, long after he'd turned down whatever [plea] offer the People [made] ... less in the interest of justice than in the interest of doing less work and moving things along as quickly as possible." With this as his theme, Heilbrun tells a riveting and cautionary tale about the arrest and prosecution of young Damon Tucker, an African American man who is charged with the murder of a white woman. Circumstances and deep prejudices that cement stereotypes of young black men are not absent in the "justice system" and Damon is smart enough to know that he could be convicted of murder. When he pleads with Arch to check out the victim the PD says, "Honestly, Damon, I think it's more likely to be a mugging gone bad by someone other than you, than some kind of hit." Damon explodes in rage, his life is on the line and he has seen too many of his peers railroaded. Arch tells his terrified client that speculation cannot be presented as a defense and their problem is that they simply don't have enough proof. Damon is a hothead. He has a temper and makes no attempt to hide his rage against the world. He is also a devoted son, a college student and works part-time in a video store. He is a complex individual, a city kid, a product of the street violence endemic to New York's inner city and yet a charmer in his own way ... a character you love one minute and hate the next. He is lucky that Arch picked up his case, because Arch sees how screwy a circumstantial case can get when the details are retold in a way that meets someone else's agenda --- certainly not the defendant's. But Arch is a hero. He is a man who does believe in the law. He has integrity and self respect and he believes in Damon. Once he sees his client as an individual, he is willing to investigate the entire history of the victim if it will uncover what really happened. Heilbrun is a talented writer with an accessible prose style and the uncanny ability to create fully fleshed out characters. He channels them through his tightly controlled plot with credible and logical twists and turns. The courtroom scenes and the narrative asides mirror what readers are exposed to if they watch Court TV or any of the Law and Order programs on television. Every society needs heroes --- the old-fashioned kind who are real enough for the reader to identify with but not see as a melodramatic cutout. Heilbrun has been an attorney since 1985 --- a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City. He brings to his writing a passion of the law and has entered the crowded docket of the courtroom thriller genre with a strong leading man and a terrific story. He is certainly a match for most of the generation of lawyer/writers who have come before him. --- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum
Rating: 
Summary: The best debut legal thriller of the year
Review: Arch Gold, public defender in NYC, has a difficult assignment. He is used to defending the guilty but now is asked to defend a young black man accused of killing a white woman on a Manhattan street. As the evidence comes in Gold becomes convinced of his innocence. However, the prosecutor strongly believes otherwise and is seeking the death penalty. Gold must get at the truth and prove his client's innocence to save his life.
OFFER OF PROOF is the best debut legal thriller of the year. What makes this particular book so much better than the others is the stark simplicity of the tale. When things get a bit complex, Mr. Heilbrun has a talent for making the complex easy to read and allow the plot to flow with little or no interruption. This is not always easy to do. Characters are well portrayed and have no real flaws except for the somewhat stereotypic villain. Pacing is quite rapid consistent with the best of thrillers. One criticism is the author tried to get a bit too cute with the surprise ending which really came out of nowhere. However, this is a good example of a very worthy debut.
Rating:
Summary: This Proof Has Pudding!
Review: Heilbrun's debut novel was a welcome jolt of excitement for my literary doldrums. I've been in the mood for a courtroom thriller, but most of the recent books I'd picked up in the genre all looked hell-bent on boring me to pieces with overlong plots full of convoluted and contrived plotting narrated by a stoic, boring, and morally upstanding protagonist. Not this one! Arch Gold is a bit underdeveloped as the main character, but since Gold is narrating, who cares? The story zips along from chapter-to-chapter, and no space is wasted on boring filler material. If James Patterson were still writing good books, and tried his hand at a legal thriller, this might be the book he'd come up with. The story was interesting, the humor frequent, and my satisfaction complete.
Rating:
Summary: This Proof Has Pudding!
Review: Heilbrun's debut novel was a welcome jolt of excitement for my literary doldrums. I've been in the mood for a courtroom thriller, but most of the recent books I'd picked up in the genre all looked hell-bent on boring me to pieces with overlong plots full of convoluted and contrived plotting narrated by a stoic, boring, and morally upstanding protagonist. Not this one! Arch Gold is a bit underdeveloped as the main character, but since Gold is narrating, who cares? The story zips along from chapter-to-chapter, and no space is wasted on boring filler material. If James Patterson were still writing good books, and tried his hand at a legal thriller, this might be the book he'd come up with. The story was interesting, the humor frequent, and my satisfaction complete.
Rating:
Summary: burden it ain't
Review: hold it -- did they expect us to think this was scott turow's "burden of proof"?! no way is it half as good!!!! first chapters not bad, but then it's soooo by the numbers. male characters are better than the women at least, who are totally 1-dimensional, a mistress, a stripper, talk about cliches. character development way too weak, arch hasn't grown enough in interesting ways for me by the end ot the book, and i can't find a theme anywhere. all the dialogque sounds like i've heard it somewhere before. final verdict -- "offer of proof" is a turow wannabe that lacks imagination emotion & suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like it
Review: I picked up this book at the bookstore while still in hardcover and after reading the description thought it sounded good. So, I waited for the softcover. Good thing I did.
Although I like the basic premise of the Public Defender trying to figure out a murder in which he is suppose to be representing the killer, I just could not get into it.
I think the problem with this one is the writing style. Although the author writes in non-legalese, there is so much said for nothing. It feels as though the author just keeps writing and writing and never actually gets anywhere with his theme.
The action is fair, but I was so bored by the time it appeared that I just could not get into it.
I really, really wanted to like this book, but it just did not happen.
Rating:
Summary: This is up for an Edgar?
Review: I realize that this is a first novel, but I expected far more from a book that is being considered for this caliber of award. Clunky, over-explanatory writing and stilted dialogue are further hampered by one-dimensional, self-consciously "colorful" characters (everyone wants to be Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen these days). Heilbrun also wastes paragraph after paragraph using the main character as a mouthpiece to demonstate what an incredibly talented and knowledgeable lawyer he is. Add some really nasty stereotyping of Jews, Indians, and Asians (A Chinese doctor who doesn't know how to use pronouns and articles? How did he think he could get away with this? Shame on him and on his editor!) and the general effect is unappealing in the extreme. A real disappointment. As "The DaVinci Code" proved, knowing a lot of interesting facts about a subject doesn't mean that a person can write about it well.
Rating:
Summary: great fun/ good ending
Review: I thought this book was terrific. A nice page-turner, and the dry humor kept me chuckling. The hero, Arch Gold, has great texture. I disagree with the review above that said it is formulaic-- sure, it is a NYC whodunit and some of the characters might seem "familiar" at first, but then there are enough twists to make it original. I'll be happy to hear from Arch Gold again in Heilbrun's next book.
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