Reviewer: Connie Payne
Title: Kill All The Lawyers - 3rd in the Solomon vs. Lord series
Author: Paul Levine
Publisher: Bantam Books
ISBN: 0-4402-4275-4
Release Date: September 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Mystery/Thriller
Year/Setting: Present Day - Miami area
Overall rating: 3.0 - 5.0 (see below)
Sexual Content Rating: None (alluded to)
Language (Profanity) Content Rating: Moderate +
Violent Content Rating: Moderate +
Paul's Website:
www.paul-levine.com
Steve Solomon is, to put it mildly, a cut corners type of lawyer. His first clue that he may have cut one corner too sharp and too tight is finding a marlin stuck in the peephole of his door. Another is a bit more obvious. A local psychiatrist and former client, Dr. Bill Kreeger, who also has a radio talk show, blasts him over the airwaves calling him names, challenging him and his ethics, and accuses Steve of botching his case.
In comes the baiting, both on air and off. It appears the Dr. wants to reel Steve in hook line and sinker and make him pay for his trial gone bad. Though Steve tries to keep one step ahead of the Dr., who has some scary theories on human behavior, he often finds himself three steps behind and caught in Kreeger’s traps, one after another.
The ramifications of these traps are each progressively more serious than the last, yet Steve finds himself alone in his thinking that the psycho Dr. needs to be stopped. No one but him can see the dangerous game Kreeger is playing in order to wipe out Steve’s family. His father’s certainly no help. Not much anyway. Victoria Lord, his law partner and lover, is ticked with him over more than just his ethics, or lack thereof. His sister, Janice, newly out of jail, a defector to Kreeger’s side and believes and practices all the garbage he spouts, is hopeful to regain custody of her son, Bobby, from Steve. Not only all of that, but there’s extended family issues to deal with.
Steve knows if he doesn’t stop Kreeger his family will be shattered beyond repair and other lives will be destroyed as well. His efforts, however, may just end up being his last.
Reading Kill All The Lawyers is like...well, watching a train wreck. You know you should look away but can’t.
Good thing or bad?
On the one hand there’s some frank talk about youth sex and fairly graphic language and talk. Dr. Kreeger’s point of view and tastes are sick and twisted. All things found in every day life, which some may not want to read about.
On the other hand, Paul Levine uses those things in a blatant yet subtle way to build the suspense and plot to a crescendo. He also injects the quirkiness of some characters and mixes it with verbal sparring and a here’s mud in your eye attitude. And he doesn’t leave it at that, either. He gives us an ending that may come as a surprise to some.
Kill All The Lawyers is a well thought out, well written book. The story is shrewd, and at times both thought provoking and touching. It’s also somewhat irreverent, and a bit off the wall.
I still can’t figure out, though, if I loved it, merely liked it, or didn’t like it, but I’ll tell you this...I couldn’t put it down. Paul definitely caught my attention.
Connie
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Click here and let Connie know.
Top
Reviews
Featured Reviews
Archived Reviews