: Mistress of Justice
Author: Jeffery Deaver
A disappointing early Deaver book, this is about a female jazz pianist who works as a paralegal at a law firm and ends up becoming an amateur sleuth when a senior attorney brings her under his wing to find him a stolen legal document. Unfortunately, the web of complicated potential criminals is far too large and there are way too many sub-plots going on. The law firm is in political upheaval as half the board wants to merge with another firm while half oppose it, so there are all kinds of shenanigans going on as different powerful lawyers try to sabotage or encourage the merger. Meanwhile we’ve got mysterious suicides and potential murder attempts. This goes on for way too many pages while we haven’t a clue what’s going on. Finally, just in time, the stolen legal document is found, the bad guy caught, and everything seems concluded… but the book just keeps on going. After several dreary chapters when nothing happens, the girl finally figures out the obvious — that a suicide was really a murder, and we’re back to our huge suspect pool. The final conclusion, with the typical Deaver twist, is not outrageous or even unlikely, but it is disappointing and feels forced and artificial. It’s like Deaver’s trying too hard. I’d recommend the condensed version of the book if you feel you must.
Topic: [/book] |
