Hostile Witness

By: Rebecca Forster

Some secrets aren't uncovered. They are unleashed...

Josie Baylor-Bates returns to the practice of criminal defense when her friend's sixteen-year-old daughter, Hannah, is arrested for the brutal slaying of her step-grandfather-a California Supreme Court justice. Although all evidence points to Hannah's guilt, her family's disturbing relations may play a more significant role than anyone could guess. As Josie unravels a circle of secrets, she discovers a shocking truth that could save her client-or destroy them all..

Another Amazon free find, and another really good book. Josie Baylor-Bates is a lawyer with a troubled past that comes back to haunt her. After getting a client off of a murder charge, the client kills again, proving their guilt and proving Josie's abilities. It's a national story that haunts her for years. When an old college roommate shows up at her door needing legal help, Josie has no idea that Pandora's box is about to be opened with her agreement to serve as counsel. Josie finds herself in the midst of more controversy than she ever imagined and, perhaps most troubling, she isn't sure of her client's innocence.

I admit it: I used to watch Matlock as a kid. With the recent passing of Andy Griffith, this book has taken on a whole new level for me. The story is compelling, and it's very well written, but the nostalgia of legal thrillers is what really made this book great in my eyes.  Forster has either done her research well, or she is really good at faking it because the courtroom scenes had a feel of realism. I could feel Josie's passion in her cross examination and I could her her fist hitting the bar as she made her arguing points.
There was more coarse language than I felt appropriate. Yes, I realize that is how most people speak in today's society, but I don't see the need to move the story along. To me, crude language detracts from the telling. I am more enamored with an author who can tell a tale and bring across passion without resorting to colorful language.
Any sex scenes involved were not the focus, nor was an inordinate amount of space devoted to them, which is another mark of a quality writer. You don't need sex to sell a story, and Forester uses just enough to add color to the relationships.
The writing was exquisite, and the story itself fantastic. I had it figured out at one point, then Forster made me question everything I thought I knew. In the end, - well, I'll leave that up to you to find out.

I found Hostile Witness to be a very well written effort, and it makes me want to find more of her work. I highly recommend Hostile Witness if you enjoy legal thrillers, or just plain old good writing.

The Third Murderer

By: Jack Flanagan

A professor's murder at a small New England college and a forgotten manuscript lead recently retired school teacher, Richard MacKenzie, and his wife, Morgana, through a labyrinth of secrets, deceptions, and murder. Will revelations about Morgana's past hinder the ongoing investigation about the professor's death, and damage her marriage? Will Richard be able to save his brother's job? Will the killer be found before he strikes again? Everything depends on Richard. Who said retirement is like a walk in the park?

Another Amazon Kindle find for me, and another really good book. Flanagan creates an intricately woven tale of murder, deception, and innocence in The Third Murderer. Richard MacKenzie is trying to enjoy retirement when news of a death at his alma mater requires his presence as the deceased is a man that his wife, Morgana, dated many years ago. After the funeral, the local Sheriff, who also happens to be Richard's younger brother asks Richard to help him out because the death was ruled a murder, and the newly elected Sheriff has no idea what he is doing. Richard decides to help Kyle out and he and Morgana find out more than they wanted to know - when another murder takes place. This time the victim is a dearly loved professor. Can Richard and Morgana sort through their emotions to find the killer?

Flanagan creates a well thought out story with characters that are instantly recognizable and identifiable. I immediately liked the character of Richard, and I identified with his relationship with his wife.  As the story progressed, I found myself liking certain people more and other characters less. I got wrapped up in the story and I didn't want to put it down at all.

The Third Murderer is in first person so it reads like a commentary, and I must say, Richard is quite funny.  Since Richard and Morgana are married, there is some sexual material, but it is done with a class and panache such as I have rarely seen.

I am quite taken with this book. I will be looking for more of Flanagan's work, and I suggest you look for him as well. It will be well worth your time.

Liquid Lies

By: Lois Lavrisa

A Compelling Story of Lies and Deadly Consequences
One dead body.
One girl with a deadly secret.
Body count rising.
Can she find the killer before she’s the next target?

Determination.  Determination can be a positive thing. It can drive people to excel at their chosen vocation, it can create heroes out of ordinary people, and it can even help people develop healthy lifestyles that cause them to shed unwanted pounds. However, there is a bad side to determination.  That negative can cause division within families if one sibling is determined to be 'right' regardless of the familial cost. Negative determination can cause companies to go bankrupt due to the CEO refusing to admit a wrong decision.  And finally, negative determination can drive a reader to endure a horribly written book because "I'm going to finish it, at all costs!"
Sometimes it's better to just cut bait than force yourself to be subjected to bad writing. Do yourself a favor, don't read Liquid Lies by Lois Lavrisa. It's that bad.

Liquid Lies follows the story of one Cecelia Coe (CiCi for short) as she muddles through her life on virtual autopilot - haunted by the ghosts of a bad decision.  Without warning, her past catches up to her and she is forced to make a split second decision. The consequences of her choice have unexpected repercussions and she unwittingly finds herself caught in a web of lies that began four years prior.  Can she catch a killer before it's too late?

There, you're welcome. That was infinitely more interesting and well written than the entirety of Liquid Lies.  Lavrisa has successfully defined the word "contrived", but it took her about a hundred thousands words to do it.   The book starts out intriguing and the first few sentences gave me hope that there might be something good once I got past the terrible morass of the rest of chapter one, but that respite never came.
The story itself is interesting: a girl and her best friend, out on the best friend's 18th birthday, find themselves in a bad situation. In the process of defending themselves from assault, a death takes place, and that changes their lives.  The best friend moves to Europe, and CiCi tries to get on with her life while keeping the secret. Fast forward four years and everything comes crashing down when the best friend comes back to town, and with her comes a flood of unwanted memories and a blackmailer demanding money.  This was the point that I figured out what was going to happen and who it was that made it happen - and that was in chapter three.
The dialogue was forced, the plot was pushed, and Lavrisa teetered on the edge of a deus ex machina to finish the tale. I cannot count how many times I exclaimed, out loud (resulting in quizzical looks from my co-workers), "oh, come on!" How can one not find themselves incredulous when they are forced to read lines such as:
"I sucked at finding justice for {character name}. If {suspect name} was telling the truth, then I had to find another suspect." (Ya' think?
"I felt so low that I could walk under a pregnant ant." (That's pretty low.)
"I heard a slap or clap.  Maybe, like all guys, they probably high fived each other." (I loved this one because, well, stereotypes are always a good thing, right?)
"My reasoning had some big leaps of faith and I stretched some logic and facts. But somehow I knew I was onto something big." (I'm sure that if things happen in the exactly perfect way, I can figure this whole thing out.)
""Listen, I don't want you to worry.  I've got the mayor on my side. No one is going to kill anyone, anymore. Got that?""(Got it! I think. . .)
""They'll hurt anyone who gets in their way. It's like they're obsessed. People don't mean anything to them. Its like people are dispensable pawns on their way to get obtain power." (This one obviously eluded the editor. Perhaps this part came at a bathroom break when they had their Kindle read it to them.)
And now for my favorite one:
"The mayor must be under tremendous pressure and might not be thinking clearly at this point. He is so not going to be governor." (This so doesn't need any explanation or, like, anything attached to it. It so speaks for, like, itself.)

The spelling and grammar errors were rampant throughout Liquid Lies. It was like the editor fell asleep, and forgot where they left off.  More than one time, I had to check and double check that my e-reader wasn't missing something. Thoughts were incomplete and sentences simply didn't make sense.

All in all, I can't believe I actually made it through. It's something I will try not to ever do again.  I've had such good luck with free books from Amazon, I guess it was only a matter of time before I found a dud or two.  I think part of the problem was that I had just finished a really good book and when I started the next one, it was really bad. So bad, in fact, that I stopped after chapter three. I didn't want this one to be another book I started and didn't finish, so I trudged ahead, ignoring my instincts.  Next time, I will listen to my gut and run. . . Screaming.