Rating: 
Summary: A Riveting Story
Review: From the first sentence of this story to the last word of the fifth CD, narrator Sweeney pulls us through the twists and turns of Meltzer's excellent story of intrigue and murder in our nation's capital. Sweeney's fast paced delivery of the story kept us on the edge of our seats throughout the whole tale, and made the characters life-like.My husband and I have listened to dozens of audio books over the past several months, and The First Counsel is by far the best story and narration we've heard so far. We eagerly await the next Meltzer/Sweeney combination.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads Like It's Written by a 15-yr. Old
Review: I wasn't crazy about his last book, either. But the author has some good story ideas, so I figured I'd try him one more time. Mistake. He writes as if he is 15 yrs. old. No sophistication whatsoever in his writing style or --the bigger sin--in his characters. I find it hard to imagine any adult in the situations he writes about or acting/reacting as he portrays them. The story idea was good enough to keep me reading the entire book, but that's all I can say for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not too much
Review: I was disappointed with the unlikely protagonists Mike and Nora! First of all the premise that a First Daughter would be that flakey without exposure is too far a stretch of imagination. And to think that a White House Lawyer or for that matter anyone would allow himself to be placed into that situation is also somewhat unbelievable. Also the ending was more of a plop than fizzle. I found myself simply hoping the author would finish the book than looking forward to the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Good idea, but poor execution
Review: I always enjoy trying books by new authors. It's great to get "in" on someone who will develop someday into a great author. Unfortunately, I don't think this book will do much for Brad Meltzer's quest for "great writer" staus. I was sucked in by the full-page ad in the NY Times Book Review. The basic premise is good - a White House insider dating the President's daughter and getting mixed up in a murder mystery. But the execution of this idea was not done well. The characters were hollow. Try as I might, I found I could not empathize with the protagonist, for starters. His character was, well . . .hollow, as were many of the other characters in the book. The only character who showed promise to me was Carolyn, and for obvious reasons, she couldn't be developed further. The plot was lame. It's hard to suspend disbelief when you find yourself constantly saying: "Aw, Come on, they couldn't pull that in the White House, and get away with it." One last thing. It wasn't bad enough that the author chose to write in the first person, which limits the action to what the protagonist sees and does, but why in the world did he choose to write in the present tense as well? It is very hard to read a novel written this way. Great writers, I suppose, can get away with this, but as I already mentioned, I think Brad Meltzer has a way to go before approaching that status.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Thriller
Review: Meltzer has returned to the form that made his first book, The Tenth Justice so good. I am suprised at the number of poor reviews it has received here. It has lots of "inside" information about the White House and its inner workings that are very interesting. The plot is fast paced with plenty of twists. The characters are interesting and complex, and Meltzer really keeps you guessing as to who the bad guy will turn out to be. Overall it was a great book that kept me interested until the end.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: I was so happy to see the Meltzer was coming out with a third book. I was even more pleased when it was better than the first two! Keep writing Brad, I will keep reading!!
Rating:
Summary: Three's not a charm for Meltzer
Review: Interesting premise, but no believable connection between the main characters. I did not care for the Prez's daughter or Meltzer's character development of her. The Tenth Justice and Dead Even were MUCH better.
Rating:
Summary: Behind the red carpet
Review: Meltzer has the ability to captivate his audience from the beginning with his conversational tone and laid back voice. In this novel, he takes us into the White House and opens the box of scandals. Garrick is an attorney, wet behind the ears, and a little naive'. He begins dating the first daughter and his social status changes. From here the ball rolls fast with adventure, betrayal, and the eyes of the Secret Service on Garrick. This is a novel you can read without effort. Anyone can relate to his characters and he develops a fast moving plot with lots of action. I think hist first 2 novels were better and written with more characterization but this novel holds its own.
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: This book put me to sleep 3 nights running and I doubt I will finish it. Up to page 200, the plot is unbelievable, the dialogue juvenile, and the book is just plain bad. I can't believe that this book is on the best seller list. Who reads this stuff?
Rating:
Summary: I expected more from Meltzer
Review: I agree with the reviewer who said that this book was wrapped up in the end too loosely. The "answer/killer" that we're all trying to guess at comes out of left field. And the characterizations aren't good. There are some characters I would like to get to know better. There are some that I couldn't believe existed. But I think the worst part of it all, is that I stopped cheering for the hero. I didn't think he deserved to survive the book.
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