Rating: 
Summary: Trite and Soap Opera-esque
Review: A mildly-entertaining, cliche-ridden drugstore rag. Fine for an overseas flight but far from literature.
Rating: 
Summary: Great DC Thriller
Review: After 100+ previous reviews, I'm sure I can't add much that other people haven't already mentioned. I will say that, while this isn't literature in its finest form, The First Counsel is a top-notch thriller that I thought was very exciting to read. It was only after I finished the novel that I realized how entangled I was. Meltzer pulled off a good plot and great characterization. Being from Washington DC, I was able to visualize the settings in the novel and he was pretty accurate. And whether true or not, his insight into the inner workings of the White House was interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Boring!!
Review: Luckily I found this book at the library so at least it didn't cost me any money, just my time. This book started off good, the first 2 or 3 chapters were great, and then I don't know what happened. The only suspense in this entire book is in those first chapters. Don't bother with this one! The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 is because I did somehow manage to finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hack dimestore novel...
Review: This book had awkward dialogue, silly relationships, and a tired plot. I listened to this unabridged on books-on-tape and almost fell asleep at the wheel. But, then, I think Meltzer was "asleep at the wheel" when he wrote this. My kingdom for some good editing in this one. I enjoyed his first book, but this one is a total waste of time. I predict we'll see this in the bargain bin of the local dimestore.
Rating:
Summary: The fastest 500 pages I have read in a very long time
Review: Disappointing - literally incredible characters, even more incredible and fantastic plot. Legal thrillers are not my favourite genre having read too many Grisham novels, but I thought this would be a fresh angle to the style - I was so terribly wrong.Michael Garrick does not seem to have matured into an adult and shows no facets of the tough politically minded person that one would have expected him to be having worked so hard to get to work for the White House. I know inevitably I start to compare the characters in this book to the West Wing cast who on average stand out as strong and credible characters. I don't know if the intention of Mr. Meltzer was that throughout this whole book Michael lost his brain and his reasoning faculties shot down to his nether regions but I found that by the end of the book I did not even care what happened to him. The whole subplot about his misdemeanour was laughable. Trey is the only character that stood out for me - witty, sharp as a Samurai blade and loyal to a fault. By the end, the book felt like a pantomime - look behind you, this person is evil - oh no she isn't - oh yes she is. As for Pam - urghhh, yes so unoriginal she might as well have been a cardboard cut out of so many other characters you see in novel - let's move on. Nora was such a caricature I could not even muster any sympathy for her despite her 'troubles' - I had even more difficulty seeing what Michael saw in her. More disgusting was the fact that Michael overlooked every flaw in her character because he saw the 'girl' that was in her - that is supposedly the basis of a stable loving relationship - treating your girlfriend like a victim and excusing every folly because of her 'hard life'? Wow, if only the criminal justice system was that lenient, our jails would be empty. One final point - I disliked the weak roles it gave all the women - they were either conniving, weak or so strong as to obscure their femininity. This is essentially a man's book as are so many legal thrillers that hit the best seller list. I am willing to give Meltzer a second chance - he has to be worth something if so many people insist on reading his work. Grisham, no worries thus far, your pulp fiction still rules in this genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast read
Review: I agree with all the reviews. You could give it 1 or 5 stars. I think this is the fastest 500 pages of a book I've ever read, yet as one reviewer said, it needs one more chapter. Lots of fun though so I copped out and gave it 3. I think Brad has got great promise, so now I'm off to check out his earlier 2 books.
Rating: 
Summary: The First Counsel - Like a lawyer, it's long winded.
Review: My purpose for writing this review is not to tell the plot and what I thought about it. After this many reviews, that type of review might be better served on a chat board. My purpose is to let you know whether or not you might want to shell out your hard-earned cash for this book. (This was my first book that I read by Brad Meltzer, so take what I say with a grain of salt.) So, the question is, do you want to buy this book? If you are going on a long trip or have lots of hours to while away the time, sure, go for it. If your purpose is to read a good mystery--you might want to buy it. Meltzer does about as good a job as the average mystery writer these days. Or, you can buy two books with half the pages and enjoy two mysteries instead of one long one. I was interested in The First Counsel up to a point. But 509 pages is quite a long tale. I got tired of it about page 298. The story felt like the author put it down once in awhile and forgot where he was going with it. The ending did not make any sense to me at all. It felt like the author picked a character at the end of the book and said, "OK, you be the bad guy now." It didn't feel like a twist; it just felt wrong. There were too many clues that did not point to the actual killer. You could not fathom why the killer did what he did or figure out how he was privy to so much information. The book has the feel of a thriller movie script with too much repeat action. Like I said, though, if you like a long story, this will fit the bill. What I did not like: 1. The countless references to the human body and its functions (way to much of that). 2. There are way-too-many Germanisms: you know, hyphenated modifiers like: His not-very-cool dad wore his 1960s-hippy-poncho-thingy and his red-hot-and-firey-don't-you-know-there's-not-another-pair-like-it-in-the-whole-wide-world-anymore-count-your-lucky-stars checkered slacks. What I did like: The author told a lot of details about working at the White House complex. I actually liked all that. That is a world that I know nothing about. So as far as that goes, the story took me somewhere I had never been before. Good job on that aspect of the story. My recommendation: Go for it at least once. I might have wanted to read another of his books, but this one's pace wore me out. I'm too old at 40 for the heart attacks. If you like fast action, this is for you. If you want to make a movie out of it, please change the ending. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Wishing for More
Review: I'm sorry to report that I had to literally force myself to finish this novel. I would not have completed it, had I not had to read it for my book club meeting. This was my first novel by Mr. Meltzer and I'm not encouraged to read other works; however, fair is fair and I think he deserves another chance. I found the writing much too heavy with descriptions, the story plot too boring to hold one's attention, and for the most part it was down-right unbelieveable. The main character turns out to be a bit of a sap and can't make smart decisions. His only saving grace is that he's a sweetheart and loves his mentally challenged father. About the only good thing I can say about this book is I found it interesting trying to see if I could readily identify the places in the Washington, DC area that he describes. I hope the next book is a heck of a lot better than this one. Good luck, Mr. Meltzer.
Rating:
Summary: Meltzer is improving
Review: This is the second Meltzer book I have read. He is improving. The story is better. The dialog is improved. It was not the chore to finish that "The Tenth Justice" was. I did want to find out how the story ended. However, parts seemed to repeat from "The Tenth Justice". Meltzer needs to realize that he has done the trust issue before. Readers don't want the same suspense in every book; although, he does improve on it in "The First Counsel". I recommend it as a light- not serious- read. I would not recommend buying the book. See if the library has it. Maybe Meltzer's next book will be better. He does have talent in the rough. He needs to rewrite and edit more.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Wow, what an excellant book. I'm a junior in High School. And I am very interested in Law after I graduate. So it was really interesting seeing a book that would talk about the WHite House adn the First Family as well as a mystery and love story. All combined would be aboslutely perfect. I got my teacher to let me read it for extra credit if I explained what it was about after I was done reading it. So I am very excited to finish it up! I would encourage anyone who has the same reading interests as me to go out and read this book! It's a very mind-boggling book and if you like books that you can't put down, this is the perfect book for you! Happy reading!!!!
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