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Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing entry in the series.
Review: Attorney Nina Reilly returns to where she began her career, Carmel Valley, but a warm welcome she does not receive, instead she receives news that Wish, the son of her former assistant Sandy, has been arrested.A series of suspicious fires have raged through the valley, and the latest fire has left a young man dead and Wish as the primary suspect. Nina knows Wish is not an arsonist, or a killer, but a few questions bother her... why was Wish in the forest, why did his friend end up dead, and why is there a witness saying they saw Wish? As the answers to these questions begin to surface, Nina finds a dark conspiracy running through the peaceful valley, and a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her. 'Presumption Of Death' is not the best entry in the Nina Reilly series, it plods along, rather slowly, telling the tale of a town covered in secrets, but where the novel should have been interesting, it was confusing, and boring with too many characters, and the overlapping storylines of Nina's relationship, and Native American heritage. I was surprised at how disappointing this novel was because bestselling author Perri O'Shaughnessy (the pen name for two sisters) has previously written great novels in this thrilling series. While not overly terrible, 'Presumption Of Death' is not that good, and does not contain the page-turning elements, or the interesting plot-line of the earlier novels. Nick Gonnella
Rating: 
Summary: ?????????
Review: First off I HAVENT EVEN FINISHED THIS BOOK YET!!! SO what I am doing is warning everyone to stay away from this book. I am now on Chapter 10 and finding this book very very hard to keep reading. The writing seems to jump from subject to subject to often and usually has nothing to do with what is going on. Right now Im deciding whether or not I want to make another attempt to read this book.... I have had this problem before, but by Chapter 10 the usually starts to pick up, but not this one. Consider this a Warning!
Rating:
Summary: Read the Reviews - FIRST
Review: I again made the mistake of buying a book without first reading the CUSTOMER'S Reviews (don't pay too much attention to the Editor's Reviews) - I waste a lot of money that way because I generally pick the books up at the grocery check-out because I NEED something to read. I THEN purposely don't read the reviews until I've either finished the book or in this case TRY to get into it. By and large the people who write the reviews like the same things I like. Anyway - this book was tiring - I too agree with the reviewer who mentioned the relationship between Paul and Nina - and Nina's inflexibility. There are flaws in every relationship because there are flaws in every human being. IF there was no compromise - there would be NO relationships. As to the character Wish - I "wish" he'd go away. Never did get very far into the book - so don't know how it ended. I want my $7.99 back!
Rating: 
Summary: This Reader Loved It
Review: I am so surprised to read the negative reviews of this book, because to my mind, the O'Shaugnessy sisters, having fallen into quite a slump, thoroughly redeemed themselveds with "Presumption of Death." I found Nina Reilly's new venue (or old, depending on how much one has followed this character through the series) and new circumstances to be fascinating--I felt that a whole new burst of life had been injected into the series. Not only did I not find it boring, I zipped through the book in record time. Other reviewers have described the plot in detail...ominous forest fires, obviously the result of arson, are decimating the forests around the Carmel area--and young Wish Whitefeather, whom we have followed through all the books and brought to young adulthood, is arrested for setting the fires, with one count of murder to boot. It is up to Nina, who wanted nothing more than to take a hiatus from her career and explore her personal relationship with her lover and PI partner Paul, to take the case and save Wish from almost certain conviction. As Paul and Nina struggle to find a center to their relationship and to solve the increasingly thorny mystery of who really set the fires and why, a whole subcast of characters is explored. The end was sufficient enough for this reviewer to be on tenterhooks for the next book. I know this is not a popular point of view among other reviewers, and again, I don't know why. My reaction to this book was wholly positive, and I would definitely urge those who follow the series to read it. For those who have not been Nina Reilly fans in the past, my view is that this will turn the tide. Enough said!
Rating: 
Summary: "A new direction"
Review: I enjoy watching the characters in books of this genre take new directions, it keeps readers on their toes. The characters in 'Presumption of Death,' by Perri O' Shaughnessy are well-thoughout and interesting and the plot had me reading the story to the final page with much eagerness. I find that to be a very appealing combination. John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures
California
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: I have been a huge fan of this series, so I bought the hardcover edition of this book with great confindence. All I can say is it is by far the worst in the series. It was so boring that it took me several weeks to finish it and it was a chore. I don't know what happened, but I am surprised because usually the plot is so great in these books. I usually adore Nina, but for some reason found myself being very irked by her. The mystery was idiotic and I found myself not caring about the outcome. The only redeeming part was the chapter about the "party" because it was so crazy. Keeping all the families straight in my mind was hard though because I did not care enough to put any real effort into it. I think one of the biggest drawbacks in this series is the fact that all of the interesting characters have died out. I hope the next book is better and we can get back to the real Nina.
Rating:
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: I placed a preorder for this book as I have very much enjoyed all the previous ones by these authors. However this seemed completely different - turgid, boring. I found the characters too confusing, there waas little mystery and indeed little legal drama - many pages of complex subplot and descriptions of poison oak forest. Nina and Paul now both seem irritating and indeed irritated with each other. I didn't really complete it - got completely lost and baffled in the party scene and then skipped to the short courtroom sessions. I doubt if I will buy their next one - not without finding out if it is back on track.
Rating:
Summary: SOLID DELIVERY OF A CONTEMPORARY THRILLER
Review: Listeners have come to expect exemplary readings from voice performer Laural Merlington and she delivers again with "Presumption of Death," the ninth in the Nina Reilly series by the sister duo who write under the pen name of Perri O'SHAUGHNESSY. After battling for some of Lake Tahoe's most challenging clients attorney Nina Reilly deserves a breather. But, we don't always get what we deserve, do we? Nina is found in Carmel Valley with her steadfast boyfriend, Paul van Wagoner. He wants to tie the knot - she's not sure she's ready. Any thoughts of matrimony are put on hold when arson rears its deadly head. There have been two suspicious fires to date. A third inferno results in loss of life. Regrettably, the suspect earmarked by the police is Wish, the son of Nina's former assistant. Not only that but the fatality was Wish's good friend, an auto mechanic who resented the changes taking place in his hometown. As Nina and Paul begin their investigation it's not too long before they learn that those fires aren't the only burning issues in this picturesque community. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: a good read, but not the best in the "Nina Reilly" series
Review: Many things about this book, I liked. Nina is one of the more interesting female protagonists in the legal thriller arena, with a good cast of supporting characters in teenage son Bob, P.I./love interest Paul, Legal Secretary/Native-American activist Sandy Whitefeather, etc. (too bad the the evil lawyer Jeff Reisner is gone by now . . . .) I liked the undercurrents of the complex relationships of the six neighbors in this book, who live near where a fire occurs that provides the story's setting. And Nina's feelings of restlessness and transition after leaving Lake Tahoe come across as authentic. But I had a hard time with the ultimate resolution of the crime in this one. Without giving away the ending, the "perp" struck me as a bit implausible, as I feel the criminal plot would have unraveled on it's own much earlier in the story, the way the author has set it up (I can't say more without giving away the ending). Overall, an entertaining & well-written book; not the best in the series, but not the worst either.
Rating:
Summary: a good read, but not the best in the "Nina Reilly" series
Review: Many things about this book, I liked. Nina is one of the more interesting female protagonists in the legal thriller arena, with a good cast of supporting characters in teenage son Bob, P.I./love interest Paul, Legal Secretary/Native-American activist Sandy Whitefeather, etc. (too bad the the evil lawyer Jeff Reisner is gone by now . . . .) I liked the undercurrents of the complex relationships of the six neighbors in this book, who live near where a fire occurs that provides the story's setting. And Nina's feelings of restlessness and transition after leaving Lake Tahoe come across as authentic. But I had a hard time with the ultimate resolution of the crime in this one. Without giving away the ending, the "perp" struck me as a bit implausible, as I feel the criminal plot would have unraveled on it's own much earlier in the story, the way the author has set it up (I can't say more without giving away the ending). Overall, an entertaining & well-written book; not the best in the series, but not the worst either.
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