Rating: 
Summary: "Wild" is the right word for it!!
Review: It has seemed like a long time since Phillip Margolin wrote his last novel and when you like this writer as much as I do, two years IS a long time. But,the wait has been worth it. Others here have detailed the nuance of the story and the characters therein and they have done it quite well. If you like fast paced action, if you like a good mystery, if you like grown up writing, if you are looking for a real page turner, look no further. This one is for you. And,if it is another two years before we hear from this author again, I won't complain. He clearly waits until he has something he can be proud to put his name on, unlike some of the other prolific and popular writers we have seen of late.
Rating: 
Summary: A Page Turner but Where are the red herrings?
Review: This latest work of Philip Margolin is as good as any he has previously turned out. It is difficult to put down, once you get started. For the most part, I loved the various character development and the way the plot moved along. Unfortunately, however, it was too easy to pick out the villain early in the book. I don't know whether it was because I have read so many of this genre and can automatically pick out the bad guy, or whether he just did not do enough to get you thinking maybe it is someone else. I would still recommend this work as one of the ten best crime novels for 2000, and suggest it as a must read. I'm lokking forward to a new novel from Margolin in 2001 after this work.
Rating:
Summary: Two Heads Chopped Off
Review: It took me the WHOLE book to get it!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not "Gone But Not Forgotten" or even "After Dark"
Review: Phillip Margolin used to be one of those very few authors whose latest book I would buy sight unseen. I knew I would enjoy it. Hmm, now I guess, I'll have to wait for customer reviews of his next before I get a copy for myself. If I had, I wouldn't have purchased this one. This book definitely does not have the "page-turnability" of his past efforts. The biggest dissapointment comes from the plotting. Veteren thriller readers, and I suspect some who are not quite veterens, will figure out "whodunit" as soon as that character is introduced. It is very obvious. Also the characters are flat, not as well developed as in previous books.
Rating:
Summary: "REVENGE" IS CONSIDERED "WILD JUSTICE"
Review: This book is so fast-paced and sensational; just what a thriller should be. Unfortunately, it does something a thriller NEVER should do -- give away the killer in the first 1/3 of the book. With one sentence, Phillip Margolin handed me the ending of this book and that's why it only warrants four stars from me instead of five. One thing that Margolin does do is explain right away what the title of the book means in a quote by Francis Bacon, "Revenge is a kind of wild justice." And, therein lies the essence of this book -- REVENGE. Phillip Margolin gives us a cast of characters each one more despicable than the next. Vincent Cardoni is a brilliant surgeon; he's also an abrasive and arrogant cocaine addict. Justine Castle is his beautiful soon-to-be ex-wife; also a surgeon with a dubious past. Clifford Grant is another surgeon who also has a side business -- he sells donor organs on the black market but, unfortunately, his donors didn't agree to give him their organs. All three of these doctors work for the famed St. Francis Hospital in Portland, Oregon. The first piece of advice that Margolin should be giving people is to STEER CLEAR OF THIS HOSPITAL. When an isolated cabin in the woods is searched as a result of an anonymous tip, a gruesome plot unfolds taking the reader on a roller coaster ride. Vincent Cardoni is arrested and hires Frank Jaffe, a renowned criminal attorney and his daughter, Amanda, who is just starting out in her father's firm. All of the evidence points to Cardoni and, even if he isn't guilty, everyone abhors him so much that he might just as well be guilty. The plot thickens and Cardoni claims he is being set up. When Cardoni disappears and the crimes suddenly begin again in his absence, the real story starts. Having read Margolin's bestseller, Gone But Not Forgotten, many years ago, it's hard not to want the same thrill each time you read a book by this author. I'm sure it must be harder for Margolin to live up to these expectations. While Wild Justice is certainly not on a par with that book, it has enough plot twists and turns to satisfy most readers of this genre. Like I mentioned before, if only he hadn't made it so easy to figure out, it would have been a much better read.
Rating:
Summary: surgical gore
Review: short chaptered,breathless pacing for an unfortunately proven bestseller theme:the extremes of human depravity.in this case, serial dismemberment for torture research and black market organ transplants.psychopaths are all too prevalent and convenient in popular fiction.a vapid thriller.
Rating:
Summary: It kept the pages flying...
Review: I have been a fan of Phillip Margolin ever since I picked up a copy of 'Gone, But Not Forgotten' and although in MY opinion his books have been getting less and less entertaining, I am happy to say that 'Wild Justice' seems to see Margolin back on the track of a good legal thriller. In his last two books (The Undertakers Widow & The Burning Man) the titles alone gave away WHO DID IT. I was VERY disappointed in that. Also, they just didn't have the pacing of 'The Last Innocent Man', 'Gone, But Not Forgotten' & 'After Dark' all three EXCELLENT books. Now add this one to that list. (Extremely)Fast plotting, scene changes faster than you can take a breath and in general a fantastic whodunnit. Although I figured out the bad guy a little more than half-way through, I wasn't 100% sure, which is always a great sign to me that the author has got you wondering whether or not the obvious is or isn't the one. I still feel that 'Gone, But Not Forgotten' is by far Margolin's best work to date, and one of THE best thrillers written in the past decade easy, 'Wild Justice' IS a great read and worth the price of admission. Also, if you are a fan of legal thrillers do yourself a favor and get to know Margolin, 'After Dark' and 'The Last Innocent Man' are among my all-time favorite courtroom thrillers. 'After Dark' kept me guessing all the way through and it STILL surprised me at the end--and if you are like me, NOTHING is better than a good surprise at the end of a fantastic book.
Rating:
Summary: Talk About Gruesome!!
Review: This was one heck of a fast paced book. I read it in 2 days and enjoyed it from beginning to end. It was really gruesome, but the twist and turns keep you going because you have to know who did it. And the person I was suspicious of was the killer. If you are deterred by violent content and gory stuff, do not read. But any thrill reader will enjoy. This book was hard to put down. Bring on the next novel Mr Margolin.
Rating:
Summary: So just what should a thriller do for you?
Review: A thriller should entertain you and keep you guessing and if you guess right, keep you interested enough to keep reading. That what this book does. I figured out the real killer about 1/3 of the way through and kept reading to see how long it would take everyone else to catch on. Amanda's character I found forced. P.M. actually had to come right out and say that "She didn't feel incomplete without a man. It was more a question of companionship." That shows me that he has no idea of an independent woman's motives, actions or thoughts. So, he describes what she should be like in a few short sentences and thinks that should be enough. I would have liked to know more about the killer's development. It's not enough to throw in an abusive drunk for a father. Plenty of people have to go through that and they don't all turn into psychos. All in all, not bad, better than a few of his I've read. Good pacing, reasonable dialogue, detailed but not excruciatingly so and interesting (though obvious) red herrings.
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS PHILLIP MARGOLIN???
Review: I was very surprised at this book, not because of the suspense, but because the past books by Margolin have been excellent and this one seems like an imposter. The characters were poorly developed and somewhat unrealistic, the murderer was easy to pick out early on, the suspect was obviously not the one, and the whole book was a great disappointment.
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