Rating: 
Summary: Hard to put this book down
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I thought the story line was fast moving and interesting. The characters were written boldly. Very surprised by some of the reviews here, but everyone's interests are different. If one likes John Grisham's style, I believe they will truly like Brad Metzler's style. I found his writing easier to get into the story than Grisham. I am a huge fan of John Grisham, so this book was a pleasant surprise.
Rating: 
Summary: Painfully shallow and immature
Review: More than anything, "The Tenth Justice" reminds me of the adventures of Nancy Drew, which I used to read avidly but which I outgrew well before I reached the age of the author of this book. The intrepid hero/heroine, the group of "chums" who set about solving the mystery, their obstinate refusal to let the authorities handle it, the bad guy who seems to have nothing better to do with his time than devote it to tormenting them.... Like poor old Nancy, who was always getting conked on the head, Ben (the hero of "The Tenth Justice") gets roughed up and even shot (don't worry, it's only a flesh wound). Unlike the Nancy Drew books, though, this book is so full of holes in plot, logic, and credibility that you could use it to strain spaghetti. It's hard to believe that an editor at a big-name publishing house could have gone through this manuscript without fixing the many lines of unbelievable dialogue, the awkward transitions, the heavy-handed dropping of hints and false clues that eventually leave the reader thinking "Who cares?," not to mention the frequent occasions when legal jargon creeps into the mouths of the nonlawyer characters. A good editor should also have questioned this book's portrayal of what it's really like on the inside of the Supreme Court: do judicial clerks REALLY work in complete isolation and have complete privacy and autonomy as to their work schedules? Still, good editing wouldn't have solved this book's basic problem, which is that it is painfully shallow and immature. It reeks of wishful thinking on the part of an author who hasn't yet outgrown his juvenile ideas about what constitutes an exciting and glamorous life, and hasn't yet learned the difference between real life and Nancy Drew.
Rating: 
Summary: A pretty good book
Review: I thought the book had an interesting premise and was fairly well-executed. While it definitely kept me turning the pages, I did notice right from the beginning that the writing was really not on as high a level that I expect from a book that's actually found a publisher. The words, the tone, etc., really didn't flow as I would expect--however, this is a first attempt, so I cut him some slack there. Like I said, however, I was engrossed. Furthermore, and I don't know if this is good or bad, my boyfriend liked it. He has very specific reading taste: has to hook you quickly and can't be bogged down in a lot of detail. Has to keep moving, and some action scenes are good. (He's not a big reader.)
Rating: 
Summary: I'm giving up
Review: I'm on page 87 of this book, and I simply can't press on any further...back to the library for this baby!
Brad Meltzer came up with a nifty concept for his literary debut, but needs to work on getting the reader hooked into the story much earlier than he does in _The Tenth Justice_.
Maybe I'll wait a year and check it out again to see if I was overly harsh on this book. But at this point, I have to confess that I'm gratified that I didn't lay down any money for this tome. It seems like Meltzer was striving a bit too hard to strike a "too hip for the room" Gen-X wiseass pose.
I would strongly recommend that Meltzer (if he has not already done so) read Don Winslow's _The Death and Life of Bobby Z_. The dialogue practically dances off the page. The one-liners are bristling with bad attitude, but they feel fluid and relaxed. Meltzer's prose, on the other hand, smacks of "first-time author trying a bit too hard to be clever" syndrome.
Believe me, as a life-long voracious reader and devotee of the legal thriller, I welcome every shining new talent that the literary agents can get their hands on. Here's hoping that Meltzer can make a much better impression the second time around.
Denise Pryor
Rating:
Summary: Decent plot concept- immature characters
Review: While the plot of this book shows some promise, the infantile way that the young characters interact is annoying. These 20 somethings seem more concerned about the reaction of their high school buddies and their mothers than the direction of their lives. I've asked a younger friend to read this book to see if people really have relationships like the ones depicted in this book
Rating:
Summary: My advice: Wait for his next book. Hopefully it'll be better
Review: I want to support new novelists. I live in Washington, D.C. and particularly love to read about my adopted and beloved city. I eagerly bought this highly praised first effort and settled down to be amused and dazzled. Instead, I was bored and horrified. The writing is embarrassingly poor. The dialogue is painful. The characters are unbelievable. I couldn't get past the first few chapters and skipped to the end just to learn what happened -- and found out, after reading it, that I didn't care. What WAS good about the book was the novelty of the plotline -- young Supreme Court clerk gets bamboozled and his life goes quickly south. It was new, it was different, and for that, we should be thankful
Rating:
Summary: Fun, witty, clever - can't wait for the next Meltzer hit!
Review: A thrilling Grisham-esque summer novel - NO DOUBT Meltzer has talent and wit - He will be around a long time. I'm already picturing John Cusack in the lead role. A DEFINITTE READ! We can't wait for the book tour so we can meet our newest favorite author
Rating:
Summary: This is really painful. I mean, torturous.
Review: Echoing many remarks below, POOR, REALLY POOR, PITIFUL DIALOGUE. Where is the editor-type, anyway? 'Da boys are meeting to review law school yearbooks to look for the villain's picture (because they have a hunch he went to law school, and a further hunch, because he's "really smart," that he went to one of the top five law schools), when their pizza arrives. According to Meltzer, 'da boys "turned their attention to the pizza." I laughed so hard I almost spat up mine.
If getting a book out is this easy, maybe I should start over, go to law school again, and write a novel rather than take the bar. Yeah, that's the ticket.
I found myself finishing this book only because I felt guilty about wasting 25 bucks on it.
Want real legal suspense? Read _A Civil Action_ by Jonathan Harr. Now that's a page-turner that you'll WANT to read all the way through.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent first novel, but shows room to grow
Review: I was fortunate to pick up the novel without any advance hype, so I didn't have to suffer from elevated expectations like so many of the other reviewers apparently did. I enjoyed the novel for what it is, summer fluff. I read it in a weekend sitting on the patio with a few microbrews, and "The Tenth Justice" is perfect for that purpose. Brad Metzler has the talent, I believe, to write novels much more engrossing, and I look forward to reading his next works.
While reading the novel I felt like I was reading a novel-soon-to-be-screenplay, which is the same reaction I got when I used to read Grisham. Characters were sketched but not fully developed, and the characters speak the way we wish we could, instantly coming up with perfect retorts instead of thinking up the lines sometime later in the day. Rick was also a less-than-satisfying villain, although he showed great promise at the beginning when he knew every move Ben made even before Ben made it. By the end of the novel, Rick is only a suit with a gun, not a devious criminal mastermind, and his defeat didn't satisfy.
The suspense in the novel comes from Ben's lack of trust in his friends, but I have to admit that I got tired of Ben timing his statements to his friends such that we just avoid learning which of his friends has betrayed him. In thrillers the reader should never notice that he's being manipulated, and I felt that way several times.
So, you may ask, why did I enjoy the novel? It's simple. Metzler gave himself a great plot and he followed the proper summer-fluff conventions in the proper order and with excellent pacing. I think that Metzler has a deeper novel in his future, and I hope that he resists the temptation to Grishamize his output.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculous Dialogue Spoils Nice Plot
Review: Meltzer has crafted an intriguing plotline in this, his first novel. However, his utter lack of any writing ability whatsoever makes this novel simply unbearable at times. The dialogue is ridiculous. I have never -- and I mean NEVER -- read a novel where the dialogue and characters were so unbelievable. The plotline could have made for a great novel, but the idiocy of the main characters ensures that the book goes nowhere. While reading, numerous times I was amazed at how little common sense any of the characters had. I mean, Ben screws up by telling something he shouldn't have, and then he goes and tells everyone about it??? Give me a break. Don't embarrass Grisham and Turow by comparing them to Brad Meltzer. At least not yet. We will see what comes of his future novels, once he learns to write
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