The Pardon

Rating:
Summary: Grippando's are only the best
Review: The way this one plays out is unimaginable. As all his books it's one of those edge of your seat ones. Jack Swyteck is one of the best portrayed characters in any book I have ever read. If you like law, extortion, marital troubles this one is for you ;D

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: This book is simply awful. It is badly written, characters are one dimensional, and the legal parts are dead wrong. If the person who wrote this is a lawyer, than he should either know better or be disbarred. Either that or all Florida judges and lawyers are incompetent. I had to give it one star, but I would actually say read anything other than this book.

Rating:
Summary: Beter than any book I've read
Review: This book was overwhelming. I couldn't put it down. Anyone who likes lawyer books, mysteries, or just simply want a thrill, this book is perfect.

Rating:
Summary: The Pardon
Review: This was my second James Grippando book. It was spell-binding. I couldn't put it down. He is one of the most interesting writers I have ever read. I can't say enough good things about this book!

Rating:
Summary: Implausible
Review: To call these characters one-dimensional would be too generous. Even their one dimension produces actions and dialog inconsistent with the purported background and character of the individual.
Consider the following: A tough, honest, ex-cop, pro-death penalty, law-and-order governor is approached by a complete stranger in a ski mask who says he has absolute proof that someone the state executed two years before was innocent. He tells the governor to give him $10,000 or he will go to the newspapers, and it will ruin the governor politically. The governor, without even bothering to inquire as to the nature of the proof or asking the blackmailer to prove that he has such evidence, simply forks over the ten grand.
But even if the evidence existed, I ask myself how that could really hurt a sitting governor. The condemned had to have been convicted and sentenced long before the ex-cop became governor. The case had exhausted all appeals and the conviction had been upheld by the Supreme Court. The governor had acted exactly as he should have. If he had commuted the sentence, how could he have explained the action to the press and to the victim's family, with no compelling basis for the reprieve?
Oh, yes! I forgot to mention that the condemned man's attorney (the governor's son, no less) had come to him on the night of the execution and said he knew his client was innocent because a complete stranger in a ski mask had come to him that day with convincing proof that the condemned was innocent (I guess it runs in the family!). When the governor asked what the proof was, his son said he couldn't tell him, because of attorney-client privilege (I seriously question that reasoning). However, he said that the proof was really, really good and that if he COULD tell him, the governor would surely agree. Naturally (and properly) the governor declined to commute the sentence.
Can you imagine explaining that one to the press? "I commuted his sentence because of some irrefutable proof that I have not been able to examine because my son the defense attorney won't tell me what it is. But my son does assure me that it is great evidence and that he received it directly from someone who wouldn't identify himself or show his face but who is nonetheless a valued client."
The son, by the way, this idealistic defense attorney, opted to let his innocent client die rather than breaking a rule against telling what he knew. Naturally he blamed his father for the death. All the characters in the book are like this. I searched in vain to find even one worthy of any respect.

Rating:
Summary: Thrilling!
Review: Very easy to read. One doesn't have to be a lawyer to understand this staggering novel. Chapters are very short and scenic. Characters are lovingly crafted. It's like reading a movie. "Cindy" and "Gina" represent everything polemic about friendship. The final sentence (no pun intended) of this novel justifies it's title. And that's cool.

Rating:
Summary: A real thriller
Review: What a excellent novel. I guess it takes a Lawyer to write one like this but I would guess he would be a homicide detective first. This is the fourth book of his I have read and never been disapointed. I have now ordered the second as of today. He rates right up with the best of the Legal/Thriller/Mystery writers that are in vogue at this time. Read it you will love it.