Rating: Summary: The best yet in the series Review: Perri O'Shaughnessy gets better very year. This novel had an original idea, and complex characters. It starts out with a secret, and doesn't let you go until the very end. Nina continues to be a remarkable lead character, and this time you really feel like you got to know her better. I reccommned this to everyone who enjoys a little mystery, and a good courtroom drama. This book will not disappoint. I just hope she writes for many years to come.
Rating: Summary: Loved this book Review: The characters seem like family after reading the previous Nina Rielly books. It's hard to put down but equally hard to finish, knowing it will be another year before the next one. It would be a plus to have the Nina-Paul thing make some progress. Are these two going to be chasing each other down a nursing room corridor in their wheelchairs?
Rating: Summary: Overplotted Confusion Review: This book disappointed me, because I have become so spoiled by the O'Shaughnessy sisters' outstanding previous efforts. I wish I could have given it 3 and a half stars. It's not bad, just unnecessarily confusing.The plot centers around a young woman who wins the ultimate jackpot on the aptly named Greed Machine, a slot machine at one of Lake Tahoe's casinos. Rather than jumping for joy, however, Jessie Potter seems terrified at her $7 million windfall. And the casino is not that anxious to award her prize either. In no time, Jessie is plucked out of her very private life and into real danger. By the time her case lands in Nina Reilly's lap, the young woman is in danger of losing the money--and possibly her life. And she's not the only one in jeopardy. A pudgy Chinese-American computer geek named Kenny, who happened to be sitting next to Jessie when she won the jackpot, becomes inextricably entwined in her problems. And OUR problem at this point in the book is that neither Jessie nor Kenny are particularly likeable. It took me quite some time to care about either of them--a necessity in this plot-heavy novel. I was more concentrated on the sub-plot involving a compulsive gambler with a Glock and a murderous obsession with the jackpot he believes is his, not Jessie's. A further subplot is the ongoing and at this point annoyingly frustrating relationship between Paul, Nina's indispensable private eye and sometime lover, and Nina, still mourning the loss of her husband. Paul loves Nina, Paul wants Nina, but as in all the other books, Nina isn't sure, and Paul can't take much more rejection. He's in for it, though--from Nina arriving in his hotel room, stark naked under her full-length coat--and then at the critical moment changing her mind, to a blithering series of coitus interruptus that began to take on the aura of the Keystone Kops. I found the whole thing annoying and insulting to both characters. This is NOT a Stephanie Plum novel, where that kind of thing happens all the time. t doesn't belong in the Nina Reilly series, and this reader, for one, is tired of it. The book does pick up speed, however, as we become more involved with Jessie and Kenny, learn their secrets, worry about the danger they are in, and root for Nina to help them both. Near the very end of the book, a triumphant courtroom scene reveals a hidden secret that changes the course of several lives. It's a great ending, a thoroughly enjoyable and believable climax. Unfortunately...the book does not end there. It goes on for several more chapters as we follow the original murderer, still bent on claiming his jackpot. There is so much happening in this quasi-epilogue, it is intensely confusing. Then finally, in two pages, everything is wrapped up in a neat red bow, happily ever after. Except for Nina and Paul and the various murdered people and the murderer himself and the slimy despicable opposing lawyer, the hated Jeff Reisner. Whew! It's exhausting just writing the review. Again, I love anything the O'Shaughnessys write, but this book is the weakest in the series so far. I hope it's an anomoly!
Rating: Summary: FAST PACED EXCITING READ! Review: This book was a really quick read! It had a couple cool story lines which kept you guessing. It was better than most of her other books in that it seemed to have more going on. Action packed, I guess you could say:-) If you are a fan of Nina and Paul, you were surely love this latest release! It will leave you waiting impatiently for her next one!
Rating: Summary: lots of action Review: This book was very good!! Lots of action--a real page turner.. THe characters were well-developed and I found myself really pulling for them. Something for everyone in this murder/courtroom story. And Nina and Paul...still working on it!
Rating: Summary: SO SO... Review: This is a mediocre legal thriller, and my first introduction to this author. While moderately entertaining, I probably will not seek anymore novels by this author, as the writing tends to be pedestrian and formulaic. I also found the character of the attorney, Nina Reilly, to be uninteresting and an embarrassment to women in the legal profession. Perhaps, this was in part due to the fact that I listened to the unabridged audio book, where the reader infused Ms. Reilly's character with a breathy, little girl voice, that made her sound just this side of stupid. Still, the book had its interesting moments. The plot revolves around a young woman, purportedly of Washoe Indian descent, who calls herself Jessie Potter and has just won a seven million dollar plus jackpot at a Nevada casino. She wishes to maintain a low profile, as she has a deep, dark secret, so she retains Ms. Reilly as her attorney, seeking to collect the jackpot, while maintaining her privacy. Unbeknownst to Ms. Reilly and her client, someone else feels entitled to that jackpot and will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get it. In constructing the plot, the author, through one of the secondary characters, gives an interesting account of how these jackpots are designed to work, as well as a bird's-eye view of the gaming industry. Moreover, the courtroom scenes are of some interest. Still, this is not enough to make this a top notch legal thriller, as the writing never rises beyond hack status. The plot was too pat and contrived, at times, and the characters remain two dimensional throughout. I found myself neither caring for nor very much liking any of the characters. This over rated book remains simply a quick, throwaway read.
Rating: Summary: Beyond belief Review: This was my first Perri O'Shaughnessy book. I got it free at the Bouchercon in Austin last October. I MIGHT read one of the earlier titles but it won't be first on my list. Perhaps it is the result of co-authors, but I found the writing to be difficult to navigate. Many times it was hard to determine who was talking. Too many thoughts to oneself interspersed with dialogue. Too many coincidences to make the story believable. I admit I am not fond of the female in jeopardy genre. And this one had TWO women making foolish assumptions and stupid moves. I had little sympathy for either of them. Nina Reilly is the single mom to a young boy. He is conveniently absent or accounted for often during the book, although Nina sporadically wrings her hands in concern for him. Her detective, Paul, seems to want to be with her regardless of her personal difficulties but he is often oblivious to those difficulties, too. This book was just too PC for me. A little of everything was thrown in for good measure, along with a lot of editorializing on the favorite soap boxes of the authors. Still, I finished it and did find it somewhat entertaining. The sisters need a good proofreader.
Rating: Summary: I adore this series Review: Well, Nina and friends are back. I have reviewed quite a few of Perri ?'Shaughnessy's books and in most cases have thoroughly enjoyed them. The main character, Nina, is a wonderful contrast of hard professional, soft motherly instinct and confused woman. Although I do enjoy Nina, what really blends this book for me is the thoroughly well presented legal battles in which Nina is involved. The author's have an excellent way of incorporating all of the characters into the plot. I, once again, am left wishing however that the son would figure more prominently in the story and that we could have SOME resolution on the Paul Nina front. Still though thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating: Summary: I adore this series Review: Well, Nina and friends are back. I have reviewed quite a few of Perri Ò'Shaughnessy's books and in most cases have thoroughly enjoyed them. The main character, Nina, is a wonderful contrast of hard professional, soft motherly instinct and confused woman. Although I do enjoy Nina, what really blends this book for me is the thoroughly well presented legal battles in which Nina is involved. The author's have an excellent way of incorporating all of the characters into the plot. I, once again, am left wishing however that the son would figure more prominently in the story and that we could have SOME resolution on the Paul Nina front. Still though thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating: Summary: Too convoluted Review: WRIT OF EXECUTION begins right where MOVE TO STRIKE ends, and all I was left with when I finished was a big 'huh?'. In the latest in the Nina Reilly series, Ms. Reilly helps a jackpot winner who does not wish to be identified because she is afraid of being found by her harasser. If this were the only primary story in this book I would probably had given it a higher rating. However, Perri O'Shaughnessy also includes in this book a casino fraud, a personal secret her client is hiding, a mystery illness, an unstable killer and gambler who wants what is "rightfully his", a teenage boy suffering from leukemia and finally, Nina's relationship with her detective, Paul Van Wagoner. There were too many things going on with this story that at the end I did not care how everything turned out. I probably would have more empathy with the leukemia patient if he did not appear only sporadically in the book. Will this book deter me from reading the next O' Shaughnessy book? Probably not. Their other books are still good. I strongly recommend INVASION OF PRIVACY and MOTION TO SUPPRESS.
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