Buried Evidence

Rating:
Summary: Why such poor reviews??
Review: "Buried Evidence" is an extraordinarily poor offering from Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, an author who is capable of better work. The novel is a sequel to her earlier and superior "Mitigating Circumstances". Unlikeable characters, an absurd plot, amatuerish writing and factual errors undermine what may have been a worthwhile followup.

All the characters in this story are selfish, whiney, needy and -- shall we say -- intellectually challenged. None more so than Lily Forrester, "brilliant prosecutor", protaganist and heroine. Brilliant, but forgetful. She forgets her purse, loses her keys, can't find important papers. At one point -- I am not making this up -- she forgets her lover (another lawyer) is representing a man she's enthusiastically prosecuting for attempted murder. The other characters aren't any smarter.

The plot almost defies description. Six years after the events of "Mitigating Circumstances", Ms Forrester's (now) ex-husband accidentally kills a student. He decides to trade knowledge of his ex-wife's involvement in a murder for leniency. Meanwhile the rapist from the earlier novel is out of prison and stalking Lily and her daughter. Coincidentally her former lover re-enters her life just before dumping his live-in girlfriend. There's also a vengeful cop, a saintly doctor and some dolphins. Or maybe it was vengeful dolphin doctors. You know, I forgot.

Over and over again Ms Rosenberg lets cliches and hackneyed phrases tell her story. She repeats events, thoughts and facts. Unnecessary characters are introduced then disappear. Plot threads are strung out and abandoned. Objects mysteriously appear to fill plot holes. For example, after a lengthy passage about how Lily's dilemma over whether to bail her ex-husband out of jail or replace her daughter's car (impounded by the police), we find out Lily has a SECOND car. Maybe she just forgot.

The descriptions of police procedures, legal and investigative techniques, forensic science and other matters are not credible. I assume these lapses were necessary to "flesh out" the remarkable plot. After all, Ms Rosenberg was an experienced investigator for a district attorney's office. She knows better. Unless she forgot.

All these elements congeal to form "Buried Evidence"....My recommendation: Forget this book.

Rating:
Summary: Not her Best Effort
Review: As a big fan of Rosenberg's I have to say that this one is unneccessary and just a rehash of the great MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES.

A virtual blow by blow of critical scenes from MC are listed here. Some of the dialogue is so brutally verbatim from Propositions and other rote siscussions on criminal law it is boring.

That said the rest of the narrative is quite good and moves a pretty good pace. Nancy's strengths are in building suspense and then letting the action take you on a ride.

Unfortunately, Rosenberg should dig up new and original plots and not just regurgitate past glories.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed and unnecessary sequel
Review: Even though the loose threads were not tightly knotted at the end of Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's superior "Mitigating Circumstances," the book's ending hardly merited a sequel. Maybe the author felt the need to return to her best written and plotted effort. Unfortunately, Rosenberg comes up far short of what "Mitigating Circumstances" accomplished.

"Buried Evidence" is a very flawed book, starting with the fact that none of the characters are particularly sympathetic, even though the main character, Lily and her daughter, Shana, have experienced a horrible tragedy that no person should have to go through. But Lily comes across as a shrill bully, and Shana is portrayed as a narcissistic brat. Lily's nemesis, her ex-husband John, is written as such a one-dimensional villain, that when he meets his demise, the reader is left wondering "What took so long?" Equally underwritten is Lily's lover, Richard, who is still pining for her even though six years have passed, and he has been living with another woman for three of them. It makes no sense. Rosenberg simply asks the reader to accept that Lily and Richard are madly in love, and that Richard would do anything for Lily. although there is nothing about Lily's neurotic personality that would back Richard's feelings up.

Rosenberg is a talented writer, and I know because I've read better books by her, "Interests of Justice" and "Mitigating Circumstances" being two of them. I like the fact that her heroines aren't conventional rich, flawless skinned heiresses who don't have a problem in the world except for a stalker/in love with another man/can't have a baby/etc. Her main characters struggle with overwhelming problems, like coping with a convicted rapist being on the loose, along with the mundane ones, like not being able to pay the car note or the credit card bills. These types of characters are Rosenberg's trademark, and one can only hope that she returns back to them soon, along with a better plot and more compelling storyline.

Rating:
Summary: VERY AVERAGE
Review: Every now and then a crime writer comes along that completely blows you out of the water and you ask yourself 'where did he/she come from?' but this is not the case with Ms Rosenberg.

This is a story about Lily Forrester, a defence lawyer, who after years of living with her deadbeat alcoholic husband, finally divorces him and leaves her college-bound daughter, Shana, with him. Years before, Shana & Lily were raped and although the rapist was found and jailed, he is out again and on the war-path, stalking Shana (as he knows where she lives!)

Lily is coming to terms with protecting her daughter and rekindling the romance that she has with another defence lawyer, Richard.

Basically, Lily, Shana, Richard and John (her ex) are very annoying people. Ms Rosenberg has made everyone very 1 dimensional and there are too many questions. If Lily & Shana were both raped by the same man & there he is still stalking them, would you send your daughter off to stay at a friends house (that she barely knows ) so Lily could get some nooky with Richard? Sounds like a great parent! If the rapist is stalking Shana, wouldn't you move out of the same house????

Sorry, Ms Rosenberg, I felt this is was just an attempt to cash in on a tired theme.

Overall, this is a very average book that will keep you entertained for the time that you are reading it. Don't expect it to be brilliant like anything from Michael Connelly (excellent crime author) but it will give you something to do.

Rating:
Summary: Ugh!!
Review: I agree with most of the reviewers who did not care for this book. I got the audio version from the library and only made it through about chapter 6. The biggest problem was the narrator. Her voice was awful. It is very rare that I turn off a tape due to the narrator's voice, but I just couldn't take it. The characters were not the least bit likable. I haven't read or listened to any other of Rosenberg's books, but based on this one, I don't think I will. Also, nothing personal, but I will avoid books narrated by Sandra Burr.

Rating:
Summary: Not Even Average
Review: I read through Chapter 7, at which point I simply gave up. How a supposedly brilliant woman could surround herself with such despicable characters spoiled the underlying "mystery". An ex-husband, who personifies "looser", a whiney, spoiled brat college age daughter and a lover who is totally one-dimensional. These characters were so bad that I just couldn't care enough about the story to even finish the book.

A very disappointing read.

Rating:
Summary: Can't Believe This Was a Bestseller
Review: NT Rosenberg clearly knows the law. Like Linda Fairstein, at times she provides procedural info that serves little purpose other than to show she knows her stuff. Unlike Fairstein, this author falls down in her plotting, which is terribly simple and obvious. Much of the dialogue had me laughing, it was so artificial. At the very least, I held out hope for a decent climax but it just suddenly ended. There are way too many strong authors of legal thrillers to bother with Rosenberg's books. Even in the 'mindless' beach fiction category, there are much better options.

Rating:
Summary: She is back and better than ever
Review: She is considered one of the best prosecuting attorneys assigned to the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office. Lily Forrester firmly believes in the law and punishment for those who break it. Six years ago (see MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES), Lily and her daughter were victims of a heinous crime until she took the law into her own hands. Lily has never forgiven herself for her actions, but knows she must move on to help her precious daughter enjoy a normal life.

When Lily's ex-husband is arrested for vehicular homicide, her life teeters on the brink of disaster. He threatens to reveal what he thinks he knows about that crime she committed six years ago if she does not bail him out and obtain a reputable representative to defend him. To add to her confusion, the man she loves, defense attorney Richard Fowler, is back in her life demanding a future together. Even when her former spouse squeals on her to cut a deal on his charges, Richard remains by her side.

It has been too long a time since Nancy Taylor Rosenberg has had a book published, but anyone who loves a terse legal thriller will know she has not lost her magic touch. BURIED EVIDENCE stars a beleaguered heroine in an action-packed story line that starts on page one and never eases on the throttle until the last page is done. Readers will never be sure they know the outcome because the subplots take the audience to and from the central theme with an ease that will leave the audience wondering how the novel will end. Her latest novel has plenty of evidence proving that Ms. Rosenberg remains one of the sub-genre's top maestros.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Can't Believe This Was a Bestseller
Review: There is a lot of criticism of this book from other readers, but since it is a new author for me, I have to say I enjoyed it!! I would suggest to those who have not read this author -- give her a chance!! There are several ideas and plots going on in the book. This book did hold my interest and I found myself coming back to it each evening, tho at times I will admit to feeling a bit of confusion with some passages. If you are an expert regarding legal and investigation techniques and forensic science investigation, maybe you will find this book less than credible. I read it for the enjoyment and escapism!

Rating:
Summary: Ho hum
Review: This is the first book I read by Ms. Rosenberg and I'm not sure if it will be my last since I have another one on my shelf to read. I found the book slow and boring. Ms. Rosenburg writes like this was a sequal, but yet it isn't. I've been corrected it is a sequal, sorry. Things are mentioned liked we, as the read, are suppose to know already about them. The characters in the book are ho hum. They are very one sided or flat. Many different story lines start the book and then are dropped when the "real story" starts. Then they are picked back up later and treated as not important. I will say this Ms. Rosenburg does know about the law, but knowing about the law and writing an interesting book about it are two totally different things.