Until Proven Guilty

Rating:
Summary: It's a page-turner!
Review: I truly love Christine McGuire's style! This is the second book I've read - the first was "Until Justice is Done" (LOVED IT), and I am already looking for the next one! Not only does Ms. McGuire involve several plots/stories in one book, but she gives great detail about the prosecution process as well! :-)

Rating:
Summary: It's a page-turner!
Review: I truly love Christine McGuire's style! This is the second book I've read - the first was "Until Justice is Done" (LOVED IT), and I am already looking for the next one! Not only does Ms. McGuire involve several plots/stories in one book, but she gives great detail about the prosecution process as well! :-)

Rating:
Summary: promising, but falls short
Review: The plot and storyline of this book are pretty good and there were definately times when I could not put it down but there were a few annoying details. Not enough for me NOT to recommend it, but annoying nonetheless. There is the occassional mispelling which isn't much but it interrupts the whole flow when you are at a critical point. The main character's 6 year old is a bit too precocious for my taste with lines like "I don't mind really. I mean, eveyone knows life's not fair" and "sometimes I don't mean to cry but sometimes the tears just run out on their own". Very logical and understanding for a 6 year old. I also agree with a previous reviewer that states that the main character misses obvious clues. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to finish the book but I would have enjoyed it much more had these details been different. Details are little things I know, but as any good mystery enthusiast knows..the key is most always in the details :)

Rating:
Summary: promising, but falls short
Review: The plot and storyline of this book are pretty good and there were definately times when I could not put it down but there were a few annoying details. Not enough for me NOT to recommend it, but annoying nonetheless. There is the occassional mispelling which isn't much but it interrupts the whole flow when you are at a critical point. The main character's 6 year old is a bit too precocious for my taste with lines like "I don't mind really. I mean, eveyone knows life's not fair" and "sometimes I don't mean to cry but sometimes the tears just run out on their own". Very logical and understanding for a 6 year old. I also agree with a previous reviewer that states that the main character misses obvious clues. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to finish the book but I would have enjoyed it much more had these details been different. Details are little things I know, but as any good mystery enthusiast knows..the key is most always in the details :)

Rating:
Summary: Shallow, One-Dimensional Characters
Review: There are many problems with this book, but the most glaring is the one-dimensional quality of the hero, Kathryn Mackay. Ordinarily, tough female attorneys are appealing, but Mackay is not just tough, she is cruel, shallow and sloppy in her work as well. It is disappointing that she is less likable than the men in the story, though they, too, have little depth. Since it is impossible to empathize with the hero, the reader cannot feel bad for her when she gets into trouble. She states that a woman has to be tough, like a man. One must ask if she were going to try to be like a man, could she not at least have chosen a nice man? Mackay is painted as a bright, ambitious woman, but she is too ignorant of the law and too sloppy to be real. She misses the most obvious clues in the solving of the crime and behaves like the baby-sitter in the horror story who hears voices in the basement and goes looking with a tiny flashlight. The condescending nature of the novel is also annoying. There are many examples, but one occurs when a character ends a phone call with the phrase "Ten-four" and the next sentence reads, "Ten-four meant message received and understood." One wants to read to the end of this book, hoping the author will redeem herself. McGuire never does.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow, One-Dimensional Characters
Review: There are many problems with this book, but the most glaring is the one-dimensional quality of the hero, Kathryn Mackay. Ordinarily, tough female attorneys are appealing, but Mackay is not just tough, she is cruel, shallow and sloppy in her work as well. It is disappointing that she is less likable than the men in the story, though they, too, have little depth. Since it is impossible to empathize with the hero, the reader cannot feel bad for her when she gets into trouble. She states that a woman has to be tough, like a man. One must ask if she were going to try to be like a man, could she not at least have chosen a nice man? Mackay is painted as a bright, ambitious woman, but she is too ignorant of the law and too sloppy to be real. She misses the most obvious clues in the solving of the crime and behaves like the baby-sitter in the horror story who hears voices in the basement and goes looking with a tiny flashlight. The condescending nature of the novel is also annoying. There are many examples, but one occurs when a character ends a phone call with the phrase "Ten-four" and the next sentence reads, "Ten-four meant message received and understood." One wants to read to the end of this book, hoping the author will redeem herself. McGuire never does.