The Senior Partner

Rating:
Summary: THE FRUIT OF A MASTERFUL MIND
Review: I've become a huge and immediate fan of George Hammond. His writing holds that rare blend of tautly logical exactitude and out-there, what-if extrapolation that makes the best thrillers not only believable, but disconcertingly suspenseful. Take Grisham's The Firm or Turow's Presumed Innocent, add a little ethical Tabasco, and you've got The Senior Partner.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Delight
Review: The lawyer-protagonist's first problem in this beautifully written legal thriller is that he loses his place in the spy novel he is reading. Then he hears the second scream. If, like me, you start down this road in the early evening, be prepared for a rewarding but sleepless night.

Rating:
Summary: A Rare Delight
Review: The lawyer-protagonist's first problem in this beautifully written legal thriller is that he loses his place in the spy novel he is reading. Then he hears the second scream. If, like me, you start down this road in the early evening, be prepared for a rewarding but sleepless night.

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood Movie Material?
Review: This is a great book...grips your mind, fast-paced, fun to read...right from the opening scene. Would make a great screenplay.

And, you can tell that George did his homework in researching facts, places, situations that are woven into the story. As someone who has worked on the inside of law firms and in international business, [without giving away the story...] I can tell you that all of the "wild & crazy" situations in The Senior Partner (ethical, financial and business-wise) are totally believable and representative of what sometimes goes on behind-the-scenes in "the real world."

Read it. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood Movie Material?
Review: This is a great book...grips your mind, fast-paced, fun to read...right from the opening scene. Would make a great screenplay.

And, you can tell that George did his homework in researching facts, places, situations that are woven into the story. As someone who has worked on the inside of law firms and in international business, [without giving away the story...] I can tell you that all of the "wild & crazy" situations in The Senior Partner (ethical, financial and business-wise) are totally believable and representative of what sometimes goes on behind-the-scenes in "the real world."

Read it. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A Splendid Acheivement
Review: Thrillers, perhaps by their nature, are disappointing. The antagonist, so dangerous in the beginning of most books, turns out to be a clumsy sod whom the protagonist easily puts away. The good guy, meanwhile, always seems to run a little faster and shoot a little straighter than mobs of bigger and better-trained people. The result is that even the best thrillers take place in a sort of never never land.

George Hammond manages to avoid the flaws in the genre, creating believable characters in a realistic setting. To say that Hammond is better than Grisham is true, but not enough. That is like saying that caviar is better than popcorn. Hammond is in the same league as Geoffrey Household, which means that he is at the top of the form.

Hammond manages to pull off a double play, because, not only does he create a thriller in a whole different league, he also manages to invent a lawfirm which is both realistic and fascinating. Most lawfirms in literature have no connection to the real world. Writers tend to tart up the image of the practice of law, making cases and events far more melodramatic than is really the case. But while Hammond captures the staid nature of law firm practice, his writing is never dull. He fills his law firm with cases which seem real (with interesting details) and draws a culture which is more accurate, even, than Louis Auchincloss. As a practicing attorney, I can attest to the accuracy of the world Hammond has manufactured. Pay particular attention to the advice and aphorisms spouted by the partners; they happen to be true.

This is a perfect gift for someone contemplating a legal career. It is well written and exciting, so it will hold anyone's interest. But it also draws an accurate picture of what practicing law is all about. Hammond is one of those rare people these days who seeks the truth. He knows what the meaning of is is.

Rating:
Summary: A Splendid Acheivement
Review: Thrillers, perhaps by their nature, are disappointing. The antagonist, so dangerous in the beginning of most books, turns out to be a clumsy sod whom the protagonist easily puts away. The good guy, meanwhile, always seems to run a little faster and shoot a little straighter than mobs of bigger and better-trained people. The result is that even the best thrillers take place in a sort of never never land.

George Hammond manages to avoid the flaws in the genre, creating believable characters in a realistic setting. To say that Hammond is better than Grisham is true, but not enough. That is like saying that caviar is better than popcorn. Hammond is in the same league as Geoffrey Household, which means that he is at the top of the form.

Hammond manages to pull off a double play, because, not only does he create a thriller in a whole different league, he also manages to invent a lawfirm which is both realistic and fascinating. Most lawfirms in literature have no connection to the real world. Writers tend to tart up the image of the practice of law, making cases and events far more melodramatic than is really the case. But while Hammond captures the staid nature of law firm practice, his writing is never dull. He fills his law firm with cases which seem real (with interesting details) and draws a culture which is more accurate, even, than Louis Auchincloss. As a practicing attorney, I can attest to the accuracy of the world Hammond has manufactured. Pay particular attention to the advice and aphorisms spouted by the partners; they happen to be true.

This is a perfect gift for someone contemplating a legal career. It is well written and exciting, so it will hold anyone's interest. But it also draws an accurate picture of what practicing law is all about. Hammond is one of those rare people these days who seeks the truth. He knows what the meaning of is is.