Grand Jury

Rating:
Summary: grand journey
Review: 600 page potboiler entwining transitions in new china and law enforcement corruption in nyc with a saccharine romance as the inter-continental binding. ambitious effort to shed light on changes in china. love conquers all subtext.

Rating:
Summary: A big, complex story
Review: Friedman's long and complex "Grand Jury" is more a novel of intrigue than a legal thriller, although it builds to an explosive and violent ending involving all of the principals.

David Clark, embittered computer whiz, and Susan Linwood, owner of a public relations firm and Chinese wife of a famous and cold neurosurgeon, are both sitting on the grand jury which indicts an elderly Chinese couple for heroin trafficking.

Neither are satisfied with the verdict although it is Susan who becomes obsessed with helping the Engs - perhaps because they remind her of her parents who disappeared in China 20 years before.

David, disturbed by inconsistencies in the testimony and intrigued by Susan, drifts into her personal obsession. Their investigation leads them into the labyrinths of Chinatown's politics and culture, secret gangs and personal vendettas.

And finally, on a sympathy mission for the Engs combined with a chance to learn what really happened to Susan's parents, they travel to Hong Kong and beyond, to the mysteries - and deadly perils - of interior China. Meanwhile the new assistant D.A. is also having misgivings about the case and begins conducting an investigation of his own which seems to point to corruption in the ranks.

As the investigations converge, the switchbacks grow ever more dangerous for the two protagonists and Chinatown intrigue is a dizzying intricacy of menacing puzzles.

Friedman's attempt to explore characterization sometimes leads to bothersome inconsistencies or repetitions but his big story is throughly engrossing and his prose is crisp and to the point.

Rating:
Summary: A big, complex story
Review: Friedman's long and complex "Grand Jury" is more a novel of intrigue than a legal thriller, although it builds to an explosive and violent ending involving all of the principals.

David Clark, embittered computer whiz, and Susan Linwood, owner of a public relations firm and Chinese wife of a famous and cold neurosurgeon, are both sitting on the grand jury which indicts an elderly Chinese couple for heroin trafficking.

Neither are satisfied with the verdict although it is Susan who becomes obsessed with helping the Engs - perhaps because they remind her of her parents who disappeared in China 20 years before.

David, disturbed by inconsistencies in the testimony and intrigued by Susan, drifts into her personal obsession. Their investigation leads them into the labyrinths of Chinatown's politics and culture, secret gangs and personal vendettas.

And finally, on a sympathy mission for the Engs combined with a chance to learn what really happened to Susan's parents, they travel to Hong Kong and beyond, to the mysteries - and deadly perils - of interior China. Meanwhile the new assistant D.A. is also having misgivings about the case and begins conducting an investigation of his own which seems to point to corruption in the ranks.

As the investigations converge, the switchbacks grow ever more dangerous for the two protagonists and Chinatown intrigue is a dizzying intricacy of menacing puzzles.

Friedman's attempt to explore characterization sometimes leads to bothersome inconsistencies or repetitions but his big story is throughly engrossing and his prose is crisp and to the point.

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I enjoyed every minute of this read! The book pulled me into another world, and coming "back," I have to say the journey was MARVELOUS - great plot, interesting characters (not the always-bright and boringly-beautiful types of other books I've read, but real people). The unexpected plus was that I learned a lot along the way - about grand juries, China and Hong Kong, etc. Now that I've read INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE and REASONABLE DOUBT, though (Mr. Friedman's other books), I should know to expect such finesse from this author!

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I enjoyed every minute of this read! The book pulled me into another world, and coming "back," I have to say the journey was MARVELOUS - great plot, interesting characters (not the always-bright and boringly-beautiful types of other books I've read, but real people). The unexpected plus was that I learned a lot along the way - about grand juries, China and Hong Kong, etc. Now that I've read INADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE and REASONABLE DOUBT, though (Mr. Friedman's other books), I should know to expect such finesse from this author!

Rating:
Summary: A real page turner!!!
Review: I thought this book was very well written. I'll admit, I was attracted by the author, not the synopsis. Drug wars and international intrigue are not something I usually read about but this book kept me entertained and wanting to read more throughout.

Rating:
Summary: A very frustrated read and waste of time
Review: I've read all Friedman's books and I have spent much time in China and Hong Kong and I loved the book. One of those books which makes you mad at the author for keeping you up all night and glad for the author for taking you away. It worked for me!!!!!!!!! I wonder who the readers are who found fault?

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing page turner, well written
Review: The grand jury portion in the first part of the book was riveting; main characters likeable if rather naive. Pace good, keeps your attention. As the action shifts to China, credulity becomes strained and at times the need to explain customs makes for wordiness. Still, this is a "good read". I will look into other books by Friedman

Rating:
Summary: not so grand after all
Review: This book starts out with a bang, but regrettably it slips into a tangled web of Chinese politics that is too difficult to follow. I never understood all of the drug connections and the motives of all the characters.