Joel Goldman: Cold Truth

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Another good legal thriller from Joel Goodman
This is the third legal thriller by Joel Goldman that I have really enjoyed. Lou (not Perry) Mason is a criminal defence lawyer whose gets personally involved in finding out the real truth behind the cases he defends.

In this book Lou is hired to defend a young woman with psychological problems who confesses that she pushed her therapist out of a fourth story window. Lou doesn't believe her confession and his views are confirmed when when someone tries to murder him when he tries to find the truth.

With the help of a great team of friends from legal and police backgrounds, Lou's investigations uncover drug trafficking, babies sold for adoption, illegal charitable donations, and blackmail. As always Lou gets involved in a lot of personal and dangerous action in finding the truth, including being kidnapped a nearly murdered (again). The plot is complex and detailed and can keep you guessing to the action packed ending.

While all of this is happening Lou builds up a long term romantic relationship with a beautiful and intelligent blind date who believes that his client may be the daughter that she gave up for adoption twenty years ago.

Why spend 4 or 5 times the price on John Grisham when you can read a good legal thrillers from Joel Goldman in the Lou Mason series.

Taylor Stevens: The Innocent

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Vanessa "Michael" Munroe faces her demons again
In the Informationalist. Taylor Stevens introduced us to Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, a dangerous loner who bears emotional and physical scars from her youth, reminiscent of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander.  Michael's  horrific past gives her a potential of ferocity to overcome her enemies. She's a great character who speaks multiple languages, skilled in martial arts, and always caries a knife.

In this sequel we see more of the scars to Michael's personality, and the dangers lurking so close to the surface. She is commissioned by some of her "friends" to rescue a teenager from a religious cult who have kidnapped her from her natural parents and immersed her in religious, social, mental and physical abuse. Michael has to face up to a different form of child abuse which challenges her mental and physical well-being.

The story is built on the personal experiences of the author, Taylor Stevens, who was brought up in a religious cult, raised in communes around the globe, denied an education beyond sixth grade and spent most of her adolescence begging on the streets, or caring for commune children. She only broke free of the commune in her early twenties. Her emergence as a major author is a fantastic achievement.

Given the background this book, it is not an easy or comfortable read and is not as good as the original in the series. The book shows the undoubted skills of the author and further develops the demons in the lead character.

Despite this it left me waiting for more adventures of Vanessa Michael Munroe to be released, hopefully on more straightforward, more adventurous and less personally emotional issues.

Joel Goldman: The Last Witness

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Another knockout legal thriller from Joel Goldman
Joel Goldman's Lou Mason series of legal/criminal thrillers are great reads.  His books have been compared to John Grisham and Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller, but they are more than good enough to stand out on their own. It is even better news that they they are all affordable Indie e-book publications.

Last Witness is Joel Goldman's second legal thriller featuring attorney Lou Mason (not Perry Mason!).  It is a fast paced, page-turner mystery thriller with a legal/criminal background.

Lou Mason has left the law firm which imploded during Motion to Kill, and has set up on his own in an office above a jazz bar owned by his good friend Blues. One evening Blues gets into a fight in the bar with an unscrupulous lawyer. Shortly afterwards the lawyer is found murdered at his home and Blues is arrested for the murder because his fingerprints are found at the crime scene.

Lou takes on Blues's defence, which is difficult because the lead Homicide Detective Harry Ryman is also a great friend of Lou's. It is made more difficult because Ryman has a long term hatred of Blues from the time he was his partner in the police.

In  defending Blues, Lou has to find the murderer amid a complex mesh of corruption involving a casino operator, the attractive head of the Casino Control Commission and the Mayor of Kansas City and his helpers.

The plot is well crafted, fast moving and rewarding with plenty of action and thrills and an unexpected ending. It well deserves a 5 star rating.

Lou Mason is a great new character who features in several later books, which I am looking forward to reading.

Joel Goldman: Motion to Kill

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Motion To Kill  is a knockout legal thriller
I am always on the lookout for a good Indie legal/crime thriller and Motion to Kill by  Joel Goldman fits the bill. It has been compared to John Grisham and Michael Connelly, but it is good enough to stand out on its own.

This is Joel Goldman's debut legal thriller introducing attorney Lou Mason (not Perry Mason!).  It is a fast paced, page-turner mystery thriller with a legal background.

Lou Mason is a partner in a law firm where both the principal and his closest partner are murdered. An unscrupulous major client threatens the existence of the firm and Lou gets involved in preserving both the firm and his own life.

The plot is extremely complex, well crafted and rewarding with plenty of action and thrills.  I have only marked it down to 4 stars because at the end of the book I was left with a couple of unanswered questions from key parts of the plot.

Lou Mason is a great new character who features in several later books, which I am looking forward to reading.

Taylor Stevens: The Informationist

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A important new female thriller hero

Vanessa "Michael" Munroe is a dangerous loner who bears emotional and physical scars from her youth, reminiscent of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander.  "Michael" is an important new female thriller hero with a history of major emotional and physical scars, which builds her into a powerful protagonist for good and evil.

Michael's  horrific past gives her a potential of ferocity to overcome her enemies. She's a great character who speaks multiple languages, skilled in martial arts, and always caries a knife.

She uses her advanced IT skills as an informationist consultant to a powerful security company, and her physical skills to battle the security challenges she has to confront. Similar to Salander she does not shrink from earning large, and sometimes illegal, returns from her adventures.

It is clear that the author has built a character that can support a number of action packed and emotional sequels. This debut novel by Taylor Stevens was one of the best books I read in 2011 (prior to getting a Kindle) and left me waiting for more adventures of Vanessa Michael Munroe to be released.