Life Sentence [Mass Market Paperback]

I liked Line of Vision but this one was great! I had one thing figured out before the end but then there were a lot of surprises!

I love legal thrillers. As a teenager I dreamed of becoming a lawyer, of arguing the big case, of the maneuverings and the dealing and the strategy of it all. Well, I never did go to Law school, so now I live for vicariously through the writings of those that did. Unfortunately, in recent years the trend of these lawyers turned writers has been to move away from courtroom, turning these legal thrillers into more of detectives with a law degree. It's getting harder and harder to find a good courtroom tale, even when they are advertised as such. So when I picked up Life Sentence by David Ellis I was skeptical. I liked his first book, Line of Vision, but wasn't blown away. The back page quips seemed interesting, and of course there was the obligatory comparison to Grisham in the praise area that book reviewers feel compelled to make anytime a lawyer writes a book. So then I start reading. The tale instantly captures me. In the book, the protagonist Jon Soliday is a highly respected election lawyer with a secret from his past. He has just discovered a loop hole that will almost guarantee his boss and best friend will win the election for governor, but shortly after making the decision whether to use this discovery or not, another lawyer is murdered and Jon is found standing over the dead man's body. This starts a ride through the legal and political system that is both interesting and educational. Ellis does a great job weaving a plot of corruption and revenge that spans over two decades. For once, we actually get to travel into the courtroom and are given a front row seat to the proceedings.

I wass absolutely blown away by this book. I both the political and legal aspects to be well thought out and extremely well written. The only downside of this books is that Ellis leaves to many obvious clues to the surprise ending and by about halfway through the book, I had it pretty well figured out. Other than that, this may be the best legal thriller I've read in a long time.

I was not a big fan of Line of Vision, but will say that I liked Ellis enough (perhaps because I love Chicago authors, being a chicagoan myself) to read this book. It was rewarding. Ellis has grown a great deal. The idea of a man wrongly accused is the same as is the unnamed town that seems a lot like Chicago (why not just make it Chicago, or like Turow name it something?)...however, the plot is far better. A bit far fetched (but most of these are) and the plot moves along well. A true courtroom thriller. I did not figure out the ending and was very surprised (and pleased since it was true shock) by it. It was worth the money. The story could break in any direction and that keeps it fun. A good story, good moral tone, and good characters. I just read a negative review of Ellis' 3rd book, but I bet I will read it down the line.