Patti Abbot hosts Friday’s Forgotten Books at her blog
Pattinase.
“Poised to join the
ranks of Scott Turow and Richard North Patterson, trial judge Stan Latreille
has firmly established himself as a master of courtroom suspense. Perjury is
his stunning debut, a bold thriller about lies, sex, and the conflict between
law and justice…”
My copy of the book. |
It has been a while since I purchased any books from the
secondhand bookstalls I frequent. I have promised myself that I won’t buy any
more new or old novels, at least not until I read a quarter of the 200-odd
physical books in my possession. There’s only so much paper you can have around
the house. However, I occasionally buy ebooks from Amazon, my comfort levels
with an e-reader having gone up considerably.
Sometimes I break my promise, as I did a couple of days ago
when I’d no hesitation in picking up Perjury,
a 375-page legal thriller by Stan Latreille. The cover and a new author were the motivating factors. Library Journal described it
as “a striking debut…in the tradition of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent.”
For over two decades Stan Latreille, 76, was a trial judge
in Michigan
presiding over murder and rape trials, complex civil cases, and family
litigation. Prior to a career in law, he was a newspaper reporter and editor
for ten years. The retired Livingston Circuit Court judge is working on his
second novel, tentatively titled Absolution,
and blogs at The Livingston Post. Latreille also offers his services as a
visiting judge and a case mediator and arbitrator.
While I have not read Perjury
yet, the synopsis on the back cover has prompted me to move it way up my list
of books to read in the immediate future. It promises a sensitive and delicate
story, for it says…
“Jack Brenner, a burned-out public defender from Chicago , has left lying clients and political maneuvering
behind to take on the more lucrative, predictable routine of civil law in a
small Michigan
town. But when he is asked to defend a woman accused of perjury for falsely
claiming that her husband abused their young daughter, Jack is swept back into
the labyrinth of the criminal justice system—and into a dangerous attraction
for his seductive client whose case he cannot win and must not lose…”
I also liked the opening lines which read: “Davey Alden
turned out to be one of those wild flowers that miraculously spring up from the
cracks in the concrete. In this case the concrete was the Laffler Country Jail,
on the outskirts of Kirtley, Michigan .”
Frankly, I don’t recall the last time I read a legal
thriller; perhaps, it was a novel or two by John Grisham and Erle Stanley
Gardner a few years ago. I did a search of writers of legal thrillers on the
internet and I wasn’t surprised when I failed to recognise most of the dozen-odd
names. The ones I’d read, apart from Grisham and Gardner, included Scott Turow
and John Mortimer. The ones whose names were merely familiar to me were Michael
Connelly, Steve Martini, Brad Meltzer, and Richard North Patterson.
Legal thrillers, if plotted and written well, are exciting to read.
Note: You can see Stan Latreille's photograph at MLive.
I really loved Scott Turow's first book but didn't get into his second. I read a couple of Grishams, but I think the lawyer books just aren't quite my cup of tea. This one sounds impressive though.
ReplyDeleteCharles, I like legal thrillers especially if there are courtroom battles, as in the Perry Mason novels, which really cannot be compared to Scott Turow or John Grisham. I think PERJURY is not going to disappoint. I liked the first couple of pages I read.
DeleteI'm a fan of legal thrillers. I grew up reading the Perry Mason series and watching the TV version. I'm not a big fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers, but I like the sound of Stan Latreille's PERJURY. I'll give it a try. Good review!
ReplyDeleteThank you, George. Stan Latreille is a one-book author and there has been no further news on his second novel. I read a lot of Perry Masons in my youth, at times two paperbacks in one day. I read a couple of them a few years ago and enjoyed them as much. I liked Raymond Burr in the original television series though not so much in the latter TV movies where he sports a beard.
DeletePrashant: I had not heard of Stan Latreille before reading your post. I will be interested in reading your review to see if the hype of the blurbs is justified.
ReplyDeleteBill, thank you for writing. I'm always on the lookout for authors I've never heard of and so far I've been lucky with such books. I'm looking forward to reading PERJURY and reviewing it but it will be a while before I do so, other books being in queue.
DeleteLegal thrillers are not my first choice for fiction, but I enjoy finding lawyers with difficult and suspenseful cases in western and frontier fiction. Johnny Boggs does a nice job with fact-based historical material: LONELY TRUMPET and SPARK ON THE PRAIRIE. Another: Carol Buchanan's GOD'S THUNDERBOLT.
ReplyDeleteRon, I don't think I've read about lawyers in any kind of westerns. Frankly, it didn't occur to me that there could be lawyers in frontier fiction too. I'll keep Johnny Boggs' and Carol Buchanan's books in mind. Thanks for this insight.
DeleteI definitely want to read more legal thrillers but don't have a lot. Except for Erle Stanley Gardner books.
ReplyDeleteTracy, I love Gardner's novels, especially if Perry Mason and Hamilton Burger are sparring in the courtroom. This book looks interesting and I hope to read it shortly.
DeleteI can't say I have heard of this author before. I hope you enjoy the book when you get there.The opening is promising.
ReplyDeleteCol, I hadn't heard of Stan Latreille either but then he has written only one book so far and it has got fairly decent reviews. The opening is good, I agree; hopefully, it will sustain all the way through.
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