The Anonymous Client

By JP Hailey (Parnell Hall)

ISBN: 978-1-936441-22-8,

e-book edition released 2011,

232 pages.



This is another fast-paced novel featuring criminal defense attorney, Steve Winslow. The protagonist is clever and so is the novel. It’s also slick, amusing and entertaining. The author has a good sense of his readers and their likely primary interests. He also has a good eye for detail and a finely-honed ability to use words to their maximum effect.

The novel begins and ends with personnel problems in Winslow’s office, a nice counterpoint to the main theme. The problem is a little fillip that adds some rhythm to the book. In the beginning, Winslow’s sole employee, Tracy Garvin, complains of being seriously under-worked.  That’s because her boss has a tendency to not appear in the office for weeks on end, and that’s because Winslow has few clients.

One day, as the novel opens, a letter arrives. It contains ten one thousand dollar bills. Thus is laid the basis for a very entertaining, very complicated murder and blackmail plot. As is the case with other novels in this series, the plot is a morass of mis-direction, tricky timing, private detectives, and a lot of both internal and external speculation and dialogue. The book is rife with minutia, details that enhance and color the reader’s perceptions of what has just happened, what it may mean and where the story is going next.

Set in New York City, Hall and his protagonist mine the rich variety of setting and character in mostly excellent ways. There is considerably less action in the novel than is often found in crime fiction except for the courtroom scenes which are among the most compelling I have ever read. Dialogue heavy, with sometimes arcane legal maneuvering; these scenes crackle with urgency and tension as we watch the nimble attorney skate along the edge of legal chasms while trying to save his client, sometimes without even knowing who his client is.

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Carl Brookins www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com Case of the Great Train Robbery, Reunion  Red Sky

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FTC Disclaimer: Again, I have no idea if Carl Brookins was paid, or blackmailed, or otherwise influenced to write this review. I doubt if he received any monetary benefit at all. He progably had to buy the book, then take time away from his own writing to read it and write this review. So, all things considered, it is possible he went in the hole.  I'm probably the only one who benefited directly as I did not have to write a blog entry today.

Book Review - The Innocent Woman by Parnell Hall

 Another review from Carl Brookins. This one is short and sweet. Thanks, Carl.

The Innocent Woman
By Parnell Hall
E-book
B0050W9HD4

A Steve Winslow zinger.

Here's an author who can write! Parnell Hall  has enough novels out you'd expect that, right? This was my first Steve Winslow mystery. It won't be my last.

Fine, distinct interesting characters. Limited cast. A creative defense attorney hard at work for a surprisingly uncooperative client. First she's fired after accusations of theft from her employer, then one of the owners of the firm is shot to death and Winslow's client is arrested.

Watching this lawyer both in and out of court is a real treat.

The dialog crackles, the pace is next to pell mell and the explanations are precise. There is a good deal of detail, especially at the end. I would have preferred a more succinct closing to the novel with less sniping between attorneys, but it was a small price to pay for a fast, well done story.

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Carl Brookins
www.carlbrookins.com, www.agora2.blogspot.com Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,
Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!

FTC Disclaimer - I don't know if Carl bought this book or it was sent to him, or if he gained any compensation for writing his review. I only know the author probably will, as I am sorely tempted  to buy his book.