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Special Circumstances (2008)

by Sheldon Siegel(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Mystery & Thriller

publisher

Sheldon M. Siegel, Inc.

series

Mike Daley Mystery

review 1: A murder suicide occurs in a law firm just as Mike Daley is preparing to leave the firm and start his own practice. The police accuse Mike's best friend of what they feel is a double murder and Mike, with the help of his attorney ex-wife and the unwanted assistance of somewhat slimey attorney Mort Goldberg has to come to the legal rescue of Joel. I guessed "who done it" before the end, which I don't usually do, but found the reason for the murder pretty contrived. Even so, I enjoyed this one and will look for others in the series.
review 2: Back to legal thrillers, again (which seems to be a phase I am going through), I made the mistake of picking up this book the a few days ago as something to have in my bag in case I had to waste some time waiting for some... moreone … and a couple nights later had to stay up until an ungodly hour in order to finish it.Sheldon Siegel is/was a California attorney in private practice, specializing in corporate and securities law. Back in the late 1990s he joined a writing club, and this 2001 novel was his first book. Despite my dislike for first-person things, I’m giving it four stars, as it is eminently readable with engaging characters in a complex situation. The protagonist is Mike Daley, an attorney in a large San Francisco law firm, who starts off the novel attending a couple of company events on his next-to-last day of work, as his partners have invited him to leave the firm because of a general lack of productivity. Mike is okay with that, although a bit of bitterness shows through his thoughts; he is going to rent some office space from his ex-wife, Rosita (they still love each other and happily engage in “guilt sex” frequently, but they cannot stand living with each other), where he will set up business as a defense attorney (having served for many years as a public defender before joining the firm, and having been a priest prior to that). His first case is a minor legal thing for his former secretary, and his second is a good friend and former associate who gets accused of a double murder in what has the appearances of a murder/suicide situation--compounded by the fact that another of his partners, who left the firm on the same day after being elected the new District Attorney, sees this case as a chance to make a name for himself.The plot is intricate and well thought out, the writing is very well done, and the author presents interesting slices of realistic characters’ lives in an engrossing story that winds to a solid conclusion--and then turns that conclusion on its head. What’s not to like?The book has 546 pages; somewhere around Page 400 I came to the conclusion that I knew who the real killer was, but it was based more on emotions than clues. It’s still a good book--a real page-turner, just as the cover declares. less

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