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Feb 04, 2012

Julie rated it:

Legal drama at its best. Patterson's books are always so well-researched and insightful that I come away feeling that I've learned something about the subject area, in this case death penalty litigation. There is great depth to his characters as well because he develops different characters in different books but they all inhabit the same fictional universe, so a minor character in one book has a full back story in another. Overall, this was a great book. 4.5 stars.

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Oct 22, 2011

Ken rated it:

CONVICTION examines the legal nightmare of the California appeals procedure. In 1987 two brothers were convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a nine year old girl. Their lawyer was cross-addicted to booze and cocaine, but he did offer a defense which was legally adequate. although it was really just good enough to get them executed. Fifteen years later, one brother is executed, and now there is a slim chance that the appeals process can save the other brother.

The brother who remain More...

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May 19, 2011

Richard rated it:

I really loved Patterson's early books with the characters Christopher and Terri Paget. But this was nothing but a misfire; so boring from start to end that I could barely finish the thing. None of the courtroom shenanigans take place in an actual courtroom, mind you, but at hearings and on conference calls; characters seem to be forever filing petitions instead of actually doing anything interesting or exciting. This may be how the law really works but it doesn't make for compelling reading. More...

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Aug 20, 2010

Lorie rated it:

This book takes the issue of the death penalty and puts a personal story with it. Of course it's a story with a likable young man trying to avoid his death penalty, and the lawyers who are working on the last minute appeals. It may be slanted, but it is a valid perspective to consider. I discussed this book a lot with my husband, my mother, my kids... a book that got me thinking. Without preaching the author explored this aspect of our legal system and showed some of the inconsistencies in r More...

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Oct 17, 2011

Michelle rated it:

This book was very difficult for me to read. It's about a death row inmate and his lawyers attempts to have his execution stayed.
My feelings and thoughts regarding the death penalty have changed over the years. The recent execution in Georgia made me start thinking about it again. I was at the library browsing the shelves and ran across this book. I've read many of RNP''s novels and like his style so I picked this up and started it. It's a difficult subject to read about.
The book f More...

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Nov 07, 2011

Jane rated it:

Janie and I listened to this book driving to and from South Carolina and to the lake. I think it deserves a 3.5. This isn't a typical Richard North Patterson book. Instead, he provides an unapologetic attack on capital punishment thinly disguised as a novel. A good editor could have earned Richard a 4. He overdoses in legal description in extended discussion of the tortuous appeal process in state, district, court of appeals, and the supreme court. The ending was clearly intended to make a More...

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Jul 11, 2009

Michael rated it:

I love the way Richard N. Patterson frames legal issues into interesting novels. This is probably the best of his that I have read. It involves a murder of a young girl and a possibly innocent, dim -witted black man, who is charged with the murder and sentenced to death. It follows the effort of husband wife lawyers who fight for years to win his freedom or a stay of execution. The effort winds through the federal appeals court all the way to the U.S. Supreme court and really lays out the comple More...

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Nov 25, 2011

J. rated it:

This book by Patterson is a book that is written to your heart. If you can read it without crying or at least finding a tear running down your cheek, you would be unusual. You can be hardened by our criminal system, which is probably the best it can be, but can it make mistakes? This book makes you think of the possible injustices of our criminal and penal systems. A penetrating look at what can happen that is injust and why it can happen, even in our system of justice. A good read.
J. Rob More...

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Apr 08, 2008

Foodie rated it:

"I didn't do that little girl" is all Rennell Price has ever said in his own defense. Fifty nine days is how long he has to live - after spending fifteen years on death row for the horrifying sexual assault and murder of nine year old Thuy Sen, whose body was found floating in San Francisco Bay.
Richard North Patterson has a knack for churning out bestsellers that are intensely dramatic and thought provoking. After 12 novels on topics ranging from gun control to late-term abortion More...

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Nov 22, 2007

Kathy rated it:

From a blog post I wrote in 2005:

Richard North Patterson's latest book, Conviction, is an intense look at capital punishment. The protagonist, lawyer Terri Paget, takes on the death row case of Rennell Price. Price is a young black man who was convicted, along with his brother, of killing a 9 year old girl during a sexual assault.

As Paget reviews the evidence, she comes to believe that not only is Rennell innocent, he's also retarded and that fact kept him from ever recei More...

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Oct 11, 2010

Measi rated it:

This book started off slow, but about halfway through it really grabbed me, and I had to finish it in an evening. It's a bit depressing, really - but the worlds these characters came from are depressing. It's essentially Law & Order in book form, including some good chapter pauses for the dun-dun beats.

The only thing that flew over my head was what was going on with Elena. I definitely missed something, unless my assumption of teenage pissy behavior for the sake of being pissy is More...

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Nov 03, 2010

Dennis rated it:

This was not so much a novel as a diatribe against the death penalty laws, as well as the death penalty itself. There was almost no character development (except for portraying them as racial stereotypes), way too much coincidence (as some characters' lives mirrored much of the case itself)and no thrills in this legal thriller. However, it wasn't painful to read, just unfulfilling and uninteresting. If you're looking for a much more interesting and complex thriller on the death penalty, you'd More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Kay rated it:

The characters were outstanding and the plot was good, but neither could make up for the over sell of the author's viewpoint. Instead of over 500 pages, it should have been 250-300. I felt way too many times I was drowning in quicksand. Then suddenly it would get good before back to the boring legal mumble jumble. Patterson needs to take some lessons from Grisham to hold a reader's interest. And Grisham always gets his views over without tiring his reader.

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May 05, 2010

Patrick rated it:

This is one of my 2 favorite Patterson books so far! He wrote on about political parties (I've forgotten the title) that I also thouroughly enjoyed. There were a couple that I read that left me cold. When he gets it right, he really nails it, and this was one of those. He takes on the hard issues (politics, capital punishment, terrorism, race relations, etc) - pretty impressive!

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Jul 02, 2011

Kaylol rated it:

I can't say I like anything about details of law. I'm not a lawyer, nor did I ever aspire to become one. But apart from all the details of the law procedures, which for me were extremely boring,the book's good. It made me reflect on what it means to be caught up in the something you can't get out of, even though you're innocent, because the law says so.

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Oct 26, 2011

Allysia rated it:

Way too much detail. The book could have been half the size it was if they left out some of the court room and conference call details they included. They only reason I finished it is because that's the kind of person that I am but I am sorry I wasted my time with this one. And it ended the way you thought it would, which was disappointing.

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Dec 10, 2008

Julie rated it:

This was not a good book. I was looking forward to learning more about the issues surrounding the death penalty and perhaps I did, but this book was painful from beginning to end. The underlying crime is just so horrific that to have to revisit it over and over again is repulsive. The lawyer characters are thinly drawn and have a complicated family structure that you'd think would have a point in the plot - but then doesn't. The rounds of legal proceedings are excruciatingly dull (this may b More...

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Jan 11, 2012

Lilla rated it:

If it was not so dense with pages upon pages of legal didactism, I would have rated this book higher; the story, between all that lawyerly lecturing, was intriguing and engaging. It's quite an introduction to the incredibly complex and convoluted system of legal processes surrounding capital punishment and post-conviction litigation.

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Jun 09, 2011

Sonya rated it:

a VERY emotional and frustrating read! It was hard to get through this without tears! Very well written....I'm glad I read it, but it brought out some STRONG emotions and feelings on our justice system...eventhough it is a fictional story, it holds a lot of truth...I saw my mom reading this book in tears and knew I had to read it.....

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Sep 12, 2010

Megan rated it:

This was quite a hefty book with a hefty topic- capital punishment. It was loaded with lawyer-speak and at times, I wasn't sure I could make it thru this book. In the end, I came away with a deeper, more meaningful view of captial punishment. It's easy to espouse our views on subjects that have little bearing on our lives, but quite different when our lives are personally affected by it.

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Mar 25, 2008

Kevin rated it:

A trip through the convoluted world of habeas corpus law and the death penalty ...... Two brothers are charged with, convicted and sentenced to die for the rape and murder of a 9 year old child. Time passes and new evidence comes to light that if introduced at the original trial would have prevented the conviction - or at least never had led to capital punishment for one. The book is written with such legal detail that upon completion you could probably pass a class on Habeas Corpus law. This bo More...

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Nov 12, 2011

CC rated it:

The writing was fine, but I did find myself skimming to avoid some of the more detailed passages. The characters were well-formed but suprisingly tragic all the way around, even the lawyers. The crime itself -- ugh. Not for me. It seemed like the book's focus was to explore different points of view concerning the death penalty rather than to tell a compelling story.

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Nov 05, 2009

Brent rated it:

A good Novel about our upper criminal justice systems politically motivated decisions. Also,many reasons against Capital punishment are cited , all within a story that is terrible but engrossing

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Jul 29, 2011

Ian rated it:

As a powerful argument against the death penalty this novel succeeds, but as a legal thriller it does get bogged down in legalese which might have you skipping large sections.

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Apr 24, 2009

Jim rated it:

Just started and looks like it will be a good book. It was a very good book, but went into a lot of detail about the court systems. I found most of that interesting but that part was long and drawn out.

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Dec 21, 2010

Karla rated it:

Good story line but forever long and detailed. Story is similar to Tom Clancy's "The Chamber" and it could also be used for a High School Goverment Class context reference. Alotho the story is good, it's not good enough to recommend. Iit doesnt hold the reader and is a bit hard to get thru.

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Aug 05, 2009

Marvin rated it:

I've enjoyed Patterson's other "issues" books about presidential & judicial politics in relation to abortion. This one about the death penalty is more like a traditional legal potboiler & is not as good.

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Dec 17, 2009

Jen rated it:

This isn't your ordinary brain candy. Patterson (Richard North, not James) writes legal thrillers, but legal thrillers with so much detail you might think you're reading a NYTimes article. This one is about capital punishment, and raises lots of issues about the death penalty. Note--not for the squeamish --the crime committed was horrific. What was also terrible, though, was the 15 years from crime to execution. Should the mentally retarded be executed? What degree of retardation matters? More...

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Jun 14, 2011

Al rated it:

Too legalistic for the average reader. Good treatise agains the death penalty. Good explanation of the work of the court system.

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Aug 14, 2010

Jenna rated it:

While I liked this one, I wasn't so happy about how it ended. I won't spoil it...it's a great book though and worth the read.

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