Guilt by Degrees (Rachel Knight, #2)

Sep 26, 2012 Trish rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, fiction, series, crime

I see all the rave reviews for this title and I credit Clark for being able to create credible characters in a thoroughly authentic law environment. That is the thing Clark does best: how does a law office sound, what do people actually do, and how do crimes actually get prosecuted successfully? What are the snags? I wouldn’t, however, call it “gritty.”

Clark is a rare creature, and so is her creation, Rachel Knight. Knight manages to get up (late) every day in her suite at fancy L.A. hotel where...more

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Jun 02, 2013 Bruce rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mmm

Rachael Knight, special trials DA in LA picks up an apparent loser case of a murdered homeless man when another lawyer doesn't seem to care since it was just a homeless guy. Turns out the homeless guy was brother to a policeman murdered a couple of years before. (view spoiler)...more

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May 02, 2013 Ian Wood added it

Marcia Clark is the woman who blew the OJ Simpson murder trial, so what made her think she could write believable novels about a prosecutor is worth finding out, which explains why I picked this up! She tried over twenty cases in her thirteen years but I don't know what her success rate was. She wrote a book about that trial Without a Doubt, which I've read.

There's a detailed review of this tedious novel on my blog. My recommendation is to go read that instead of reading this warty novel

This nov...more Marcia Clark is the woman who blew the OJ Simpson murder trial, so what made her think she could write believable novels about a prosecutor is worth finding out, which explains why I picked this up! She tried over twenty cases in her thirteen years but I don't know what her success rate was. She wrote a book about that trial Without a Doubt, which I've read.

There's a detailed review of this tedious novel on my blog. My recommendation is to go read that instead of reading this warty novel

This novel is vol 2 of the Rachel Knight series, and as of now, I'm not planning on reading vol 1, so we're coming into this at a possible disadvantage. Fortunately, this series is episodic, so unless there's some hidden story arc which hasn’t yet been made apparent, I figure we’re good to go.

Rachel Knight is an attorney in LA, who is in the Special Prosecutions Unit. Typically in this kind of series, the protagonist is massively overworked, but to her credit, Clark mentions this but doesn’t press it. That's in her favor; unfortunately, the other issue I have with this kind of novel, (when written by a woman; men have their own separate issues) is that it’s somewhat obsessed with describing how wonderful her wardrobe is, and how classily dressed everyone else is. I don’t judge a person by their clothes unless there's some really notable reason to do so, which means that I'm not at all impressed with this kind of writing; it simply makes my eyes go glassy. So that's not in her favor!

This is a procedurally styled novel: we follow the attorney all over as she tries to resolve the case, and for me this is somewhat boring with the occasional spike of interest. Rachel has a female detective friend called Bailey who evidently hangs out with her during these investigations, so she can get away with all kinds of things she wouldn’t be able to accomplish on her own. This is a slightly odd story since it starts in first person past, but occasionally breaks into a chapter which is told in third person past.

It would have made the novel much more interesting to me if Bailey and Rachel had been an item. Their relationship would have been far more engrossing had they been dating (and no, I'm not talking about sex, I'm talking about how they get along, how they view life together, and how they display their affection for one another in their everyday interactions, especially since they're of different racial backgrounds, too), but both she and Bailey are decidedly hetero, both attached to men who are way too classy, good looking, and well-dressed for my taste. That's a weakness: the perfect partner, the perfect relationship, the men way, way above the norm. It’s too pat. I get the feeling that Clark is describing something which she badly feels she needs but has failed to find. But that's just me!

Again, this is a weakness in the story for me, and it;s one of many. At one point, Rachel agonizes on how to find a woman she's trying to track down. Well duhh, look her up on the phone book! Look her up online! It doesn't even remotely cross Rachel's mind to do that! She'd much rather describe in detail which expensive restaurants she eats at and what, exactly, she eats, and what, exactly, everyone she meets is wearing. At only 25% of the way thru this book I was already so sick to death of clothes and food. It wasn't looking good!

Rachel goes out with her boyfriend one evening, and it’s more fine food, fine clothes and jazz. Barf. Why is it always jazz in these novels? What a tedious trope! Would it kill them to have someone who's into heavy metal, or classical, or pop-rock? So they go back to Rachel's place and she's thinking maybe it’s time, maybe she's now "ready"; maybe now she feels able to drop her briefs and file a motion for some heavy voir dire, leading the witness without objection, but her boyfriend, Graden wants to talk about Rachel's dead sister, Romy (I guess her best friend was Michelle). Trope time! Tedious back story alert!

And this one came right out of Poppy Montgomery's back story as Carrie Wells in Unforgettable. Yes, Poppy. Respect the Poppy! She's Australian so we can pretty much forgive her anything. In Unforgettable she played a character with an eidetic memory, whose sister was abducted when she was quite young. It was one of those stories where the arc never is going anywhere, just like Beckett's pointless arc in Castle, which isn’t going anywhere, either.

In almost the same breath that Clark tells us that Rachel had an "impulsive and reckless nature", she also tries to make us believe that Rachel was "a typical young girl". Not buying that; typical young girls tend not to be out-and-out impulsive and reckless - not that they don't have the occasional reckless impulse, of course, but young girls tend to be a bit smarter than young boys and to stay out of brain-dead trouble more easily. Although not always.... But anyway, Romy was abducted by a guy in a cowboy hat twenty years before. There's no word on whether he was wearing cashmere or silk, or whether he preferred country over jazz and whether he drunk Ketel One Martinis. Rachel witnessed it, but failed to note his description or the truck license plate and now has humongous survivor guilt.

Rachel reacts violently to Graden's digging into her past without her permission! Way to manufacture a crisis, Clark! So Graden gets down-graded by Rachel and he leaves. It looks like it's over at this point between them. Seriously? Can we be any more melodramatic? And we're not even quite halfway through this story.

The investigation continues apace. A slow pace. A very slow pace. For me, this is way too much procedure. It’s boring as hell. The only thing which is keeping me going is the mystery and it's taking awfully long to get there, which is why I keep making up solutions of my own, most of which are wrong as it happens! Clark mentions Lizzie Borden twice. The first time she does it to reveal that she knows what a lot of people do not about Borden, which is that she was found not guilty of the brutal murder of her parents. The second mention is Clark showing us that she thinks Borden was guilty. I’d have to disagree with her on that, but that's another story, since Borden gets a mention in my own Timeless novel which I'm probably going to have to re-name before I publish it.

We get endless more description of what they're eating, and what they're drinking, and what they're wearing. From what I've read, this is worse in the first novel, but I find that hard to believe! I do believe that Clark is obsessed with Glenlivet and Ketel One.

I'm sorry but I checked out early on this one, and skimmed the last half-dozen pages which consisted of the asinine scam of having Rachel offer herself as a target to try and lure in the stalker guy! She walks the streets alone in the dark with no visible body guard, and no body armor, and the stalker falls for it, and is shot by Bailey who is not following Rachel, but hiding at her destination in the blind faith hope that her stalker won’t attack her until she reaches it! Seriously? So the Chase is over, but they don’t even catch Lilah. She gets away, and of course, as if this isn't pathetic enough, Rachel gets back with Graden on the last page. This is after she has blindly drunk the scotch which Lilah sent her, and without even wondering for a fleeting moment if it was poisoned.

Why wasn't this book offered with a barf bag? It started with some potential, but no matter how many chances I gave her to pull the chestnuts out, Clark kept on blithely adding more chestnuts. So I'm glad I missed vol 1, and I’ll be even more glad to miss vols 3 through however many she can get away with after this.(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Arlena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-stars, adult-read, excellent-book, murder, mystery, my-reviews, suspense, thriller

Author: Marcia Clark
Published By: Mulholland Books
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 5

Review:

"Guilt By Degrees" by Marcia Clark was full of suspense, mystery and also a thriller intriguing read. We find thirty-four year old, LA District Attorney Rachel Knight and her friend, Detective Bailey Keller will investigate a homeless man murder and this will take them to a murder of a LAPD policeman. Trying to solve both of these cases will lead them into a dangerous path that will t...more

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Sep 09, 2012 David Savage rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having never read any Marcia Clark novels before I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened this book and started to read. Now that I have finished this book I will we looking for more books by the author. Guilt By Degrees is superbly written with absorbing characters, lots of plot twists and thoroughly enjoyable.

LA Deputy District Attorney Rachel Knight with the help of her best friend Bailey investigate the murder of a homeless man after another attorney fails to follow through with the case....more

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Aug 13, 2012 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Guilt by Degrees” (audio) by Marcia Clark greatly exceeded my expectations.

I have lived in Southern California, participated in jury duty often in downtown LA so I know the buildings in this book. I also enjoyed working with attorneys in connection with my position in LA. So listening to one set in LA was a big treat. Ever since the O.J. Simpson trial I have been a big fan of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor. I enjoyed her intelligent and witty answers when she was interviewed on TV. I missed...more “Guilt by Degrees” (audio) by Marcia Clark greatly exceeded my expectations.

I have lived in Southern California, participated in jury duty often in downtown LA so I know the buildings in this book. I also enjoyed working with attorneys in connection with my position in LA. So listening to one set in LA was a big treat. Ever since the O.J. Simpson trial I have been a big fan of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor. I enjoyed her intelligent and witty answers when she was interviewed on TV. I missed the first book with Rachel Knight, “Guilt by Association” but this one works well as a standalone.

Rachel Knight, the main character is a Special Trials Deputy Prosecutor. She has lots of positives in her life. She lives in the luxurious Biltmore hotel complete with stained glass windows and a wonderful room service. She can tell you the best and the worst of LA. But she has her own personal demons that interfere with her life and that comes out in this story too. She had a tragedy in her childhood so she tries to protect herself by keeping her past a secret even from her closest friends and her by boyfriend.

Rachel falls into this particular case because of her ideals. She knew that the real reason that this case was going to be rejected was that it was a murder of a homeless man, even worse he couldn’t be identified. He did not matter but he mattered to her. The defendant was let go. There seemed to be no evidence and no reliable witnesses. Was that defendant the real killer? Something bugged her about this case. Her co-workers, worked long hours with her to uncover the mystery. After a lot of careful interviewing and getting information from dangerous characters, the story explodes! There are connections between this homeless man’s murder and murder of LAPD policemen. You will be gasping as the story unfolds.

January LaVoy did the reading for this audio book and was excellent. She was able to expertly handle a variety of voices with different ages and sex.

I definitely recommend this thrilling adventure with the Rachel Knight. Now, I will go back and read the first in this series, “Death by Association.

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Aug 02, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 4 of 5 stars

The opening pages of this new novel by Marcia Clark are attention-getting, to say the least: One ax murder [of an LAPD cop, no less], in the brief Prologue, immediately followed [albeit chronologically two years later] by the stabbing death of a homeless man on a busy LA street, in broad daylight. While the identity of the first victim is quite clear, there is no identification as to the second, nor are there any witnesses who saw the killer.

This is the second book featuring 34-year-old Special...more The opening pages of this new novel by Marcia Clark are attention-getting, to say the least: One ax murder [of an LAPD cop, no less], in the brief Prologue, immediately followed [albeit chronologically two years later] by the stabbing death of a homeless man on a busy LA street, in broad daylight. While the identity of the first victim is quite clear, there is no identification as to the second, nor are there any witnesses who saw the killer.

This is the second book featuring 34-year-old Special Trials deputy DA Rachel Knight, who takes a somewhat circuitous path to leading the investigation into the death of the homeless man. Also returning are her best buddies: Fellow ADA Toni LaCollier, and detective Bailey Keller. Together they make quite a team.

The reader is teased by interspersed chapters which switch from the 1st-person narrative of Rachel Knight to a third-person pov of a mysterious woman with extraordinary skills, whose part in the plot is not soon revealed. The novel unfolds in somewhat leisurely fashion, until the pace picks up in the second half. In addition to the police procedural, the reader does learn quite a lot about Rachel’s preferences in alcoholic beverages, and discovers that she possesses extensive knowledge of good jazz.

The author’s books have been compared to those of best-seller Linda Fairstein [who herself has a new book just recently released], for some obvious reasons: Each was a nationally well-known Federal prosecutor in two of the largest cities in the US [NY and LA], and the even more obvious fact that each was lead prosecutor in two of the highest-profile trials in modern criminal history. To this reader, although the author’s vast experience as a Federal prosecutor is much in evidence, she still has a while to go before achieving Ms. Fairstein’s high level of writing expertise, but the book is an interesting and well-plotted novel sure to keep the reader involved to the end, and I will look forward to the next entry in the Rachel Knight series.

I would recommend that the reader not read the flyleaf, which to me included much too much information. One further note: One cannot help but feel that the author’s observation that “no prosecutor likes to lose . . . the typical anger we all feel when a guilty defendant walks out the door . . . was much deeper, much more personal” seems very personal indeed.

[I would have given this 3-1/2 stars had I been able to do that]
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Jun 03, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love my mysteries and have always had a soft spot for legal thrillers especially ones that present a close team and characters that you can relate to. In a way, the Rachel Knight series reminds me of a cross between Rizzolli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen and the Bernie Rosato series by Lisa Scottoline. I first read Marcia Clark's first novel "Guilt by Association" and loved her writing style and the intrigue that she kept up and when I saw that she had released a new one , I just had to r...more

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May 31, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Guilt by Degrees, by Marcia Clark, B-plus,narrated by January LaVoy, produced by Hachette Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

This is the second in Marcia Clark’s Rachel Knight series. Rachel, an assistant D.A., is waiting in court for a bail hearing when she sees an extremely ineffective D.A. from her office totally screw up a bail hearing for a client. She jumps in after the fact and offers to appeal for the defendant. She earns the ire of this incompetent but cunning Assistant D.A. The murder...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

If I can make the case, will that close the deal?

Rachel Knight has been successfully running from the ghosts of the past that haunt her every day. She is at the top of her legal game in the Los Angeles DA’s office, but still holds back when it comes to her personal life even with her best friends. When Rachel picks up a case that every other lawyer wanted to kick to the curb, the unexpected drawback is the tragic memories she kept under control would come back. Rachel has to take control of her...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Lainy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 3 days

Publisher - Mulholland Books

Blurb From Goodreads

Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight--someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspectless homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up...more Time Taken To Read - 3 days

Publisher - Mulholland Books

Blurb From Goodreads

Someone has been watching D.A. Rachel Knight--someone who's Rachel's equal in brains, but with more malicious intentions. It began when a near-impossible case fell into Rachel's lap, the suspectless homicide of a homeless man. In the face of courthouse backbiting and a gauzy web of clues, Rachel is determined to deliver justice. She's got back-up: tough-as-nails Detective Bailey Keller. As Rachel and Bailey stir things up, they're shocked to uncover a connection with the vicious murder of an LAPD cop a year earlier. Something tells Rachel someone knows the truth, someone who'd kill to keep it secret.

Harrowing, smart, and riotously entertaining, GUILT BY DEGREES is a thrilling ride through the world of LA courts with the unforgettable Rachel Knight.

My Review

The press release I got with this one had some big names with good comments associated with it but I always reserve my own judgment as my taste varies. I have to say, I agree with pretty much all of the comments that came with it but I digress, onto the actual story and review.

District Attorney Rachel Knight is our main character along with her buddy, Detective Bailey Keller and they make quite the team. Rachel barges into a case being poorly handled by the prosecution, about to be dropped and takes it on. A homeless man murdered with very little to go on, until she starts digging. Slowly more pieces are revealed showing there is more to the case than initially thought that will put people at risk including Rachel.

Ah it isn't very often I really like a character so quickly, especially in a court type kind of book. However Rachel takes on the murder of a homeless man that no one else really cares about and that alone made me warm to her instantly. She is a tad impulsive and has a name for it in her work but continues to fight for justice and like a dog with a bone won't let go.

Her past comes into play during the book and it isn't until later you find out why and it had me thinking all kinds of theories and conspiracies. The story is quite compelling and I have to admit, I was dragged in very quickly. The chapters are really quite short, you know how I love them, which means you can dip in and out, however it also means "just one more chapter" turns into 2am when it's a work night! Ignore the fact it took 3 days for me to read this because the reality is, had I not had loads of assignments and projects due in I would have devoured this book in one sitting.

The pace is quite good and well balanced, it isn't a murder every two minutes kind of book however there are lots of twists and depths within it which keeps it interesting and you hooked. My biggest complaint has to be I was left hanging, I absolutely hate this! It is a fabulous trick by authors because you are guaranteed, well I am, to having to get the next book to find out where the story goes and get closure. Sorry to be vague but I don't do spoilers and they say it is a good author who keeps the reader wanting more, I am just very impatient! This was my first encounter with Marcia Clark and it won't be my last, 4/5 for me this time. A huge thanks to Kerry Hood & Mulholland books for sending me an ARC copy of this book and for introducing me to another new author. The book will be available from all good retailers from 11th April 2013, in paperback and ebook for £6.99 - you can find Marcia on facebook and twitter(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars

In the second book of the series, Assistant D.A. Rachel Knight takes over the case of a murdered homeless man when a fellow D.A. from her office totally messes up the case. But when she starts investigating, she finds out the homeless man was the brother of a policeman killed two years early and that the accused may be innocent. The more she digs in the more she stirs up and is determined to find justice.

The story held my attention as the mystery and legal proceeding unfolded and I enjoyed the d...more

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May 15, 2012 Deb Novack rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bcc-100bks-in-yr, book-chick-city-mys-susp-challenge, net-galley, my-tbr-thinning, wad2012ebkchallenge

Guilt by Degrees was a well-written entertaining mystery. When I started the book I wasn't sure I would like it as I had not read anything by Ms. Clark, but it was a very good read. DA Rachel Knight takes over a case from another prosecutor who could.not care less about the case and so it would not be dismissed. Rachel is a member of the Special Trials Unit a department that is highly criticized due to the fact that they get all the high profile cases. She also has issues in her personal life fr...more

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May 18, 2012 My Book Addiction and More MBA rated it 4 of 5 stars

GUILT BY DEGREES by Marcia Clark is an interesting crime thriller/fiction. D.A. Rachel Knight returns with another fast paced thriller. See,”Guilty By Associatiton”,but “Guilt By Degrees” can be read as a stand alone. Ride through the L.A. court system with Rachel Knight. Full of murder,secrets,and romance with harrowing supense and witty banter. Come on a ride with Rachel as she and Detective Baily Keller locate a killer and work through the L.A. court system. A seton the edge of your seat thri...more

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May 31, 2012 Laura de Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy, mystery

I really enjoyed Marcia Clark's first book, Guilt by Association, and was looking forward to this follow-up. In the end, I was satisfied with Guilt by Degrees.

This book had the same basic format as the first, with the same group of smart women, all professionals in the legal field, getting very involved in a case. This one again centered around Rachel, and her character is developing some very nice depth, with a back story taking shape.

I particularly liked an incident at the beginning of the boo...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: lady-detective

Another entry into the lady detective genre, Guilt by Degrees follows District Attorney Rachel Knight through a murder investigation in Los Angeles. A lawyer with a big heart and steel tits, Knight takes over a case of a homeless man killed on the street. She needs to identify who the victim is and why he was killed and the story turns out to be much more complicated than initially assumed.

The book had a little bit of a multiple personality disorder going on. Its one part noir, which has certain...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Cassandra Moore rated it 5 of 5 stars

Find this and more reviews at Wickedly Delicious Tales.

* SPOILER WARNING: This may contain spoilers for the first book, Guilt by Association. *

Clark kicks up the suspense in Guilt by Degrees. What starts out as a seemingly simple stabbing develops into a life-threatening mystery for Rachel. One murder mystery leads to a second connected murder. This book is quite a bit different from the first, which is a refreshing break from most mysteries I've read with cookie cutter plots and new character n...more Find this and more reviews at Wickedly Delicious Tales.

* SPOILER WARNING: This may contain spoilers for the first book, Guilt by Association. *

Clark kicks up the suspense in Guilt by Degrees. What starts out as a seemingly simple stabbing develops into a life-threatening mystery for Rachel. One murder mystery leads to a second connected murder. This book is quite a bit different from the first, which is a refreshing break from most mysteries I've read with cookie cutter plots and new character names. The mystery seemed to focus less upon who the murderer is and more upon why the murder occurred.

In the second installment of the Rachel Knight series, we also learn more about her past. The disappearance of her sister Romy is mentioned a few times in the first book. Now we get the story of how it happened, and why Rachel doesn't talk about it. The relationship between her and Graden hits the rocks as well. We still see a lot of Bailey, although not much of Toni. Bailey is the rock steady kind of friend I would want to have my back. We even get an appearance by Luis.

Just a heads up, the book is mostly told in first person from Rachel's perspective, but there are a few scenes scattered through told from third person. However, the third person point of view is focused on someone other than Rachel, so it adds another dimension to the story without creating a lot of confusion. Clark also did a much better job of moving the story along without repeating the tedious details of daily life. I mentioned in my review of the first book that the story was a little repetitive in how she progressed the mystery. This installment has more action and less filler.

The ending didn't completely wrap up this time. The murderer is discovered, but she left a few threads which I expect to lead to a third book. I was impressed with Guilt by Degrees and even found it surpassing the first. I will definitely be reading the next book. Also, be sure to check out the short story, If I'm Dead.

*Received book from publisher for review.*(less)

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Oct 20, 2012 Kate Sometomato rated it 2 of 5 stars

Very disappointing read for me. I wanted to enjoy this book, but I CANNOT like a mystery that spends so much time on nonessential details, for example: What the protagonist and villain choose to wear in the morning, at what restaurants they eat and what they ate there, the favorite vodka (Russian double platinum - who cares?), the expensive watch that one of the villains wears, etc etc etc. GIVE ME A BREAK! This is also a travelogue of Los Angeles, a very self-involved city with many self-involv...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Aislynn (Stitch Read Cook) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, mystery, hard-copy-from-publisher, arc-s-to-review

Sometimes events who seem completely unrelated turn into something the complete opposite. When the murder of a homeless man lands in Rachel’s lap – she finds herself drawn into a case that ties back to the murder of Baily Keller, a police detective. Can she figure out how these two cases relate to one another and the killer?

Life hasn’t always been fair or easy for Rachel Knight. She lost her sister many years ago and hasn’t really been able to get past that. She keeps the events and her feelings...more

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May 27, 2013 Taracuda rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 if I could do it.

It started out sloooooow, although it got faster and more interesting at the end. And while I didn't entirely like the narrator and I was completely sick of hearing about where they ate and their Ketel One martinis, I was hooked enough to keep reading the book. (view spoiler)

Definit...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

In Guilt by Degrees, deputy D.A. Rachel Knight discovers that the murder of a homeless man is connected to the murder of a LAPD cop from a few years back. The suspect, a beautiful woman, in the first murder was acquitted. It's up to Knight and Detective Bailey Keller to decipher the connections and track down the killer while staying out of his or her way.

I liked this book and found it entertaining. It's Clark's second book featuring Rachel Knight, but the first one that I've read. It was reaso...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Maddy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

PROTAGONIST: Rachel Clark, prosecuting attorney
SETTING: Los Angeles
SERIES: #2 of 2
RATING: 4.25

Rachel Knight, a prosecuting attorney in the Special Trials Unit in LA, is in court on a routine case when she becomes incensed by the shoddy work being done by prosecutor Brandon Averill in a case involving the homicide of a homeless man. When the case is dismissed, she decides to take it on herself—what if the defendant is guilty and is being let off because Averill completely botched the prosecution?...more PROTAGONIST: Rachel Clark, prosecuting attorney
SETTING: Los Angeles
SERIES: #2 of 2
RATING: 4.25

Rachel Knight, a prosecuting attorney in the Special Trials Unit in LA, is in court on a routine case when she becomes incensed by the shoddy work being done by prosecutor Brandon Averill in a case involving the homicide of a homeless man. When the case is dismissed, she decides to take it on herself—what if the defendant is guilty and is being let off because Averill completely botched the prosecution?

Rachel partners with police detective and close friend Bailey Keller to figure out what happened. Although there is some video evidence, it isn’t clear who stabbed the victim, Simon Bayer. Immediately before his death, Bayer had grabbed at a woman who subsequently disappeared. Bailey and Rachel discover that the woman was the wife of Simon’s late brother, an LAPD cop who had also been murdered. Simon was convinced that Lilah killed Zack Bayer and had set out to prove her guilty, but his own mental health deteriorated rapidly during his quest.

Rachel Knight was introduced in GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, a book which I thoroughly enjoyed. I am happy to say that Clark is equally successful in GUILT BY DEGREES. The plot is nicely complex, and Clark’s writing style is very accessible. Her real forte is in character development. Rachel is a woman who has a lot of baggage as a result of her witnessing the abduction of her older sister when she was a child, a fact that she has kept hidden from even her closest friends. When her significant other, Lietutenant Graden Hales, mentions the situation, it destroys their relationship. Watching Rachel learn to trust others with this most intimate part of herself was very moving. The interaction between Rachel and her close friends was very effectively depicted.

My only complaint with the book, and the reason that it did not receive an “A” rating from me, was that Clark documented too much of the daily facts of life of Rachel and her friends. It seems that we were provided an account of every meal and every drink that was consumed during the entire narrative. I found that distracting. I began to wonder how people who don’t have high paying jobs were able to afford to eat every meal out and drink expensive cocktails. It may sound silly, but all that detail decreased my enjoyment of what was otherwise a very good book.

Clark has put all the elements together very well—plotting, the legal setting, dialogue and characterization. There’s no sophomore slump here, and it’s great to see such a talent on the crime fiction scene. This is an excellent series, and I look forward to spending lots more time with Rachel Knight in the future.
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Jun 16, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I really enjoyed reading Guilt by Degrees. I don't usually hand out five stars, but this book kept me glued until the very end and I finished it over the course of a single day. And I must mention that I had many other things I should have been doing rather than reading so that speaks highly of the book.

Rachel Knight is haunted by her past and is determined to solve the case of a homeless man. While she normally gets the high profile cases, there is irony in how the tables turn when it is found...more

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May 20, 2012 Emma Cunningham rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Special Trials Deputy D.A. Rachel Knight witnesses a prosecutor screw up the case for a murdered homeless man, she’s furious—so furious that she takes over the case herself. But when she learns that the homeless man is actually Simon Bayer, the brother of a police officer who was axe-murdered two years earlier, the stakes are raised, since his accused murderer was his wife Leila—who walked on a jury decision of Not Guilty. Not even just that there had been reasonable dou...more When Special Trials Deputy D.A. Rachel Knight witnesses a prosecutor screw up the case for a murdered homeless man, she’s furious — so furious that she takes over the case herself. But when she learns that the homeless man is actually Simon Bayer, the brother of a police officer who was axe-murdered two years earlier, the stakes are raised, since his accused murderer was his wife Leila — who walked on a jury decision of Not Guilty. Not even just that there had been reasonable doubt as to her guilt, but that the jury had honestly believed she was innocent. And nobody has seen Leila since the trial.

What Rachel and her best friend, Detective Bailey Keller, find, is that not every case boils down to a guilty party and a victim. And that psychopaths really will do anything to avoid being caught.

I’ve reviewed Marcia Clark before, and honestly think that she gets better with each book. I think the best mark of an “author to watch” is one who makes a point of improving her writing and storytelling skills with each book, and Clark absolutely makes each book top the last. Although I don’t particularly like Rachel (which says nothing about Clark’s character development and everything to do with my taste in people), I do love the insight scoop on what it’s really like to work on a high-profile case.

I don’t want to post any spoilers here, so I’m just going to say that this is one of the coolest ideas I’ve seen in a mystery novel in a long time. There are twists and turns I never guessed and I’m still not quite sure who the bad guy really is. I also like that there were a few loose ends left dangling, so another Rachel Knight tale seems likely.

One thing that was missing for me was the love story. Rachel had been on the verge of patching up a broken heart in Guilt By Association and I didn’t really feel that this book continued the story of her healing and moving on. I would have liked to see more personal development there.

All in all, Guilt By Degrees is a great novel. Since it’s set in the Special Trials division, it reads a bit more like a police procedural than a legal thriller since Special Trials prosecutors investigate cases along with the detectives from the moment the body is found. However, if you like police procedurals, Marcia Clark is one of the best to read.(less)

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May 14, 2012 Gloria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense-thriller

This is Marcia Clark's (think O.J. Simpson trial) second fiction book, and again, she has done a pretty good job though I suspect her best one is still out there. Smart female protaganist takes on a case no one else would normally pay attention to, and naturally, it gets bigger and more complex that you originally might think it to be. Only somewhat odd quirk to this novel is that almost every scene has this young woman going out to eat somewhere. Usually a busy young lawyer has more to do than...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Kelly Dales rated it 3 of 5 stars

I looked forward to this book because I enjoyed her last one. I found Guilt by Degrees to be lackluster. I tired of the amount of time the Deputy DA and her best friend the detective spent in the car, discussing the next move and where they would eat their next meal. Side stories were introduced but not developed. I did not have the desire for the bad guy to be revealed like I normally do. This book leaves an open ending for a sequel. I will probably pass.

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Nov 13, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

This is Marcia Clark's second fiction book. It is the second in the series about Rachel Knight, a DA in Los Angeles...something Clark obviously knows well.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first (Guilt by Association). Clark writes in a way that makes you believe what you are reading is a true crime story. This book contained a lot of law information without being too much for a non-lawyer reader. Knight is a likeable and determined character who surrounds herself with some great friends.

The st...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Luba Moshcovich rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not bad, but I feel like I am reading a scenario for a Hollywood movie and there is a bit too much of a police slang that is not clear to readers. Talking about .22 Bereta (where Rachel puts it every time she gets dressed or undressed) is unnecessary detail, the same goes for alcohol drinking ( which is on every page of the book).
The characters in the book are plain and boring. They are either very good or profoundly bad with screwd childhood and unresolved issues.
The plot is there, but I woul...more

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May 19, 2013 Marcia rated it 4 of 5 stars

OK, so I picked up this book solely based on the author, out of curiosity, and guess what? I was thoroughly entertained. Yes, there are a few more descriptions of what the protagonist is wearing than I cared for but, setting that aside, I felt like I was getting a real, first-hand account of an actual case, and it was riveting. I will be reading more Marcia Clark novels in the future!

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Feb 13, 2013 Macjest rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: legal-thriller

This crime book was a bit on the disappointing side. I think Clark is trying too hard to emulate other authors. She spent way too much time on trivial details like eating and drinking. The plot itself was interesting; a cop has been murdered and the deputy DA is trying to figure out who did it. However, by the end when we find out who, there is no real resolution and we're left hanging.

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Guilt by Degrees (Rachel Knight #2)

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