What do you think?
Rate this book
Samantha Adams #1
First Kill All the Lawyers
Writing as Alice Storey, Shankman first introduced Atlanta journalist/detective Samantha Adams in this critically acclaimed mystery. When a distinguished attorney is found murdered, Sam delves into a scandal of dirty money and adultry that stretches from Atlanta's society salons to the saloons of the "good old boys".
220 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1988
17 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Shankman
41 books21 followersNashville-based mystery writer Sarah Shankman is the author of the popular title I Still Miss My Man, But My Aim is Getting Better (1996), and the equally popular Samantha Adams series, the latest of which is Digging Up Momma.
a.k.a. Alice Storey Some of her books republished under Shankman.
a.k.a. Alice Storey Some of her books republished under Shankman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 19, 2014
*Book source ~ Many thanks to Untreed Reads for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Crime reporter Samantha ‘Sam’ Adams is back in her hometown of Atlanta after living in California for 20 years. Her Uncle George is a retired lawyer slowly losing his sight and Sam moves back in. It’s as if she’s never left. When a family friend and fellow lawyer disappears and then turns up dead, Sam can’t help but question the accidental death he is labeled with by the suspiciously crooked Sheriff. Sam smells a story, two stories actually. One about Forrest Ridley the ‘accidental’ death victim and the other about crooked good ol’ boy Sheriffs in the South. Can Sam get to the bottom of these stories or will she end up at the bottom of a lake?
A satisfactory mystery with enough twists and turns to keep one guessing this story has great characters and humor, plus a possible rekindling of a long ago romance. I’m not very forgiving so Beau, no matter how handsome and hot he is, would get the cold shoulder from me indefinitely. But Sam seems to be thawing and I find that disappointing. If he’s going to come back into her life I wish she’d make him suffer for longer than one book. But then, that’s just me. Overall though I found the portrayal of the South funny and fairly accurate. At least from what I’ve seen and heard as a Yankee (from OH) who has moved to NC. I may not be living in the Deep South, but close enough. *winks*
Crime reporter Samantha ‘Sam’ Adams is back in her hometown of Atlanta after living in California for 20 years. Her Uncle George is a retired lawyer slowly losing his sight and Sam moves back in. It’s as if she’s never left. When a family friend and fellow lawyer disappears and then turns up dead, Sam can’t help but question the accidental death he is labeled with by the suspiciously crooked Sheriff. Sam smells a story, two stories actually. One about Forrest Ridley the ‘accidental’ death victim and the other about crooked good ol’ boy Sheriffs in the South. Can Sam get to the bottom of these stories or will she end up at the bottom of a lake?
A satisfactory mystery with enough twists and turns to keep one guessing this story has great characters and humor, plus a possible rekindling of a long ago romance. I’m not very forgiving so Beau, no matter how handsome and hot he is, would get the cold shoulder from me indefinitely. But Sam seems to be thawing and I find that disappointing. If he’s going to come back into her life I wish she’d make him suffer for longer than one book. But then, that’s just me. Overall though I found the portrayal of the South funny and fairly accurate. At least from what I’ve seen and heard as a Yankee (from OH) who has moved to NC. I may not be living in the Deep South, but close enough. *winks*
June 30, 2016
Wilhelm doesn't like the overused cliche, First Kill All the Lawyers. When Shakespeare said it perhaps it had a bit of wit about it but that has worn away. Now it's just a tired and usually silly phrase.
So I should have known better than to pick up a mystery with that title. . . .
To read the rest of my blog post go to:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
So I should have known better than to pick up a mystery with that title. . . .
To read the rest of my blog post go to:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
October 15, 2018
I had read another in this series and really enjoyed it - mainly because it was set in a town very familiar to me (Hot Springs, Arkansas). So, I decided to try more in the series. This first in the series, set in Atlanta, was interesting, again, because of the setting, but didn't seem that well developed.
May 31, 2017
This book has so much information about Atlanta and its social mores, it ought to be required reading for Atlanta females. It does start off slow, but keep plugging.
September 28, 2018
Edition I read used the name Alice Storey.
August 13, 2019
I found this book in a little library near where I live. I think I read it before. I really enjoyed this book. It had an interesting mystery, as well as characters that I would enjoy meeting.
June 8, 2016
I originally picked up this book because I am a lawyer and I like mystery novels, so the title seemed up my alley. Not a bad mystery all in all, although I really could care less about the upper crust of Atlanta or any other Southern city (or Northern, Eastern, or Western for that matter -- but the concept of Southern charm is vastly overrated, mostly by Southerners). Sam Adams, hotshot woman crime reporter, newly returned to her home town wants to do an article on the corruption of rural county sheriffs. It is a good idea -- I mean, it was in the late 2000's that one rural country sheriff in the South murdered the man who beat him in the election because his corruption would be exposed -- but it kind of gets bootstrapped onto the question of what happened to the law partner of Sam's Uncle George. Forrest Ridley is touted as a fine upstanding honest and ethical lawyer and part of the upper crust, which is practically unheard of, and the main characters still seem to feel that way at the end of the book.
{Spoiler Alert -- After learning about his affair with a much younger woman and the casual reference to marijuana being found in their illicit love nest, I did not find him so fine upstanding honest and ethical, even if he wasn't violating all the rules of Professional Conduct like every other still practicing lawyer in the book. I say still practicing, because Uncle George is retired and seems to be more of a decent dude than the vaunted Forrest Ridley.}
The mystery was decent, although the bootstrapping of the drug question was a little hamhanded in my opinion and I don't really see how Sam got a story of corrupt rural sheriffs out of the problems in the one backwater county, but oh well. The thing that I was most irritated by, although it was likely meant to be a running thread through the remainder of the series I will likely never read, was the subplot about the romance with Beau. That is probably in large part due to the fact that I burned out on Harlequin-style romance novels which involve the innocent young woman whose first lover was a db and left her high-and-dry without a second though, wrecking her life entirely despite the fact that she gains some professional success and then when she returns to town is still as attractive as ever, has seen the error of his ways, and wants her back but she is tied up in knots with doubt (although it is clear that she will take him back). Grow up and grow a pair of ovaries, honey, and tell him where to get off then forget he ever existed!
{Spoiler Alert -- After learning about his affair with a much younger woman and the casual reference to marijuana being found in their illicit love nest, I did not find him so fine upstanding honest and ethical, even if he wasn't violating all the rules of Professional Conduct like every other still practicing lawyer in the book. I say still practicing, because Uncle George is retired and seems to be more of a decent dude than the vaunted Forrest Ridley.}
The mystery was decent, although the bootstrapping of the drug question was a little hamhanded in my opinion and I don't really see how Sam got a story of corrupt rural sheriffs out of the problems in the one backwater county, but oh well. The thing that I was most irritated by, although it was likely meant to be a running thread through the remainder of the series I will likely never read, was the subplot about the romance with Beau. That is probably in large part due to the fact that I burned out on Harlequin-style romance novels which involve the innocent young woman whose first lover was a db and left her high-and-dry without a second though, wrecking her life entirely despite the fact that she gains some professional success and then when she returns to town is still as attractive as ever, has seen the error of his ways, and wants her back but she is tied up in knots with doubt (although it is clear that she will take him back). Grow up and grow a pair of ovaries, honey, and tell him where to get off then forget he ever existed!
November 22, 2012
This is a little bit of murder mystery to pass the time, nothing outstanding or meritorious. It isn't deep or complex, it just kind of skips along making the occasional funny remark.
Set in Atlanta GA, the main character is a newspaper reporter who is determined to write about corrupt country sheriffs. She ends up with a murder mystery on her hands as well. I liked how a weak character turned out to be a hero, that was probably the best thing in the book.
Set in Atlanta GA, the main character is a newspaper reporter who is determined to write about corrupt country sheriffs. She ends up with a murder mystery on her hands as well. I liked how a weak character turned out to be a hero, that was probably the best thing in the book.
August 22, 2008
FIRST KILL ALL THE LAWYERS - VG+
Shankman, Sarah - 1st in Samantha Adams series
When a distinguished attorney is found murdered, journalist/detective Samatha Adams "Sam" delves into a scandal of dirty money and adultery that stretches from Atlanta's society salons to the saloons of the "good old boys."
What a great debut book. I shall definitely read more.
Shankman, Sarah - 1st in Samantha Adams series
When a distinguished attorney is found murdered, journalist/detective Samatha Adams "Sam" delves into a scandal of dirty money and adultery that stretches from Atlanta's society salons to the saloons of the "good old boys."
What a great debut book. I shall definitely read more.
January 12, 2011
This is the first book in the Samantha Adams series. It is an older book and it a bit dated but a good read none the less. I got a feel for Samantha and why she was back in Georgia...how she got involved in the whole mystery and how she solved the mystery. Good writing, great plot, and a great surprise ending. Looking forward to reading another one in this series.
July 1, 2012
Sarah Shankman sets her mystery in Atlanta and in the Georgia counties north of Atlanta. There's corruption, greed, murder, sex, and Southern habits of covering it all up. Samantha (Sam) Adams was raised in this world but has been away from it for years and she's not afraid of shaking things up.
Read
January 2, 2010Good mystery, well written and good plot.
January 21, 2021
Decent murder mystery set in Atlanta. This is the first in a series. I'd like to read the next one to see where the author is going with it.
November 20, 2008
I liked the main character, southern spin, side characters and little edge. Okay to pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews