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Life Sentence
Jon Soliday is legal counsel to a powerful politician--his childhood best friend--who is running for governor. The two have shared political success and undying loyalty. But an anonymous letter hinting at blackmail and a colleague's mysterious death remind them of something else they have in common. A dark secret from the summer of 1979...murder.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
David Ellis
34 books2,717 followersDavid Ellis is a lawyer and the Edgar Allan Poe Award winner for Best First Novel for Line of Vision. Ellis attended Northwestern Law School and began his legal career in private practice in Chicago in 1993. He served as the House Prosecutor who tried and convicted Illinois Governor Blagojevich in the Impeachment Trial before the Illinois Senate. He was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2014 and took office December 1, 2014. Ellis currently lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
January 2, 2023
3.5 Stars
December 10, 2016
My first David Ellis book...Will not be my last! How did I miss this author?? Definitely 5 stars with no reservations...well done!
December 21, 2015
Großartiger Racheporno
Wenn schon einen David Ellis, dann diesen. Kein Wort zum Plot oder seiner Auflösung, in dieser Hinsicht ist das Buch brillant. Beim Blick auf die folgenden Bücher besteht der Rest der literarischen Laufbahn von David Ellis, so weit mir bekannt, in dem vergeblichen Versuch eine vergleichbar verblüffende und überzeugende Auflösung hinzukriegen. Mir ist auch kein Buch von Grisham unter die Augen gekommen, in dem die überraschende Wendung derart stimmig ist, auch wenn der Großmeister des Gerichtsthrillers in Romanen wie Der Partner schon einige atemberaubende Pirouetten dreht.
Grishams juristisches Kuriositätenkabinett oder andere heitere Element wird man auch in Die Schuldigen vergebens suchen, Ellis ist bierernst und hochmoralisch, aber in diesem Buch passt einfach alles, sogar die ziemlich überflüssigen Szenen mit der irgendwie verwischten Ex des Helden Jon Soliday. Sein Freund und Anwalt Bennett Carey, der im ersten Kapitel gleich einen Einbrecher abmurkst, hat eine derart starke Präsenz, dass man die Frauen in dem Buch glatt vergessen kann, so sehr wie der jugendliche Jon Soliday seinen GV von Anno 1979 mit dem Mordopfer. Keine Frage, Die Schuldigen ist ein Männerbuch, in jeder Hinsicht und David Ellis garantiert kein Frauenversteher. Als Krimi oder Gerichtsthriller aber auf jeden Fall fünf Sterne.
Wenn schon einen David Ellis, dann diesen. Kein Wort zum Plot oder seiner Auflösung, in dieser Hinsicht ist das Buch brillant. Beim Blick auf die folgenden Bücher besteht der Rest der literarischen Laufbahn von David Ellis, so weit mir bekannt, in dem vergeblichen Versuch eine vergleichbar verblüffende und überzeugende Auflösung hinzukriegen. Mir ist auch kein Buch von Grisham unter die Augen gekommen, in dem die überraschende Wendung derart stimmig ist, auch wenn der Großmeister des Gerichtsthrillers in Romanen wie Der Partner schon einige atemberaubende Pirouetten dreht.
Grishams juristisches Kuriositätenkabinett oder andere heitere Element wird man auch in Die Schuldigen vergebens suchen, Ellis ist bierernst und hochmoralisch, aber in diesem Buch passt einfach alles, sogar die ziemlich überflüssigen Szenen mit der irgendwie verwischten Ex des Helden Jon Soliday. Sein Freund und Anwalt Bennett Carey, der im ersten Kapitel gleich einen Einbrecher abmurkst, hat eine derart starke Präsenz, dass man die Frauen in dem Buch glatt vergessen kann, so sehr wie der jugendliche Jon Soliday seinen GV von Anno 1979 mit dem Mordopfer. Keine Frage, Die Schuldigen ist ein Männerbuch, in jeder Hinsicht und David Ellis garantiert kein Frauenversteher. Als Krimi oder Gerichtsthriller aber auf jeden Fall fünf Sterne.
April 4, 2026
A Complex,Intelligent, Satisfying Legal Thriller!
In David Ellis' second legal thriller he once again delivers a very well-written, very intelligent legal thriller, with strong, well-developed characters and crisp, realistic dialog. The plot involves big-city politics woven into an intriguing, compelling murder mystery, and has many surprises that will keep you guessing until the very end. My one problem with Life Sentence, which prevents me from giving it a 5-star rating, is that Ellis tended to go on for too long a time before bringing the story to its, ultimately, very satisfying and surprising conclusion. In my opinion, Life Sentence would have been an even better book had Ellis followed the old adage, "less is more."
In David Ellis' second legal thriller he once again delivers a very well-written, very intelligent legal thriller, with strong, well-developed characters and crisp, realistic dialog. The plot involves big-city politics woven into an intriguing, compelling murder mystery, and has many surprises that will keep you guessing until the very end. My one problem with Life Sentence, which prevents me from giving it a 5-star rating, is that Ellis tended to go on for too long a time before bringing the story to its, ultimately, very satisfying and surprising conclusion. In my opinion, Life Sentence would have been an even better book had Ellis followed the old adage, "less is more."
April 27, 2021
Ellis is one of my favorite authors, even though he did the unthinkable by teaming up with James Patterson in recent years. I realized that I had a couple of his earliest novels that I had not yet read including this one. It look some hunting but I'm so glad I got my hands on this one.
If you love conspiracy theories, politics and legal battles then this book is for you! Jon Soliday, is THE attorney for the Democratic political party in Chicago and the top advisor to his childhood best friend, Grant Tully, who is a senator running for Governor. Things are heating up in the race and suddenly Soliday is accused of murdering a fellow attorney and the most likely alternate suspect is a name from the past. When they were teenagers Soliday and Tully went to a party in which a girl ended up dead and Soliday was initially the main suspect but there was not sufficient evidence to convict. The other key witness that helped clear Soliday back then now looks like he's setting him up for this murder. Why and how to prove it without hurting the Senator's chances of winning the election.
Ellis's claim to fame is that he was the prosecutor in the Rod Blagojevich trial. Interestingly, this book was written long before that happened. Now days he's an Illinois Appellate Judge. But all of this is to say - he knows his courtroom drama! Ellis has a new book that just came out this week with JP - but do yourself a favor and find out how great an author he was solo.
If you love conspiracy theories, politics and legal battles then this book is for you! Jon Soliday, is THE attorney for the Democratic political party in Chicago and the top advisor to his childhood best friend, Grant Tully, who is a senator running for Governor. Things are heating up in the race and suddenly Soliday is accused of murdering a fellow attorney and the most likely alternate suspect is a name from the past. When they were teenagers Soliday and Tully went to a party in which a girl ended up dead and Soliday was initially the main suspect but there was not sufficient evidence to convict. The other key witness that helped clear Soliday back then now looks like he's setting him up for this murder. Why and how to prove it without hurting the Senator's chances of winning the election.
Ellis's claim to fame is that he was the prosecutor in the Rod Blagojevich trial. Interestingly, this book was written long before that happened. Now days he's an Illinois Appellate Judge. But all of this is to say - he knows his courtroom drama! Ellis has a new book that just came out this week with JP - but do yourself a favor and find out how great an author he was solo.
December 22, 2025
4.5 stars
In my quest to read David Ellis' backlist, I stumbled upon Life Sentence, his brilliantly-crafted legal/political whodunit, published in 2003. The plotline centers around a lawyer who is framed for murder and must confront a dark secret from his past.
The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the writing and dialogue are sharp and compelling. Filled with so many surprising twists, the complex story mixes elements of blackmail, betrayal, political corruption, secrets and lies, guilt, loyalty, ambition, friendship and consequences of the past.
I highly recommend this suspenseful page-turner!
In my quest to read David Ellis' backlist, I stumbled upon Life Sentence, his brilliantly-crafted legal/political whodunit, published in 2003. The plotline centers around a lawyer who is framed for murder and must confront a dark secret from his past.
The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the writing and dialogue are sharp and compelling. Filled with so many surprising twists, the complex story mixes elements of blackmail, betrayal, political corruption, secrets and lies, guilt, loyalty, ambition, friendship and consequences of the past.
I highly recommend this suspenseful page-turner!
January 7, 2011
An innocent man accused of murder, a cover-up of a decades old crime, an elaborate frame-up and a heated election involving some of the possible criminals all come together in the complex plot of this compelling legal thriller. After loving Ellis' first book, Line of Vision, I quickly became engrossed in this, his second. Story driven, with lots of twists and turns, this book kept my interest to the last, surprising me with a final twist at the end. Very good!!
May 10, 2009
A good airplane/hotel/beach book.
December 25, 2025
Amazing book through and through. The perfect twist at the end leaving you satisfied
October 19, 2024
“Move On??”
One way music may delight a listener is moving in an unexpected direction. A change in rhythm. A change in key. A higher or lower note than anticipated. And do forth.
Stories may also delight by the unexpected. This story did. Several times. Each brought a layer of satisfaction. Credit to the author particularly for blindsiding me with what seemed the final twist (certainly in plot advancement). Makes me smile even now.
Why only 3 stars?
This is the 2nd David Ellis novel I’ve read (and in publication order). As with the first I found the mechanisms the author used, after the big reveal, to bring it all together, to attempt to explain the seemingly unexplainable holes, or to close the loop (so to speak), lacked credibility. The mechanism in this novel, an informal discussion in judges chambers, was a mismatch to the gravitas of proceedings throughout much (not all … more below) of the book, a mismatch to the weight of law and legal procedure (as I envision them), and even buffoonish. I was left wondering the author’s professional expertise which to my surprise I learned is law.
And the mechanism of the reveal (the other instance of mismatch) stretches credulity to imagine a judge would allow and prosecutor not object to the shenanigans of the defense. Trial by judge or otherwise.
I will read his 3rd despite his repeating the same, imo, weak method … at least the truth (mostly) prevailed in 2nd novel.
Beyond that … remains to be seen. Perhaps I will “move on.” Ha.
One way music may delight a listener is moving in an unexpected direction. A change in rhythm. A change in key. A higher or lower note than anticipated. And do forth.
Stories may also delight by the unexpected. This story did. Several times. Each brought a layer of satisfaction. Credit to the author particularly for blindsiding me with what seemed the final twist (certainly in plot advancement). Makes me smile even now.
Why only 3 stars?
This is the 2nd David Ellis novel I’ve read (and in publication order). As with the first I found the mechanisms the author used, after the big reveal, to bring it all together, to attempt to explain the seemingly unexplainable holes, or to close the loop (so to speak), lacked credibility. The mechanism in this novel, an informal discussion in judges chambers, was a mismatch to the gravitas of proceedings throughout much (not all … more below) of the book, a mismatch to the weight of law and legal procedure (as I envision them), and even buffoonish. I was left wondering the author’s professional expertise which to my surprise I learned is law.
And the mechanism of the reveal (the other instance of mismatch) stretches credulity to imagine a judge would allow and prosecutor not object to the shenanigans of the defense. Trial by judge or otherwise.
I will read his 3rd despite his repeating the same, imo, weak method … at least the truth (mostly) prevailed in 2nd novel.
Beyond that … remains to be seen. Perhaps I will “move on.” Ha.
March 5, 2023
It's my second book by David Ellis and it's two for two. Once again, it's a combination of psychological thriller, mystery and court drama. This time protagonist is a lawyer for the state democratic senator, who is running for governor, who is also his close friend. The protagonist became a murder suspect for the second time in his life. Mystery unravels and all the events, separated by much time, get connected. I thought throughout the book that there are some inconsistencies in the story and I loved that in the end, in a surprise finale, everything was explained.
March 7, 2018
This was my first David Ellis book. Given to me by a friend. It has been on my bookshelf for probably 2 years. Now that I read it I cannot believe I waited so long.
His writing is very good, realistic with characters that you get to know. As it usually does with books it took me several chapters to get into the book, but once I was I could hardly put the book down.
I will deal read more of his books.
His writing is very good, realistic with characters that you get to know. As it usually does with books it took me several chapters to get into the book, but once I was I could hardly put the book down.
I will deal read more of his books.
February 16, 2025
Ļoti grūti likt viennozīmīgu vērtējumu.
Patika tiesas procesa attēlojums, stāsts un intriga - lai arī daži mani minējumi bija laicīgi un precīzi, pārsteiguma tomēr netrūka un beigās tāds stabils 4-nieks.
No otras puses - grāmatā bija ļoooti grūti “ielasīties”, līdz ~80. lpp. šķita tik garlaicīgs politisks stāsts, ka pāris reizes gribēju likt malā. Ja pret sausu politiku nav iebildumu vai esat gatavi paciesties - iesaku! ;)
Patika tiesas procesa attēlojums, stāsts un intriga - lai arī daži mani minējumi bija laicīgi un precīzi, pārsteiguma tomēr netrūka un beigās tāds stabils 4-nieks.
No otras puses - grāmatā bija ļoooti grūti “ielasīties”, līdz ~80. lpp. šķita tik garlaicīgs politisks stāsts, ka pāris reizes gribēju likt malā. Ja pret sausu politiku nav iebildumu vai esat gatavi paciesties - iesaku! ;)
March 21, 2025
This was an excellent novel, up until the end where the twists and turns became dizzying. I gave it a day, and I'm still not totally sure how I feel about the ending, other than to say that it was unnecessary. I feel like a normal, subtle twist may have accomplished as much or more than the Sixth Sense/Usual Suspects ending. All in all, at worst, this is still a four star novel, but a more controlled ending may have been better.
April 8, 2022
I bought this book years ago from a library sale and never sat down to read it. Luckily, the technology of cell phones was around during the writing of this book, or I would have been yelling at characters to use their cell phones. Anyways, this book was a great legal thriller with many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I would recommend this to anyone that like these types of books.
February 26, 2024
Great book!
I had a hard time getting in to this book and I can't even say why, maybe the political scene and the involvement in that, but I kept going and it turned into a very suspenseful story. I never thought this would end up the way it did. Great twisty ending.
This was the second novel I read by David Ellis and I can see I am going have to check out all he has written.
I had a hard time getting in to this book and I can't even say why, maybe the political scene and the involvement in that, but I kept going and it turned into a very suspenseful story. I never thought this would end up the way it did. Great twisty ending.
This was the second novel I read by David Ellis and I can see I am going have to check out all he has written.
May 10, 2017
Awesome Legal Novel
I have read all of David Ellis novels. He is such I would highly recommend. If you read one of his books, you want to read another one. His books are filled with twist and turns that keep you turning to the next page!!!
I have read all of David Ellis novels. He is such I would highly recommend. If you read one of his books, you want to read another one. His books are filled with twist and turns that keep you turning to the next page!!!
February 2, 2026
Es una novela que se lee fácilmente con buen ritmo y suspenso hasta el final. Sin embargo, presenta unos huecos, como también descripciones y dilataciones inecesarias. De todas formas, se presta para los amantes del género suspenso judicial.
July 3, 2026
All of David Ellis's books are a 5 star. He's an incredible author and don't forget to read his books he wrote for Patterson. I even asked our library to carry more of his books. It's a crime such a gifted awesome author doesn't receive more recognition.
May 16, 2017
ottimo.consulente politico con passato non chiarito che si trova al centro di più trame.ben strutturato con buoni colpi di scena.
May 22, 2018
Another lawyer book. The story isn't to bad but I found it a little long
and a bit boring. I gave t a 3.
and a bit boring. I gave t a 3.
September 8, 2019
A well constructed whodunit.
Political scandal, friendship, family and deception create a backdrop for a strong believable plot.
Political scandal, friendship, family and deception create a backdrop for a strong believable plot.
May 16, 2020
Interesting view of the inner workings of politics and the effect of events long ago. Nice plot twists leave the reader with satisfaction.
August 13, 2021
Lieliska grāmata, kas beigās atklāj gandrīz visu. Pēdējās 100 lappusēs nespēju no grāmatas atrauties.
January 27, 2023
Well written and great build up! If you like Grisham, you”ll like this. This is the second Ellis book I’ve read and I liked this one better than the first (Look Closer)
January 30, 2023
Really boring 😴
July 22, 2024
strong no.
December 22, 2024
Surprise ending, wow, you'll never guess
How the present all rests on an old mess.
How the present all rests on an old mess.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews