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The Trials of Max Q
When the law ends, the pursuit of justice begins!
Born into a legal dynasty, Jack Lawson was a natural who was making a name for himself as one of Manhattan's top young lawyers. But when his world came crashing down, Jack left the big city and his family's powerful firm, to seek solace in a small village of Cooperstown, New York. There, he re-discovered his love of the law.
But the peaceful village is shattered when a body is found on the estate of the county's most famous resident, and American hero, Drew Anderson. A man considered to be so perfect that he is nicknamed Max Q after the benchmark for systems perfection during a space launch.. And it isn't just anybody who is found dead—the victim is widely considered to be one of the world's most infamous women.
When Anderson is arrested for the murder, Jack ends up with the case that everyone wants to “go away,” and some are willing to go to the deadly lengths to make sure it does. Against all odds, Jack and his partner, Jessica Shepherdson, must risk their reputations, their careers, and eventually their lives, in an explosive race for the truth.
Born into a legal dynasty, Jack Lawson was a natural who was making a name for himself as one of Manhattan's top young lawyers. But when his world came crashing down, Jack left the big city and his family's powerful firm, to seek solace in a small village of Cooperstown, New York. There, he re-discovered his love of the law.
But the peaceful village is shattered when a body is found on the estate of the county's most famous resident, and American hero, Drew Anderson. A man considered to be so perfect that he is nicknamed Max Q after the benchmark for systems perfection during a space launch.. And it isn't just anybody who is found dead—the victim is widely considered to be one of the world's most infamous women.
When Anderson is arrested for the murder, Jack ends up with the case that everyone wants to “go away,” and some are willing to go to the deadly lengths to make sure it does. Against all odds, Jack and his partner, Jessica Shepherdson, must risk their reputations, their careers, and eventually their lives, in an explosive race for the truth.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2011
147 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 17, 2015
Good book with many interesting twists.
The book is very well written and kept me guessing throughout who the actual murderer was. I would have given this 5 stars, but there departs that were not very believable, bordering on comical; however the ending makes up for some of the short comings.
The book is very well written and kept me guessing throughout who the actual murderer was. I would have given this 5 stars, but there departs that were not very believable, bordering on comical; however the ending makes up for some of the short comings.
August 20, 2016
A POOR soap opera....
I'm glad this wasn't the first book I read by Ciccone.... I may never had read some his other more interesting stories. It was reasonable for about 75% of the story, but then too unrealistic after that. Pass this one up....Ciccone has better work.
I'm glad this wasn't the first book I read by Ciccone.... I may never had read some his other more interesting stories. It was reasonable for about 75% of the story, but then too unrealistic after that. Pass this one up....Ciccone has better work.
August 5, 2016
The first 66% of the book was realistic, fascinating, and filled with local color. I loved the Cooperstown locale, the baseball movie references, the George Herman impersonator, but especially Jack Lawson the assistant D.A. I was guessing throughout the book and it truly is a page turner. But at about the 70% point the plot turned far-fetched, and the author's skillful efforts to keep the reader guessing resulted in the reader's need to grant a suspension of belief in order to reach the finale. Lawson is a fascinating character, and I hope to find more books with him as the protagonist. While the author took liberties with the legal system and evidentiary rulings, he still did a yeoman's job presenting a fascinating legal thriller with a cast of interesting characters like Laney Bang, Amber Jazz, and Marissa Anderson. While there was one obvious clue, I still never realized the full extent of the mystery until the last page. It's fine to go off the deep end sometimes as long as the plot and twists are plentifully well nourished. This was.
February 1, 2015
It was really good...and then it just became too much
I really enjoyed this from the beginning. The author has a good storytelling style so it was an easy read for a while. But once they started getting into the case, it got really convoluted really fast, and I found it hard to believe that the prosecutor's instincts were just off. There's too much that needs to be "explained" after the trial. All in all an ok read, but the resolution should have been more believable.
I really enjoyed this from the beginning. The author has a good storytelling style so it was an easy read for a while. But once they started getting into the case, it got really convoluted really fast, and I found it hard to believe that the prosecutor's instincts were just off. There's too much that needs to be "explained" after the trial. All in all an ok read, but the resolution should have been more believable.
January 29, 2015
Good read!
Kept my attention. Could not put it down! Lots of mystery and intrigue. Exciting up to the very last page.
Kept my attention. Could not put it down! Lots of mystery and intrigue. Exciting up to the very last page.
December 13, 2017
Excellent story. Much drama. Multifaceted case. A million suspects. I guess I figured out who did it early in the book, there were many clues, but it took to the closing chapters to find out for sure. Well crafted mystery story. I loved it.
May 30, 2020
Trial of the century
Wow!! What a book. Just about the time I have it figured out I was I was wrong again. The characters are very well done. The story very well told.
Wow!! What a book. Just about the time I have it figured out I was I was wrong again. The characters are very well done. The story very well told.
April 13, 2015
Overall, this is a decent book. The writing is basically good and moves along at a fairly good rate. I enjoyed the humor and sarcasm of the main character.
That being said, this could be a much better book. The beginning few chapters are a little boring and don't do a good job of drawing the reader in. Especially because it's hard to tell what the book is going to be about. While the writing is decent at telling what is happening, character development is not present. The main character is Jack. We know a lot about his lost love and their relationship, but we never really get a good feel about anything else about him. We are told that he's from a rich powerful lawyer family, but I only know about his relationship with his grandmother. Not much about the parents or siblings. Or why he feels the way he does. If it's explained, it's not enough to be a character driving force. All other characters are even more superficially described. I leave the book knowing the most about the one who did it than anyone else.
As a lawyer, I just can't trust Jack. He has a 98% criminal conviction success rate, but he's never tried a murder case. And boy is that evident. Really, a 98% success rate and this lawyer can't remember or think to properly vet witnesses or examine the life of the accused? For such a brilliant lawyer, he sure is dumb. Not believable and it was quite annoying.
It's pretty easy to figure out who done it, but not so easy to figure out why. The book comes to a screeching halt after it is revealed who the murderer is and the explanation of how and why begins. Ugh. Very tedious. The wit and snark of the previous chapters is gone and is replaced with wordy lengthy cloudy talk of how things went down. It is so convoluted that it sort of explains why Jack is so dumb as a murder prosecutor. How could he have discovered all this far fetched stuff out?
If there had been more in-depth character development, if Jack was a smarter lawyer, if the end was cleaned up and reader digest-ed, this would be a much better book.
Readers who are familiar with Cooperstown and Saratoga, NY will definitely enjoy the scenery. People who like to figure out murder mysteries will like the who done it part, Anyone who is interested in how society is judge and jury rather than relying on the justice system will relate to the overall plot.
That being said, this could be a much better book. The beginning few chapters are a little boring and don't do a good job of drawing the reader in. Especially because it's hard to tell what the book is going to be about. While the writing is decent at telling what is happening, character development is not present. The main character is Jack. We know a lot about his lost love and their relationship, but we never really get a good feel about anything else about him. We are told that he's from a rich powerful lawyer family, but I only know about his relationship with his grandmother. Not much about the parents or siblings. Or why he feels the way he does. If it's explained, it's not enough to be a character driving force. All other characters are even more superficially described. I leave the book knowing the most about the one who did it than anyone else.
As a lawyer, I just can't trust Jack. He has a 98% criminal conviction success rate, but he's never tried a murder case. And boy is that evident. Really, a 98% success rate and this lawyer can't remember or think to properly vet witnesses or examine the life of the accused? For such a brilliant lawyer, he sure is dumb. Not believable and it was quite annoying.
It's pretty easy to figure out who done it, but not so easy to figure out why. The book comes to a screeching halt after it is revealed who the murderer is and the explanation of how and why begins. Ugh. Very tedious. The wit and snark of the previous chapters is gone and is replaced with wordy lengthy cloudy talk of how things went down. It is so convoluted that it sort of explains why Jack is so dumb as a murder prosecutor. How could he have discovered all this far fetched stuff out?
If there had been more in-depth character development, if Jack was a smarter lawyer, if the end was cleaned up and reader digest-ed, this would be a much better book.
Readers who are familiar with Cooperstown and Saratoga, NY will definitely enjoy the scenery. People who like to figure out murder mysteries will like the who done it part, Anyone who is interested in how society is judge and jury rather than relying on the justice system will relate to the overall plot.
May 17, 2015
Better than expected
I'm a John Grisham fan, so I thought I would give this book a try. It was pretty good. I am a reader of mysteries, and pride myself on having an idea of the villain early on, not so here, although I was right, I wasn't absolutely sure until the last chapter. Worth your time.
I'm a John Grisham fan, so I thought I would give this book a try. It was pretty good. I am a reader of mysteries, and pride myself on having an idea of the villain early on, not so here, although I was right, I wasn't absolutely sure until the last chapter. Worth your time.
January 14, 2016
Loved this book!
This is a very absorbing book. I reached a point where I couldn't put it down and finished it in 2 1/2 days. It didn't have the ending I would have preferred, but it worked perfectly just as it was.
This is a very absorbing book. I reached a point where I couldn't put it down and finished it in 2 1/2 days. It didn't have the ending I would have preferred, but it worked perfectly just as it was.
February 8, 2015
Exciting!
This novel was exciting from the first page to the last. I liked the characters and enjoyed the setting. This book is highly recommended.
This novel was exciting from the first page to the last. I liked the characters and enjoyed the setting. This book is highly recommended.
February 19, 2015
Crooked
This book has so many twists and turns of plot I had a hard time keeping up with who was telling the truth about anything. Quite a good whodunit, though.
This book has so many twists and turns of plot I had a hard time keeping up with who was telling the truth about anything. Quite a good whodunit, though.
April 2, 2015
Great Read
Enjoyed this book quite a bit. The author does a great job of character development, and unexpected twists and turns. Will read more from this author!
Enjoyed this book quite a bit. The author does a great job of character development, and unexpected twists and turns. Will read more from this author!
January 8, 2016
Talk about TWISTED! loved it.....couldn't put it down!
May 15, 2016
An excellent story teller badly in need of a good editor.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews