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Subpoena Colada
'You work too much,' said his beautiful actress girlfriend. 'We hardly see each other any more.' If only Daniel Tate had listened. Now she's abandoned him for a glamorous American film star, leaving him with a one-eyed cat and a dirty flat he can't afford. And there's no respite at work: Daniel's only client, 80's rocker Brian Fey, is losing his court case against his old bandmates. The partners are concerned with his performance, not helping his chances for promotion in a cut-and-thrust contest between him, the office sycophant and his best friend. Winning the case for Brian would make all the difference but that's not easy when your client is suddenly implicated in a sensational murder.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
71 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Mark Dawson
114 books1,830 followersFor news and special offers join Mark's mailing list at:
http://eepurl.com/Cai5X
Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.
He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).
The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.
Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.
You can find him at www.markjdawson.com or www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor.
http://eepurl.com/Cai5X
Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.
He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).
The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.
Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.
You can find him at www.markjdawson.com or www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 21, 2022
Not my usual fayre in terms of topic or genre but a welcome reprieve from 100% fantasy fiction.
Meet Daniel, a lawyer in a celebrity infested London law firm with 1980’s washed up has-been a for clients and more Colombian marching powder than an entire South American cartel washed down with alcohol and queue the lawyer on a death spiral - his love life, career and hell, even his own liberty.
To be honest, not entirely my liking but enjoyable. Once I was in I enjoyed, there were a few cringe moments… lists of naming d-list slebs from off the 80’s, 90’s and my childhood so I know the author was aiming for a British audience… no one outside the UK would have a flippin’ clue who they were.
Nice story otherwise, good ending - even if it was a bit obvious.
Meet Daniel, a lawyer in a celebrity infested London law firm with 1980’s washed up has-been a for clients and more Colombian marching powder than an entire South American cartel washed down with alcohol and queue the lawyer on a death spiral - his love life, career and hell, even his own liberty.
To be honest, not entirely my liking but enjoyable. Once I was in I enjoyed, there were a few cringe moments… lists of naming d-list slebs from off the 80’s, 90’s and my childhood so I know the author was aiming for a British audience… no one outside the UK would have a flippin’ clue who they were.
Nice story otherwise, good ending - even if it was a bit obvious.
May 2, 2013
Free from Amazon, so perhaps I should have been prepared to hate every character in the book. It seemed as though this could have been a great hero-on-a-downward-spiral-but-turns-it-around tale of redemption, but no. I didn't buy the explanation for all of the hero's really gross behavior, and it was only stubbornness that forced me to even finish this. Very disappointing.
Read
September 25, 2017Not finished, setting it aside and there was no box to check on that option. But I may not go back to it, it's not compelling.
April 14, 2018
Enjoyed this read
Fast flowing and kept me interested. Characters lurched from one dilemma to the next whilst spiralling more and more out of control.
Fast flowing and kept me interested. Characters lurched from one dilemma to the next whilst spiralling more and more out of control.
May 8, 2022
Different
So different it was wonderfully enjoyable. Quite an interesting format for a change. Well written with a look into a world most will never experience.
So different it was wonderfully enjoyable. Quite an interesting format for a change. Well written with a look into a world most will never experience.
March 24, 2014
SUBPOENA COLADA opens with Daniel Tate, an attorney with White Hunter, a British law firm specializing in entertainment cases, defending Brian Fey, former bassist and vocalist with The Black Dahlias, an established popular rock group. Brian, dropped a few months previously, erroneously received a £400,000 cheque and refused to return it. The group was suing him for the money. While Daniel recognizes his client is going to lose, Brian wants to fight the battle. That’s not the only battle Daniel and Brian fight. Brian has major issues with anger management, Daniel’s long-time girlfriend has moved out and he wants to restore their relationship, and both of Daniel and Brian abuse alcohol and drugs. (He details the feelings the character gets from both substances.) In addition, White Hunter is going to elevate one of four associates to partner. Daniel wants the job and interoffice politicking plays a large role. And one of the band members is found hanging in his apartment. Brian is a suspect.
I was going to quit reading after the first twenty five, then the first fifty pages. I decided to read the reviews and several of them said that the last part of the book was much better. I persisted and do agree with them. There were a couple interesting twists near the end.
Mark Dawson presents a very readable story, well-written and with some characters I actually cared about. He writes about the problems working with entertainers and how some groups are formed noting “What was subversive in the eighties is conventional today.” He describes one character as “a giantess who looks like Grace Jones in negative.” Later on he describes the snow: “...haze in the air, fat flakes I watched gathering in the crooks of buildings and then overflowing, spilling out onto pavements and roofs until everywhere was white.” Other examples I like, “The salt leaves a tide-mark of scurf on the uppers of my shoes” and, describing the weekly staff meeting: “We call this blamestorming.” and “Pain is all I have left of my relationship. I don’t want to share it with anyone else.”
However, I found much of the book unrealistic. The firm expects its lawyers to produce ten billable hours daily. One of the partners demands that Daniel research and write summaries for additional cases (due within 48 hours) while he is in court for his current case. With all of his drinking and drug use, I don’t understand how he can accomplish anything.
This book was a free Amazon download.
I was going to quit reading after the first twenty five, then the first fifty pages. I decided to read the reviews and several of them said that the last part of the book was much better. I persisted and do agree with them. There were a couple interesting twists near the end.
Mark Dawson presents a very readable story, well-written and with some characters I actually cared about. He writes about the problems working with entertainers and how some groups are formed noting “What was subversive in the eighties is conventional today.” He describes one character as “a giantess who looks like Grace Jones in negative.” Later on he describes the snow: “...haze in the air, fat flakes I watched gathering in the crooks of buildings and then overflowing, spilling out onto pavements and roofs until everywhere was white.” Other examples I like, “The salt leaves a tide-mark of scurf on the uppers of my shoes” and, describing the weekly staff meeting: “We call this blamestorming.” and “Pain is all I have left of my relationship. I don’t want to share it with anyone else.”
However, I found much of the book unrealistic. The firm expects its lawyers to produce ten billable hours daily. One of the partners demands that Daniel research and write summaries for additional cases (due within 48 hours) while he is in court for his current case. With all of his drinking and drug use, I don’t understand how he can accomplish anything.
This book was a free Amazon download.
July 26, 2015
'My ex-girlfriend hates me. My ex-client might be a murderer. My best friend has betrayed me. I'm going to lose my job... I have no money and it's just a matter of time before the bank repossesses a flat I can no longer afford.'
Poor Danny - sorry, Daniel - once a high flying lawyer and only a few days on from his expectation of becoming a partner in the prestigious firm of solicitors catering for the media famous and celebrity has beens. But this is not a book to make you cry or even feel sorry for our main protagonist. Instead it is full of black humour, of youthful pride and over indulgence written in a sharp, snappy style to suit the storyline.
I first read this book as a paperback well over a decade ago, drawn to it by the glowing cover and brilliant title. It did not disappoint. But it is only on Kindle that I rediscovered the talented Mark Dawson and, after enjoying several of his other more recent titles, decided to reprise Subpoena Colada. How glad I am that I did. Despite the passage of time, this book remains as sparkling a satire as ever losing nothing with the changing decades.
Go read - and enjoy.
June 24, 2013
This is a very funny book about a lawyer whose life is falling apart. Daniel Tate works for celebrity clients. Suddenly His soap opera star girlfriend dumps him, a contest for promotion turns into a feud, and his most important client super star gets into a legal mess that even Daniel may not be able to untangle. The author has transformed a heady subject into a madcap romp. The book reads well and quickly as the reader is presented with numerous incredibly funny situations. This is definitely not a book to be taken or read seriously. The spoof on Daniel’s life, or that of any celebrity lawyer, is well developed and well written. If you are looking for something light to read but something that still has some story to it and not just a mindless time-passer, try this book. I received this book from Library Thing to read and review.
May 23, 2013
3.5 stars. *spoilers!!* It was a good read for a free ebook! Every thing is stacking up against Daniel, the mc, and I found myself rooting for him. I was going to be so mad if the book didn't have a happy ending, but luckily it did! Thanks Mr. Dawson!
I couldn't give it the full 4 stars just because I predicted 2 of the major events. (My sister has diabetes and I felt that this was a good study of how serious it can be left untreated). By predicting these events it made me just want to reach the conclusion to where all was revealed and made right. Also, it felt a little LOTR movie-ish at the end--too many endings.
Worth a read however if you have the time, like British books, and love sweet justice!
I couldn't give it the full 4 stars just because I predicted 2 of the major events. (My sister has diabetes and I felt that this was a good study of how serious it can be left untreated). By predicting these events it made me just want to reach the conclusion to where all was revealed and made right. Also, it felt a little LOTR movie-ish at the end--too many endings.
Worth a read however if you have the time, like British books, and love sweet justice!
September 25, 2016
I would describe this as the first person account of the self destruction of an entertainment lawyer. Daniel Tate is 27 and a lawyer for a second tier entertainment law firm in London, who, by association with firm clientele, has been living a life in the fast lane that has veered out of control. I bounced back and forth between detesting and smirking at Daniel throughout the story. Brain candy during vacation.
May 8, 2013
I thought it was different and quite funny. Interesting to watch the main character's demise. Ending was great. Honestly the book is kind of odd though I'm not sure in what way exactly. Strangely I think that's what made me like it. It's not formulaic.
July 12, 2013
This book was awful. I got 20% of the way through it and had to stop because the main character was so despicable. It wasn't funny, but seemed to glorify drugs and drinking to excess. I do not recommend anyone read this.
Read
May 28, 2008HUUUUUUUUUH. dumb book. dumb dumb dumb. and i bought it for $2. i could have bought two packs of gum instead. wah waaah.
April 16, 2013
Un abogado joven dedicado a los artistas se encuentra en un caso perdido y con una situación personal desesperada. Al final, la solución será positiva y sorprendente a la vez.
Want to read
May 1, 2013Amazon freebie 5/1
May 11, 2013
It held my interest but it's difficult reading about someone on the path to self destruction. I would recommend it to friends who like stories about lawyers and personal struggles.
June 23, 2013
Daniel has big problems.
July 12, 2013
Good free Amazon book with some humor to hook you...
March 13, 2014
what a tedious spiral...
February 18, 2015
It's a dud.
March 20, 2015
Easy read, ok plot.
October 16, 2016
this feels like a horror show, observing the painful decline of a young lawyer as drink and drugs take over. the ending is quite clever and there is irony threaded throughout
January 4, 2024
Unfinished
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews