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Judgment Call
Book is New. Gift quality. Same day shipping first class.
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2008
As I mentioned, I've an advance copy of this, so I don't know whether it was ever released to the general public. The fact sheet said Disney had already optioned it for film. It might have actually made a good one; as a novel, it pretty much stinks.
Sherry Estabrook is a Harvard-educated journalist working for a large newspaper in Miami. She meets Manuel Velo, a sixteen-year-old high school student who claims to have been the triggerman for eighteen unsolved murders connected to the Lopez cocaine ring. Sherry, and her superiors, start seeing Pulitzer Prize nominations everywhere they go, and Sherry gets drawn far too deep into the case when she realizes Manuel is in love with her.
Okay, so far so good. Or would be, if any of the characters whatsoever were believable. (This is why I think it'd make a good movie-- Hollywood doesn't care about movtiation.) This is another in the seeming series of books I've been reading (all first novels, not surprisingly) where the characters change emotions like underwear, allow themselves to be convinced that something is correct when it's obviously not at least once per page, blah blah blah. There wasn't a single believable, likable character anywhere in this book. (I had some hopes for one of the police officers, but he blew it in the end.)
So why did I allow myself to finish turning the four hundred fifty-two pages? Because it's actually a pretty good storyline. Despite the fact that you know where this is going by the time you hit page 200, Wetlaufer manages to keep adding niggling little details that keep the reader wondering what's going on right up until the last chapter. Of course, you can't have two hundred fifty-two pages of niggling little details, and there's certainly a lot of filler to get mired in. But they're paced quite well, and the muck never gets too deep under the shoes before something intereting pops up.
If you think of it as a story being told you by the drunk on the next stool, who's attractive enough that you're willing to listen, it's kind of readable. If you're looking for the next John Grisham potboiler... well, you could do a whole lot better.
Sherry Estabrook is a Harvard-educated journalist working for a large newspaper in Miami. She meets Manuel Velo, a sixteen-year-old high school student who claims to have been the triggerman for eighteen unsolved murders connected to the Lopez cocaine ring. Sherry, and her superiors, start seeing Pulitzer Prize nominations everywhere they go, and Sherry gets drawn far too deep into the case when she realizes Manuel is in love with her.
Okay, so far so good. Or would be, if any of the characters whatsoever were believable. (This is why I think it'd make a good movie-- Hollywood doesn't care about movtiation.) This is another in the seeming series of books I've been reading (all first novels, not surprisingly) where the characters change emotions like underwear, allow themselves to be convinced that something is correct when it's obviously not at least once per page, blah blah blah. There wasn't a single believable, likable character anywhere in this book. (I had some hopes for one of the police officers, but he blew it in the end.)
So why did I allow myself to finish turning the four hundred fifty-two pages? Because it's actually a pretty good storyline. Despite the fact that you know where this is going by the time you hit page 200, Wetlaufer manages to keep adding niggling little details that keep the reader wondering what's going on right up until the last chapter. Of course, you can't have two hundred fifty-two pages of niggling little details, and there's certainly a lot of filler to get mired in. But they're paced quite well, and the muck never gets too deep under the shoes before something intereting pops up.
If you think of it as a story being told you by the drunk on the next stool, who's attractive enough that you're willing to listen, it's kind of readable. If you're looking for the next John Grisham potboiler... well, you could do a whole lot better.
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December 30, 2016I didn't read this book. I'm reading another book with the same title and accidentally clicked on this and don't see how to delete it or remove it from the phone app.
November 15, 2024
Sleazy. A sassy reporter romantically involved with her source, a cocaine drug dealer. Meh.
July 9, 2025
Great read. Wish it would have become a film!
March 27, 2014
As man who read these reviews are aware I do not do spoilers or encapsulated narratives, but merely give my personal take on the book and whether I enjoyed it or not, according to my own peculiar set of peccadilloes. This book is no different.
Interestingly the plot is unique, fast paced and grabs the reader. The story is an interesting balance of yin and yang between the sheltered reality of being raised in protective and comforting wealth and facing the harsh, brutal and mean spirited reality of poverty and hard life in the streets.
One gets the feeling there is a lot of the writer herself in these pages since her bio matches up well with that of the character (or perhaps more loosely than it appears).
One personally annoying aspect is that nearly every major character is a smoker. I know this is a small thing, but I don't really see the need to include that detail. This might not bother you but every time I got engrossed in the plot there would be a long diversion in to the editors unfiltered smoking or the reporters return to smoking..just a personal annoying quibble that does not significantly detract from the quality of the plot too badly.
It was an interesting and fast paced novel and I'd be curious to see if the writer can break her mould she has established for this character if there is a sequel.
A good relaxing and amusing read that I would recommend.
Interestingly the plot is unique, fast paced and grabs the reader. The story is an interesting balance of yin and yang between the sheltered reality of being raised in protective and comforting wealth and facing the harsh, brutal and mean spirited reality of poverty and hard life in the streets.
One gets the feeling there is a lot of the writer herself in these pages since her bio matches up well with that of the character (or perhaps more loosely than it appears).
One personally annoying aspect is that nearly every major character is a smoker. I know this is a small thing, but I don't really see the need to include that detail. This might not bother you but every time I got engrossed in the plot there would be a long diversion in to the editors unfiltered smoking or the reporters return to smoking..just a personal annoying quibble that does not significantly detract from the quality of the plot too badly.
It was an interesting and fast paced novel and I'd be curious to see if the writer can break her mould she has established for this character if there is a sequel.
A good relaxing and amusing read that I would recommend.
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August 26, 2012Oops. Wrong book. Didn't read this.
December 3, 2015
Interesante, con unos personajes bien perfilados sin embargo no termino de entender ciertos giros de trama. En resumen una historia interesante que te atrapa.
April 16, 2009
Florida reporter and teenage hit man work together to investigate
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews