Falls The Shadow

Victor Carl #5

by William Lashner

In New York Times bestselling author William Lashner's 5th novel, Philly attorney Victor Carl lands in big trouble when he and his law partner step in to help clear their client of a murder conviction.

A beautiful young woman is found brutally murdered in her home, her hand clutching a photograph. The jury convicts the husband of murder–one and sentences him to life in prison. He'll be in jail until his bones rot unless his new attorneys, Beth Derringer and Victor Carl, can save him. It seems hopeless, but Victor may just be slippery enough to pull something off. Victor is worried that Beth's feelings about the case run a little deeper than mere sympathy for a client.

Enter a strange little man with a secret. What does he have to do with the case that Victor and Beth are working on and is it not only Beth's heart but also Victor's life that are in danger?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Legal, Suspense

417 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

William Lashner is a former criminal prosecutor with the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His novels have been published world-wide and have been nominated for two Shamus Awards, a Gumshoe Award, an Edgar Award, and been selected as an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times Book Review. When he was a kid his favorite books were The Count of Monte Cristo and any comic with the Batman on the cover.

Under the pseudonym Tyler Knox he wrote the noir novel, Kockroach.

Series:
* Victor Carl Mystery

Reviews

[Dave Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be put off by the 'legal thriller' tag. It's almost as if the legal end is an afterthought in Lashner's books.

In this book, Carl is working to get a new trial for a chef accused of murdering his wife. However, there's a danger that a raft of secrets could be revealed that would bring down much of Philadelphia society. Carl believes his client did it, while his partner disagrees.

Carl gets a new girlfriend, wardrobe, and other accompaniments while working his way into the city's high life. One very entertaining character woven into the thread is Dr. Bob, a dentist who insinuates himself into his clients' lives.

Some people may be put off by Carl's wisecracking irreverence, but I personally can't get enough of it.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How did I a lover of mysteries and the quirky miss this author and series? Going back and start from the beginning.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Defense attorney Victor Carl is wary of representing Francois Dube, a chef convicted of murdering his wife. Although Francois claims innocence and wants a new trial, all evidence points to him as the culprit. Plus, Francois had a motive: he and his wife were in the process of divorcing and bitterly arguing over custody of their young daughter at the time of the wife's murder. Victor doesn't think there's much of a chance of winning this one, but his partner, Beth Derringer, seems enamored of Francois and pushes to take the case. As Victor begins investigating, into his life steps Dr. Bob, a dentist who not only fixes his broken tooth but inserts himself into Victor's life and begins to cause some pretty drastic changes. Good things, such as a new girlfriend and better wardrobe. But before long, Victor discovers that Dr. Bob is tied to the events that led to the murder of the wife of the man he is now defending.

This is one of those books the reader doesn't want to end. William Lashner has a penchant for delivering delicious witticisms that leave the reader laughing and wanting more. Victor Carl is a Jewish attorney with attitude and refreshing self-deprecating view of himself and his life. Dr. Bob is the ultimate character, a man outside the bounds of sanity who sees himself as protector of the world while inadvertently destroying others. A superb mystery.

[M. Sprouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victor Carl might not be a scumbag lawyer, but at times he can do a good impression of one. Victor is my favorite lawyer (oxymoron?) in history. William Lashner has the prefect fit for wit and humor sometimes sarcastic, sometimes childish, but always funny. This story is full of mystery and suspense to give a serious enough background to make the humor stand out even more. Dr. Bob gives this novel a whole new dimension. I don't know if this is my favorite in the series, but it definitely gets 5 stars from me.

[Johnnie Gee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, the story revolves around a dentist that wants to be the crusader for everyone. He is the go between guy between you and whatever your problem is. In one respect he is like the "Godfather", he does you a service and at some point you do one for him. However, his request is almost always for someone else.

A okay story, worth the read.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Held my interest. The characters are comfortable , which you would expect from the 5th book in the series. Good hook at the beginning and keeps rolling from there.

[Sharon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was immensely entertaining. Apparently there are various editions in audiobook, but the one I listened to was read by Jason Collins. His renditions of various characters were hilarious and I highly recommend you listen to this audiobook. I love William Lashner's sardonic wit. I initially picked up his books because of my interest in legal thrillers. But I am now a huge fan of his not only because of the courtroom dramas, but also because he does not take his characters too seriously. They are always interesting and often hilarious. In this book, the character, Horace T. Grant (known as Porkchop by his friends) was particularly entertaining. I highly recommend this book. I will definitely read it again.

[Sudhagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded to 4.

What a great read! Funny, witty and twisty as a mountain road. The writer keeps the suspense and tension all the way to the last page. There is not a single moment that you get distracted or bored. The twin threads are well woven and the great cast of characters keep us entertained. I especially loved the crusty old due - Horace T. He steals the scene whenever he makes an appearance.

Highly recommended.

[Andrew Coiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victor Carl is a beautifully flawed character and probably more accurately resembles an authentic lawyer than most fictional ones. The books are entertaining. The one flaw I see in most is Carl miraculously gets law enforcement to assist him in resolving the case. That's not happening in the criminal defense trenches.

[Maggies Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawyers Derringer and Carl are an unlikely team that defends two children of an abusive home while taking on a retrial of an accused wife murderer. Instead of it being the butler who did it, we are lead to believe that a do good dentist might be the killer or not.

[Jennifer Gillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely my favorite book in the Victor Carl series, I absolutely love the humor of Victor and Beth! They make a great duo. I really like the characters that this story as well. Definitely worth the read as I enjoyed every page of it.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Lashner. I’ve read him before and I’ll read him again. I like his dialogue and sense of humor. I didn’t do much reading for the first two months of the pandemic so it took me a while to finish but not because I didn’t like it.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple wit and sarcastic humor. Characters that make you giggle. I was very entertained.

[Ceci · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 STAR

[Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funnier books I have read in a long time. The book still have a good mystery to it but the author kept you amused with his funny quotes.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a fast pace, entertaining read. It is the first time I've read anything by this author and I will be reading more.

[Al Menaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite good. Interesting lawyer thriller, well paced. Perhaps a tad far fetched, but Lashner tied it all together.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this author and various characters that inhabit his who done it mysteries.

[Luxe Huntley · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as mass market mystery thrillers go, Lashner is pretty darn good. I liked the ending of this one- not the usual "bad guys pay the price" melodrama.

[Lauma Ose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Klasisks detektīvromāns, tik šajā reizē detektīva vietā ir advokāts. Būtu trīs zvaigznes, bet stāsts risinājās pārāk lēnu un grāmata bija pārāk gara, tāpēc divas zvaigznes.

[Barb Asleson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this author. I love the characters and all the trouble the main character gets into while always somehow solving the mystery!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was wonderfully surprised to read that some fans of Lashner's consider this his weakest book. It's the first one that I've read and if this is the worst, then I have a lot to look forward to.
This is the stylish tale of a Philadelphia lawyer whose sense of self-esteem is low, but whose sense of self-interest is very high indeed. Stripped of any pretenses to altruism, he's able to give us readers a cold-blooded, although always very funny account of his doings.
There are, as in much good detective fiction-two overlapping plots here. One involves a criminal appeal, the other a child-welfare case. It's unlikely that anyone would get too excited about these tales in themselves, but Lashner's eye for the ridiculous, his ability to put together the slightly mad scene and the droll dialog are quite enough in themselves.
For those readers with a literary jones, there are two characters at the edge of each plot, a dentist and a chess hustler who have a Graham Greene-like presence that engages the curiosity and lifts this book well above its genre. Lashner is a much better-than-average prosemaster. Recommended for fans of Shadow of Innocence or the Bane mystery The Game

-- Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and bang BANG

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series that I've listened to via audiobook. I enjoyed the wise-cracking main character, Victor Carl a lot. He's a smart attorney, but at times get's himself in trouble with his desire to pull a dramatic flourish(dropping a bomb on the prosecution) without fully considering all the angles and finds the tables turned on him instead. But this adds to the fun. The 2 subplots in and of themselves are ok, but again, it's the characters that bring the situations alive, the do-gooder dentist in particular. The one thing that smacks of lack of believability is the lengths that the dentists' helpers go to in order to see that he continues to carry out his "mission" in life. Otherwise, enjoyed this book very much.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concurrent plots in this book made it seem more like two books in one. I really liked the plot about the child and his sister, and I was really surprised by the ending to that portion (though I probably should have seen it coming.) The other plot was interesting, but not nearly as engaging. And then the whole recurring thing with the dentist - that was just waaaay too graphic for me! And I don't even have dentist issues, or at least I didn't prior to reading this book. I never did quite figure out how the two plots fit together, and I could have done without the dental work entirely.

[Lynn Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read!

This is my first Victor Carl book by Lashner. I became hooked on his writing after "The Barkeep." if you like legal mysteries, this is a great read. it all revolves around Bob, the dentist, who is only trying to be helpful. This is a plot twisting, page turning novel that keeps you guessing until the end. Mr. Lashner's self depricating humor reminds me of Nelson DeMille.

[Debby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried several times to hang in there with this book (through a third of the book) hoping that the pace would pick up and the storyline would grab me, but to no avail. Two nights in a row, I've fallsen asleep with the headphones on and the CD playing. I'd pick this up again only if I had nothing else to read.

[shelly edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the series

I am a fan of the Victor Carl series and book five did not disappoint.
Victor's self honesty and self deprecation add humor to what could be a grisly case.
The scenes in the dentist office had me cringing and laughing at the same time. Good, entertaining read.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth in the Victor Carl series of lawyer mysteries. Very fun, like a denser Robert B. Parker without the tough guy acr; multipart plot. Was described as a "cross between Raymond Chandler and Chandler Bing". Good description. This story features a mad dentist. Some affectionate hard-boiled satire.

[Nightfalltwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. I liked the voice of Victor Carl throughout this and when I started it, I didn't realise it was part of a series so I might go back and see what the other editions bring. Not epic and not astoundingly well written, but it was fun.