A Cinderella Affidavit

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Fredrickson's book. The plot, though based on a fairly recent real-life incident, is highly fictionalized and is just the jumping-off point for Mr. Fredrickson's book.Indeed, the very fact that, in the novel, the Massachusetts Bar Counsel even considers investigating and, perhaps, recommending discipline against the book's principal character, a lawyer in a large Boston firm, is the clearest indication of the book's fictional nature. Mr. Fredrickson returns closer to real life at the end of the novel when the firm's "bad" partner is allowed to simply retire early.As a novel, however, the book is a terrific read and I am eagerly looking forward to Mr. Fredrickson's next work. Although I am a Massachusetts lawyer, you do not have to have any background in the law to appreciate this book and enjoy the plot or the characters.

Unlike Cinderella, this story won't fade at midnight--quite the contrary, you are likely to be up long past 12 turning pages. What gives this legal thriller an especially unusual edge are the various ethical dilemmas and scenarios so keenly portrayed in the book. The writing is exceptional: urbane, witty and graceful. While it may be a cliche, the characters really DO jump off the page. What are you waiting for? If this is your genre, this is a must-read. And if its not, this book just may make you a devotee--if not of the field of legal thrillers, then definitely of this author.

First, let me disclose a conflict: I live and work in Boston. And am a lawyer.With a book like Michael Fredrickson's A Cinderella Affidavit, one must start with a conflicts check. After all, Fredrickson is chief counsel to the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, the agency that polices lawyers, and he knows a thing or two about legal ethics and their sometimes-punctilious demands.And so it is that his new novel provides a short course in how not to represent a client. The walking malpractice suit in a tie is one Matthew Boer, so named not because he is dull, but because he in unfortunate enough to have thrust upon him a moral crisis that, by book's end, will require him to probe mysteries that his and our better senses counsel keeping far alee. Matt, a mid-level and middling associate (that is, a drone) in a tony Boston law firm, finds himself drawn inexorably (is there any other way?) into a tale of murder and betrayal -- and then murder and betrayal all over again.It all starts with cop shot to death in a Chinatown drug raid. Fredrickson writes the scene with an are described as black gashes that burst instantaneously out of a killing silence. Like the best of Robert Altman, Fredrickson can draw anguish from the ether faster than most people can gasp.Things turn strange when we learn that the search warrant for the raid appears to have been issued based on the anonymous testimony of a non-existent informant. That is, based on a "Cinderella" affidavit. This is a book of great depth. If you think you're going for Grisham, keep going. Even though he's from Mississippi, Grisham doesn't really know how to write. Fredrickson does. He can illuminate character in a few sentences, entertain you with wordplay, describe the worlds of cops and lawyers with equal felicity, infuse the moment with a sudden eroticism, and craft a plot that is the literary equivalent of a Swiss watch -- except that it may cause you to lose all sense of time.This is, as they say, a book "you can't put down." So don't pick it up if you have a brief to write. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing bar discipline. - Rusty Russel

Although I am only 3/4 of the way thru "A Cinderella Affidavit", I felt compelled to respond to the other review posted by Ms. Griffiths. The author clearly went out of his way to indicate that the book is not intended to be a portrayal of any actual person. This is a standard literary device authors have used for years - to take an actual event and use it solely as the jumping off point to write a compelling story.And a compelling story is what "A Cinderella Affidavit" is. The book is tightly plotted (no, I haven't figured out the ending yet), has generally well-defined characters, and a strong sense of story-telling. The author does a better job creating lawyers than policemen (which make sense given his background) and creates a real sense of Boston and being part of a law firm (note the interactions with the partners and the Dead Partners Office).In sone respects, this book is almost too much of a good thing in that the author has so much he wants to tell us. Given that so many mysteries are so much fluff, this is a welcome change.I have no difficulty recommending this book to anyone who likes a good mystery. I plan to stay up late tonite to finish it and hope that there will be another book from Michael Fredrickson in the not-too-distant future.

Fresh, frank and funny, "A Cinderella Affidavit" is an intelligent journey into the diverse and colliding worlds that constitute MA Law. The richly woven tale takes you on a ride that is as challanging as it is entertaining--just when you think your going to stop, you're propelled around a corner that you could have sworn wasn't there before. The author's flair for description, legal acumen and bottomless vocabulary combine to entice you, involve you, and untimately reward you with a reading experience you'll treasure. I did.