Kill All the Lawyers

Though I've not really researched the topic, my guess is that the first mystery solving couple appeared in Dashiell Hammett's The Thin Man. Subsequent to Nick and Nora Charles, there have been all sorts of mysteries featuring couples; probably the most popular one currently going is Faye Kellerman's series with Peter and Rina Decker. Kellerman should watch out, however: Paul Levine's series featuring Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord is good enough to give the Deckers a run for their money. Kill All The Lawyers is the third in the "Solomon vs. Lord" series. In this novel, an old misdeed of Steve's has come back to haunt him. There was one time when he purposely lost a case; victory would have been simple, but he knew his client was guilty of multiple murders. Now, six years later (after serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter), William Kreeger is out of prison and out for revenge. Kreeger was a popular psychiatrist who was a darker version of Dr. Phil. Preaching a philosophy of selfishness (that even includes a very loose definition of justifiable homicide), he had parlayed his fame into big bucks and even after his prison time, he is able to have a radio show, which he uses to verbally attack Steve. Steve knows that Kreeger wants revenge, but even he can't guess at how sinister Kreeger's scheme will be, nor the depths of evil that Kreeger is capable of. Meanwhile, Steve's lover and law partner Victoria is forced to question both Steve's ethics and his commitment to their relationship. Steve can be a great guy, but he's also a big-time flake, and their personalities definitely are opposites. Uptight Victoria needs to loosen up and ultra-casual Steve needs to be a little more dependable. As Steve watches his life unravel through Kreeger's manipulations, even Victoria begins to question Steve's approach to things. One of the strengths of these books is that Levine realizes that - although these are books about a couple - he doesn't need to balance things equally between the two. Steve Solomon is the more interesting character (in some ways, an updated version of Levine's previous series character Jake Lassiter), so Levine writes more about him than Victoria. Although I felt that Levine fell off his stride a bit in his previous book (the good but not great Deep Blue Alibi), he is back to his full excellence here with a novel that is both suspenseful and quite funny and a good recommendation for fans of crime fiction.

As usual, I wasn't disappointed by Paul Levine. I can't wait for his next Solomon v. Lord book to be published, so I stared reading his earlier Jake Lassiter novels. Very entertaining!

Paul Levine's third Solomon Lord novel, Kill All the Lawyers, opens with Steve Solomon one early morning discovering on his front steps a three hundred pound blue marlin. He hasn't the foggiest notion as to who is the jokester, until his lady law partner, Victoria Lord shows up. Lord asks Solomon if he had listened to the morning news where a former client of his, psychiatrist William Kreeger had just been released from prison after serving six years for manslaughter. What was quite noteworthy was that Kreeger, when interviewed upon his release, described his attorney as "Steve-the-Shyster-Solomon." According to Kreeger, Solomon botched his trial resulting in his incarceration of a crime he claimed he never committed. Solomon is quite concerned as to why Kreeger is now insulting him when he had ample opportunity to bring up malpractice in his appeal, unless, as he muses, he discovered what exactly he did during the trial that was detrimental to his defense. As we subsequently learn, Solomon, who didn't believe in his client's innocence, committed the unthinkable by violating his lawyer's oath of confidentiality and supplying damning evidence to the prosecutor that eventually crippled Kreeger's defense. When Lord finds out what happened she goes ballistic and although she knew her partner would cut corners to win, breaking the law to lose, was a new one. Solomon fears for his life as he now realizes that Kreeger is aware of what transpired and as he already killed two people, he would think nothing of adding another one to his hit list. As the narrative progresses, Levine throws us a curve ball when Solomon finds himself on the wrong side of the law and is convicted for assault and battery. The judge orders Solomon to participate in anger management therapy under the auspices of William Kreeger. Solomon can't believe what he is hearing from the judge and tries to convince him that there is some mistake. He further tells the judge that Kreeger is a convicted felon. However, here again, he is flabbergasted when he learns that Kreeger received commendation from the Corrections Department for his work with violent offenders. Restoring his medical license, the department considered him to be a model of rehabilitation. However, as we later discover, Kreeger has many a dirty secret in his closet. Readers are in for quite a roller coaster ride once Solomon discovers what other crimes Kreeger had committed. The whole mix of events with its twists and turns is vintage Paul Levine who once again has managed to supply us with a compelling adventure with well-developed and endearing characters. Kill All the Lawyer is a solid follow up to Solomon vs Lord and The Deep Blue Alibi. Norm Goldman, Editor Bookpleasures

After a promising start to the Solomon vs. Lord series, the 2nd installment was a big letdown. I'm glad to say that this newest entry improves upon the first book in the series, and delivers top-notch entertainment throughout the entire book. The humor and action are non-stop, and the characterizations of all the cast are enlightening without being overdone. I'm looking forward to reading more about Victoria Lord and Steve Solomon, and will eagerly snatch up the 4th installment whenever the publisher puts it out. Thanks for the entertainment, Mr. Levine! The world could use some more laughs.

They met as opponents on a case, but became legal partners forming Solomon and Lord. Steve and Victoria are as different as two people can be. She is a blueblood; he is a peon. She strictly adheres to the rules; he bends and in some cases breaks the rules. Victoria has never been held in contempt; he holds the Guinness Book of Records for his judicial induced jail time. Their world crumbles when psychiatrist Dr. William Kreuger is released from prison; he knows that Steve gave the prosecution the key evidence that convicted him. William admits that he is out to prove that Steve is no better a person than him, but will kill to make his point. He starts a diabolical plan to frame an innocent person whom Steve loves by placing another innocent victim in danger. If Steve fails to find the endangered missing person, Kreuger wins; if he does find that person Kreuger wins anyway. The latest Solomon vs. Lord novel is a stupendous cat and mouse thriller with Steve being the rodent, his loved ones the cheese, and his adversary as sly and dangerous as Lector as Kreuger sets and changes the rules in this life and death game. Paul Levine infuses warmth in most of his cast (except for the villain) as he makes the case that ethical people when pushed over the edge will do what they can regardless of the self cost to save loved ones. This entry is on a par with Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum's series. Harriet Klausner