Life Sentence

As a law junkie, I love a good courtroom thriller! However, I am often disappointed by stories that are entirely too predictable. This was not one of them. David Ellis intertwines the past and present brilliantly, leading to a conclusion I never saw coming! This is possibly the best book I've read all year.

As a veteran reader of well done mysteries, this is among the best I've ever read! The Windy City-like political maneuvering was first rate, and all the characters were expertly done. More twists here than even Chubby Checker could devise! Oddly, I suspected the killer fairly early, but everything is fair for the reader. Obviously Mr. Ellis is up to the task of a power big city politcal mystery, with enough old secrets to keep everyone on their toes!

I love legal thrillers. As a teenager I dreamed of becoming a lawyer, of arguing the big case, of the maneuverings and the dealing and the strategy of it all. Well, I never did go to Law school, so now I live for vicariously through the writings of those that did. Unfortunately, in recent years the trend of these lawyers turned writers has been to move away from courtroom, turning these legal thrillers into more of detectives with a law degree. It's getting harder and harder to find a good courtroom tale, even when they are advertised as such. So when I picked up Life Sentence by David Ellis I was skeptical. I liked his first book, Line of Vision, but wasn't blown away. The back page quips seemed interesting, and of course there was the obligatory comparison to Grisham in the praise area that book reviewers feel compelled to make anytime a lawyer writes a book. So then I start reading. The tale instantly captures me. In the book, the protagonist Jon Soliday is a highly respected election lawyer with a secret from his past. He has just discovered a loop hole that will almost guarantee his boss and best friend will win the election for governor, but shortly after making the decision whether to use this discovery or not, another lawyer is murdered and Jon is found standing over the dead man's body. This starts a ride through the legal and political system that is both interesting and educational. Ellis does a great job weaving a plot of corruption and revenge that spans over two decades. For once, we actually get to travel into the courtroom and are given a front row seat to the proceedings. I wass absolutely blown away by this book. I both the political and legal aspects to be well thought out and extremely well written. The only downside of this books is that Ellis leaves to many obvious clues to the surprise ending and by about halfway through the book, I had it pretty well figured out. Other than that, this may be the best legal thriller I've read in a long time.

Jon Soliday serves as legal counsel to state Senator Grant Tully, who is running for governor in which the polls indicate his employer trailing against Langdon Trotter. However, Jon uncovers that Trotter submitted an invalid petition that, if revealed, would force the front runner out of the contest. Shockingly Tully tells Jon to not go public with the information because he says he fears a public backlash. Instead he prefers Jon let lawyer Dale Garrison use the fake petition to blackmail Trotter into throwing the race.Surprisingly, Jon receives an anonymous blackmail note that demands he pays $250,000 to keep quiet about "the secret that nobody knows". He wonders if someone knows about the incident in 1979 when he had sex with a woman who died not long afterward. Still Jon goes about his job and though he detests the deceitfulness, he meets with Garrison anyway. Not long after their discussion, someone kills Garrison leaving Jon as the prime suspect as the last known person to have seen the victim and he wondering about the link back to his previous worst nightmare from two decades ago.LIFE SENTENCE is an exciting legal thriller that provides so many twists and turns that readers will read in one sitting. The story line enables the audience to observe the relativity of information based on a person's LINE OF VISION as reasonably intelligent individuals interpret facts to fit their need and theory of the crime. The key charcaters including Jon are developed enough to enhance the who-done-it as it is the interpretation not just the facts that will make David Ellis' second legal thriller a fan favorite.Harriet Klausner

Ellis' second novel is better than his first, and that was good. The novel is narrated by Jon Soliday, a longtime friend and now employee of Senator Grant Tully, son of retired Senator Tully. Twenty years ago in 1979, when he and Grant Tully were kids, they along with other juveniles (young men) were involved in a situation where a woman ended up dead.Although Jon never had any specific recollection of what happened that night (drugs,sex,rock and roll), he becomes the focus of the investigation into the death of Gina Mason. Lawyers are hired, favors are called in, stories are constructed, magic is worked and the investigation into the death is closed. However, Jon Soliday never forgets and although he believes that he could not have been involved in her murder, there is so much about that night that he does not remember.Present day, Soliday is helping Senator Grant Tully with his campaign bid for state governor. During the course of the campaign, Soliday is framed for the murder of another Tully aid. Soliday is arrested, charged and faces trial. He is represented by Bennett Carey who is a friend of sorts but much more. At the conclusion of the "trial" everyone comes out a loser. It is hard to say more without spoiling this utterly magnificant, detailed and finely constructed piece of fiction. The surprises are endless, the writing is tight, the plot is well thought out and everything flows together in such a way that all the reader can say at the end is WOW!!!