Maximum Security: A Crime Novel

Rose Connors - Maximum Security - excellent setting in a visual New England rural countryside - can see, hear, feel and almost taste the salt air. Some items of unrealistic portrayal keep this from 5 stars.

This book is really easy to read. I read it in a couple hours over a long weekend. I liked it a lot because of the setting. I have a house on the cape and its always nice to read about places you know. If you know Chatham at all, you will love it. The characters are also really good. They are somewhat complex because of the relationships. There is also a fair bit of comic relief. Bottom Line: Great book for a quick read...Maybe beach reading?

Marty Nickerson doesn't want to say no to Harry Madigan, her lover and law partner, so she agrees to defend Harry's old flame in a murder case. Louisa Rawlings admits she was considering divorce when her husband disappears and when his body gets washed to shore. She protests her innocence convincingly, yet District Attorney Geraldine Schilling won't budge. Louisa's fingerprints turned up on what seems to be the murder weapon. Louisa was named sole heir, disinheriting husband's daughter. Marty wishes her client would agree to some kind of plea bargain, but Louisa claims she can't name an accomplice because she's not guilty. And she wants Marty to help her find the real killer. The courtoom characters comes across with lively humor: an eminently fair African-American judge and a stubborn prosecutor. Realistic? Well,most judges are ex-prosecutors and this judge actually respects the defense. And prosecutors are quick to accuse family members and don't like to back down. In spite of herself, Marty begins to admire the defendant's spirit and she's slightly envious of Louisa's ability to charm everyone she meets, including the prison matrons. And she really wants to see this woman go free. Conners creates suspense because we, as experienced mystery readers, know Louisa can't be guilty. And she piles on the danger, revealing incriminating evidence that seems unshakeable. Louisa seems headed for a maximum security prison until the very last section of the book. We realize something's got to happen, and it does -- right in the last few pages. Conners does an excellent job of ending the story in just a page or two at the very end. The human interest subplots add to the interests. Kydd, the near-perfect young associate lawyer, may be headed for an imperfect romance. Marty's son Luke seems ambivalent about college. These stories, along with the author's gift for explaining complex courtroom maneuvers, will keep us watching for the next volume in the series. A good read...for a cozy winter evening, a long plane trip or just a Great Escape from the tedium of the tube.

At the request of her partner Harry Madigan, Marty Nickerson agrees to take on the case of Louisa Rawlins, whose husband is presumed dead because he never came home after using his boat. The insurance company does not want to pay out the $1 million dollar claim; instead they ask authorities to investigate. Marty is a bit uncomfortable representing Louisa because her lover Harry was once Louisa's lover.Certain that there is no evidence to arrest her, Marty agrees that she and Louisa should meet with District Attorney Geraldine Schilling at the client's home. On the day of the meeting, the police arrest Louisa on charges of second-degree murder. A fisherman found Herb Rawlings's body his hands and leg tied together with rope. He had a head injury and later the police find evidence of blood in the bathroom that matches that of Herb. A brass swan faucet, which the authorities think is the murder weapon, is found with Louisa's fingerprints and Herb's blood and hair on it making it seem like the prosecution has an airtight case. Even Marty begins to wonder if her client is innocent.Rose Connors is brilliant at portraying courtroom scenes yet she humanizes all the characters so that nobody is stereotyped. She also injects humor into the storyline so that the audience becomes further delighted with the characters witty repartee. The accused is a charming refined and gentile woman who engages the sympathy of the audience so that readers hope she is not the killer. MAXIMUM SECURITY is one of the best legal thrillers of the year.Harriet Klausner