The Deal

I am a lawyer. Lawyers come in many ways. Litigators, corporate, prosecutors, senior corporate, associates, district attorneys, paralegals and others. They all do different things, as distinct as a bromelia is from an emu. Mr. Willett places them all here. And from my experience, he does a good job with them. They are funny per se. I don't think that this is a lawyers-only humor. The story is set in Boston. Imagine a deal whereby a bank gives some people money to buy a company. And, as you know, banks do not lend money, big money that is, without some collateral. Well the collateral is a big building in Manhattan. And some lawyer made a mistake whereby the collateral is worth $800,000,000 less than it is suppose to be worth. And then there is a murder. All hell breaks loose. The Harvard attorney who dealt the deal is indicted, his Northeastern pupil has to defend him, people get fired, crippled techies are shot at, and time is of the essence. Great story. Most people will read it more than once. I did. Trust me on this one.

I came across THE DEAL while looking for a financial thriller. But this one got me completely hooked, I read it at night, during lunch breaks, and I finished it in less than 48 hours. As an IB, I love to read books involving fictious deal making, although Willett's book isn't about investment bankers, I can relate to the time pressure in the beginning of the book. A great book for anyone who's interested in legal and financial area.

This is a fast-paced Boston legal intrigue. There is a mega-deal with an apparent typo - that hands $830,000,000 back to the buyer. No one knows who was responsible at the law firm for the (?)misprint in the deal. Then the senior partner on the deal is found murdered, and his associate is (?falsely) accused. He appeals to his buddy to defend him with only 13 days to build a case... It is superbly written - with suspense and excellent dramatic timing that leaves you hanging on the edge of your seat. It has a wonderful Boston feel, a background love story - I loved it.

I read Willett's second book, "The Betrayal," before his first novel, "The Deal," and I can report that the first was as good as the second. Marvelous style, and a fine ability to walk the reader through complex legal issues. Highly recommended thriller.

Plausible exploitation of the parol evidence rule underpins atale of fraud and murder in an $840 million real estate sale. Thebook's best features include three very well-developed characters, exploration of friendship, competition and domination in the relationship between the lawyer-defendant and his own defense attorney, a nice budding romance between two defense attorneys, and very enjoyable courtroom scenes.