Unlucky in Law (Nina Reilly)

I'm a sucker for stories that straddle two different historical eras, so this murder mystery that links present events to the murder of the last Russian czar and his family in 1918 was a natural for me. Unlike so many novels of this sort, the plot is not obvious, yet it is also an easy read for an airplane trip or a commute to work on the train. The characters are well drawn. Nina Reilly, the attorney hero, is likable and the other primary characters have enough complexity to be believeable. The reader knows right away who the good guys are, but the murderer is not immediately identified. Overall, this is a very good novel that will hold the attention of an intelligent reader without offering too much challenge to be easily entertaining. If you enjoy page turners and don't want to drag a big, hardcover book around town, this book is for you.

Having read all the Nina Reilly books, I was happy to get my hands on this one. I wasn't disappointed. I loved the Russian history that was intertwined throughout the murder mystery. SPOILER: I did think the rocky relationship between Paul and Nina was getting old, and am glad it seems to be resolved. I'm surprised Paul put up with her poor treatment of him for so long. Although Nina doesn't need Paul romantically, she does need him professionally. It will be interesting to see if she can make it without him now.

Nina Reilly has left Lake Tahoe to spend some time with her longtime lover and PI, Paul van Wagoner in Monterey, partly to sort out their future. She gets a call from an old mentor,Klaus Pohlman, who asks for her help on what appears to be a straightforward murder case. Nina agrees to help with the case and gets taken on a puzzling trip down "history" road. Her client, Stefan Wyatt, a neer-do-well young man, already has two convictions and,if convicted again, is headed for life in prison. He is accused of murdering a young woman,Christina Zhukovsky, and burying her body in her father's grave but removing the father's bones. According to DNA tests blood on glass shards found in Christina's home is Stefan's. But things are not what they seem. Paul and Nina discover that Christina's father, Constantin Zhukovsky, has links to the Romanov dynasty which was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1918. We are led down meandering paths until the identity of the murderer is revealed in the last few pages. This is one of the best-plotted novels in the Nina Reilly series.

Although "Unlucky in Law" takes a very long time to get to the point, and although I almost gave up several times, I'm so glad I didn't. Because once the tedious and long beginning is done with, the story is one of the best in the Nina Reilly series. Nina has now moved down to be with Paul, and as always, she is conflicted about the relationship. What else is new? But this time, we see some things from Paul's perspective, and that is both interesting and unique to the series...and adds some real interest to their dynamic. While Nina is, as always, grappling with her personal feelings, she gets pulled into a case that first appears to be a simple murder--and winds up embroiled in Russian history, all the way back to the last Czar! Nina's client, a hapless young man named Stefan, is accused of the brutal murder of a young woman of Russian descent whom he swears he never met. But his blood was found at the scene of the crime. And the DNA is conclusive. Hopeless? Nina doesn't think so--something doesn't rub her right, and she's going to find out what. Even if it means destroying her personal life. Worth the read, worth the series. Give it a try.

hese sisters know how to write a gripping story. Read it; you'll like it.