Violent Ward

Len Deighton is one of my all-time favorite authors, which is why I can't believe I hadn't found this novel sooner. He is a master of the espionage thriller, but this one is a good old fashioned mystery. Our hero is not a detective, though, but a lawyer. Yep, a lawyer. I love the character of Mickey Murphy - he is so adorable! His office is in a bad LA neighborhood, his partner is into some shady deals, his law practice is being bought out by a multi-millionaire who also happens to be married to Murphy's old high school sweetheart for whom he still carries a serious torch. When his ex-wife isn't pretending she's going to throw herself off his ledge, she's sending her astrologer round to threaten him for more money, his son is living with a fem-nazi and his German secretary barely speaks English. His friend the movie star wants to buy a gun, his friend the cop suspects him of murder and his friend the body guard keeps threatening to kill him. The take over of his law practice is not so innocent as it seems and there is something more going on, but Murphy is having a hard time figuring out what the deal is. He happens to be the only honest party involved, so chances are, he'll end up screwed. The whole thing comes to a head as the city goes up in flames during a huge riot. A must read!

I really liked this story and it had some really funny lines in it too. I will read some more books by this author if they are anything like this. This is about an attorney, his ex, his kid, an old girlfriend and her husband, riots, money, murder. A really interesting novel.