★★★★
GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: civil judgment, legal malpractice
SETTING: Minneapolos, MN
CHARACTERS: Norm Wartnick, Jerry Snider, Joe Friedberg
DATE READ: November 25 - December 6
NO. OF PAGES: 360
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?: Yes, NetGalley
CATEGORY: Class Schedule
PLOT: 4
CHARACTERIZATION: 3.5
TOPICS: 3.5
STYLE: 4
ORIGINALITY: 4
ADDICTIVENESS: 4
OWNERSHIP: 4
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 4
Average 3.88
I'm not exactly sure how to describe this fascinating book.
It wasn't what I expected, but it was riveting just the same. I thought from the title and description that it was going to be the typical murder mystery and in the end we find out who did it. Nope, this was a murder mystery but we never found out who the killer was. Why? because it was a true story and it centered around a man who was never convicted of a crime but was sued in civil court for the wrongful death of the victim. So, you think, okay, OJ was convicted of wrongful death. But this guy didn't do it and with a totally incompetent attorney, the judgment against him destroyed his life and livelihood.
That's the setup and the book takes the reader through the process of suing his attorney for legal malpractice. It was fascinating, a little dry but I learned a great deal about the legal process and what is expected from a lawyer's representation.
2 comments:
It does sound a little dry. I think I would want to know whodunnit for sure and not be such a lesson in the law.
Have a good week and happy holidays to you and yours.
Kaye, this is not a whodunnit book. If you want to read that kind of story, this is not the book for you. This is a book about a man's struggle for justice in the face of injustice, judicial prejudice, and legal incompetence. When you need to hire an attorney, you want trust that person and their ability to practice law. No one expects that their attorney is incompetent and may potentially create a bigger mess from their legal incompetence. Wartnick's attorney did just that and started the ball rolling for an unbelievable roller coaster ride that nearly destroyed the family of an innocent man.
Yes, at first, the book is a little overwhelming (some may say dry) with all the legal language, but once you get into it, you can't put it down. You'll want to know how the story ends...did Wartnick get justice or not? Did the legal system fail him again in the pursuit of justice?
It's well worth the read!
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