| Product: |
Interest of Justice - Nancy Taylor Rosenberg |
| Date: |
18.12.05 (107 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: addictive read, superb storyline
Disadvantages: main character is a little weak, plot holes
Lara Sanderstone is a single woman, more successful in her career than in her love life. As a judge she is a well-respected member of the community, that is, until one day her sister and her sister's husband are brutally murdered. The murder throws up horrific details of Lara's sister's life as a working girl - and leads down a dangerous path on which Lara quickly discovers that nobody can be trusted. In addition to these difficulties, Lara is suddenly faced with having her sister's teenage son, Josh, to look after - a boy who is clearly deeply disturbed by all the events and more than a handful to handle … .
Embarking on a mission to solve the mystery of the identity of the killer, Lara risks it all - her career, her standing in the community. But can she save her career? Can she find the killer? And can she raise a teenage boy despite not having a single motherly bone in her body?
In many ways I want to label "Interests of Justice" my favourite book by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg - simply because the subject matter is the most gripping of all her novels and because the conversion of her theme into an enjoyable read is sheer brilliance. Out of all novels I have read so far by this author, I would certainly rank it in her Top 3 novels for being a page-turner from start to finish. But unlike my two other favourites, "Mitigating Circumstances" and "Buried Evidence", there are distinct continuity errors and plot holes in the storyline that are really easy to spot even by the fleeting reader. While the plot holes do not detract from the enjoyability of the read, they just present minus points to me, that prevent me from giving it a flawless rating.
The writing is vivid in descriptions and consequently very tense in parts. On occasion, I found her detailed images too much to handle, especially when she describes either sexual scenes or crime scenes. The sexual scenes are bordering on pornography, the crime scenes are so detailed in descriptions of injuries of the victims that on occasion I felt nauseous and had to skip over the words just to get past it. That is more a compliment to the author than a criticism - even though the read is not for readers with a weak stomach, I appreciate the talent and imagination that a writer must possess to write in such a descriptive manner.
The characters are a bit of a let-down, however, especially when comparing them to some of the others I have encountered in Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's stories. The biggest disappointment to me was the main character, Lara. She came across as an average human being, a little non-descript. Consequently, the reader is unable to develop any sort of feelings or attachment to her. By contrast, the peripheral characters, especially the male ones, were extremely well-developed in terms of physical descriptions and character traits. When reading the story I could instantly associate each male character with someone I had either encountered in real live or had seen in a movie or television series: It was possible to either instantly like or dislike them.
The ending of the story is probably the best I have seen in any Nancy Taylor Rosenberg novel. I felt completely satisfied, and I had no unanswered questions. The ending just made me feel good, I wanted to savour it, ponder upon it. Consequently, I did not feel like starting a new book until about a week after finishing this one.
The book is certainly recommendable to both male and female readers who appreciate a good murder mystery. There are many surprises at every turn of the page, it is not through-and-through predictable. Even spoiled and sophisticated readers will not be disappointed.
***Further information***
Orion Books
Pages: 440
Price: £5.99 for paperback
ISBN 0-304-36519-X
Summary: An enjoyable read if you can ignore the plot holes.
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