The second novel in series featuring lawyer Mike Daley from author Sheldon Siegel, "Incriminating Evidence" is every bit as riveting, and entertaining as the first book from series. An outstanding plot that unwinds slowly enough to really pull you into the dark world of money and power. With power come most of the evils of the world that are tough to fight against. Mike Daley is begged to represent current San Francisco D.A. Prentice "Skipper" Gates who is charged with murder. Skipper is in the middle of a very hot and ugly election for California's A.G. office. Skipper wants to win this election and springboard to higher offices. However, when a gay male hustler is found handcuffed and face ducted taped- DEAD in Skipper's hotel suite, all hell breaks out. Daley and partner, ex-wife Rosie Fernandez are in for the fight of their legal careers trying to exonerate Skipper. Skipper lies at every possible juncture to really stymie his legal counsel. To make matters worse the dark and ugly world of prostitution, drugs, sex slavery and other dark forces creates a massive hill for team to climb. The prosecution at every turn really nails Skipper. To Mike and Rosie's dismay Skipper just won't level with them. Story does take a bit of time to unwind. However, as it reads the story really heats up along the way. I really enjoyed this book as much as author Siegel's first in series. The characters are really built perfectly with some incredible dialog that makes this one a winner. I was even surprised that I couldn't figure out who the actual killer was until the very end. The conclusion is a real twist and turner. Nice job wrapping this one up. Easily 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars. "Incriminating Evidence" , proves this is a series not to be missed. I'm moving right along to third book in series. Daley/ Fernandez are fun team to read as they fight through the ugly world of lawyers. Check it out it's well worth the time.
This is the second in a series. I rather enjoyed the first one. The main characters are a lawyer and his law partner/ex-wife. The two of them are very fond of one another. That was the good part. The action takes place in San Francisco so it is fun if you know the city and can picture where they are.The story is so much like the first book that I almost quit reading about l/4 of the way through. In both books Mike and Rosie take on a difficult case with a difficult defendant. In both cases, the defendant lied and lied and lied. Therefore, there were numerous revelations during the trial as the lies were uncovered by the prosecution. Both defendants were supposedly upstanding citizens with reputations to preserve.I would not recommend this in particular. It is too long, but it might be OK if you have not read the first one. If you have read the first one don't bother with this one.
Good premise, but executed poorly. I couldn't care about any of the characters, regardless of how much backstory the author provided, and it seemed endless, and thrown in for "depth." The story itself seemed like it was stretched out to novel size. If told in novella size, straight to the point, it could have been more compelling. It took 300 and some pages to get to the grit of the evidence--that's just ridiculous! I only read the first 100 pages consecutively and from then on I skimmed, and found even that was a waste of time. The author writes in the present tense--who writes like that!? I found it annoying, and probably one of the reasons why I couldn't get through the book.
—Stunatra
"Incriminating Evidence" is a really good courtroom drama/mystery. Like many in this genre, it starts out slowly. But that is usually necessary for this type of story, to set the stage, so that by the time the trial begins, I feel that I am right there, intimately experiencing every detail. The real challenge in this book was learning an keeping straight a rather large cast of characters. But, it was worth the effort. The upside is that the story never became predictable. Although I tried, I didn't "figure it out" until it was revealed at the end. A very satisfying legal thriller.
—Alan Zabel
4-5-14Wouldn't you love to be on a jury? Just once? (Once would be enough, I think). I do not know why I worry so about the jury. Could it be their importance is so short lived? I liked this author's main characters -- Mike and Rosie. They make a good team. By far, Nick the Dick is my favorite PI character. He stands proud at 4'11". He he eighty five years in age and two years in energy and charm. I see Danny Devito with a toupee when Nick enters the courtroom. This is where the fun starts. Nick cannot step into the witness chair, so he climbs into it. He pours a glass of water and offers it to the judge. 'Sober as a judge' has no meaning when Nick the Dick is on the stand. The author's writing mechanics are good. There are several throw away characters and actions that added unnecessary pages to the book, and I still do not know for certain 'whodunit.' But isn't 'uncertainty' all that this defense must show the jury?Thank you, Mr. Siegel, for a good read.
—Linda
