** "Motion to Supress" (N1) is the first Nina Reilly mystery by 'Peri', sisters Pamela and Mary, O'Shaughnessy. The former graduated Harvard Law, and shows off too much 'file form this' and sit through 'procedure that' for layman me, a pro might appreciate the accuracy. I always like humor, here sisterly banter and an Irish bar song http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyri.... Barbie-doll beauty Michelle finally conks her abusive drunken husband on the head. She suffers amnesia similar to her forgotten first ten years. He disappears. She consults just separated new lawyer in town Nina for divorce advice. The body reappears at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. Her trial ensues, sprinkled with more attacks and murder. The 1995 time means Ms. mixes with Mrs., California marriages often split, DNA tests take a few weeks to find fatherhood, and sleeping around can cause disease, death, and be a symptom, as is heavy drinking, of health problems to address. When I knew more than Nina [about her husband's seemingly sudden desire for immediate divorce, her move for a quieter legal practice, and suspected the client's husband knocked her out with drops, another man took her while insensible, and her childhood amnesia was provoked by murder], I had not read the book before, maybe another in the series, the plot is some parts predictable. Lost memories and hypnosis are hokey soap-opera devices. I've heard some about roofies date rape drugs, lack experience in the accuracy of knockout blows and bruises, and understand hypnosis, like alcohol, works only on willing subjects. So I mistrust the believability of elements. Now the pluses. The scenery is a spectacular vacation. [After competent employer negotiation, I disapprove of the improbable plumber episode, then] I root for the heroine: kind, loyal, imperfect, basically good, supported by loving family, cares about others. The client is made sympathetic. The final courtroom scene is a gunshot shocker. The solution is buried in a detail we are reminded of, but never see the importance, till the last two pages disclose.
Michelle (Misty) Patterson had enough. When her husband once again practically rapes her, she manages to reach a heavy object and strike the back of his head. He’s injured; maybe even knocked out for a bit. But she didn’t kill him! Or, did she? When she woke up, he was not there. She doesn’t remember anything that happened after she struck him. A few days later, they find his body under his friend’s boat at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. It wasn’t the only time that Misty had repressed memories. She could not remember the first ten years of her life. What did those years have to do with now?Nina Reilly has her own problems. She and her husband, Jack, are both attorneys. He caught her cheating. She leaves with her son, Bobby, and moves from their home in San Francisco to her brother’s home in Lake Tahoe where she sets up a small practice for herself. She hires Sandy Whitefeather, a Washoe Indian, to be her legal secretary. Sandy is outspoken, but very good at learning her new job. Nina’s first client is Michelle Patterson. Nina calls upon an old friend and retired cop, Paul van Wagoner, to do some investigative work for her.Misty and Nina are exact opposites in many ways, at least at the beginning. Misty had her great looks and her great body, but lacked enough self-esteem to know she could become so much more. Nina has a great business sense and relies on her instincts about people. She wants to believe Misty — she really does. But, several things just don’t add up. There are several suspicious characters which engage the reader to do some of their own sleuthing. The writing was sporadic at times slowing the flow down. This is the debut novel for the author (a sister writing team). I rated Motion to Suppress at 3.5 out of 5.http://www.fictionzeal.com/motion-sup...
What do You think about Motion To Suppress (1996)?
I generally avoid books that are written by a team. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. This is a first novel for sisters Pamela and Mary O’Shaughnessy. Though it took a while for me to warm up to the character of Nina Reilly, by the end I was hooked. The legal points were spot on, the plot was solid and the mystery a good one. It is rare that I don't figure out "who dunnit," how and why. Misty Patterson is on trial for the murder of her husband, Anthony, and Nina takes on her case as her first murder trial. Interesting twists and turns. I have already started on the second novel in this series.
—Jeanne
Having already read “Unfit to Practice” and enjoying that, I wanted to go back to the beginning of Nina Reilly’s story and get to know the characters a bit better.In “Motion to Suppress”, we meet Nina in San Francisco, at the end of her marriage, just before she moves herself and her son to Lake Tahoe, where she opens her fledgling law practice. There, she takes on a divorce case for Misty Patterson, a waitress at a local casino. But, when Anthony Patterson is found dead at the bottom of the lake, and Misty cannot remember the details of their last fight, Nina is the only one who believes in Misty’s innocence.This was a suspenseful tale; I was pleased to find out how Sandy Whitefeather came to be hired, and how Nina’s involvement with Paul began. The legal storyline was intense and satisfying, with enough red herrings to keep you drawn in through the final pages. I expect to read more of this series in the future
—Maurean
Meet Nina Reilly. She lost her job, her husband, and new to Lake Tahoe to start her own private law practice. She had no experience in criminal law. In Perri O'Shaughnessy's debut, Motion to Suppress, she takes on Michelle Patterson as her first client; she's also in for a fight for her life. As a single mother to her son, she's get a lot of harrassment and grief, since she's new to town. First, she helped her client get a divorce. And when he turned up dead, Michelle's the prime suspect. To make matters worse and a bit messy, she has amnesia and has hidden secrets from her past childhood. Everyone gave Nina a hard time, when she wants to do her best for Michelle, which included a fatal near miss in a car accident. As Nina tried to run around the suspects and figured out the case herself, her first criminal case might not her last, with a shocking and twisted ending you didn't see coming.
—Kristen
