What do You think about The Final Judgment (1998)?
After reading Protect and Defend, the book in which Caroline Masters is nominated for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I wanted to read the book which supplies her back story and that of her daughter Brett. The plot is fast paced and compelling but, as with other Patterson books, the number of horrors one family inflicts on itself is incredible. Why Betty would tell her father about Caroline's illicit boyfriend, for example, is a little hard to swallow. Was her father supposed to be so grateful he would turn away from Caroline and toward Betty? Could Larry really be so blind to the consequences of moving back to his father-in-law's town and therefore orbit? And most of all, would Caroline really agree to defend her own daughter in a murder trial? Admittedly, she'd given said daughter up for adoption twenty-two years before, but still...Nevertheless, this was a great page turner and an irresistible summer read.
—Deb
Caroline Masters is a lawyer. Her father is a retired judge & Caroline has high hopes of becoming a judge. She is being considered for an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Just as everything she has worked so hard for & hoped for is about to happen, she receives a plea for help from a family member on the opposite coast where Caroline currently resides. There are several reasons for Caroline's decision to live as far away from her family as she could possibly get and yet she is drawn back to help them.Page after page, the reader discovers what sent Caroline packing & what drew her back.I enjoy courtroom drama, mystery and suspence. This book had all that and it held my attention long enough to make it to the end where everything becomes apparent. It was okay...better than some but not "a must read".
—Mary
from amazon.com: "Richard North Patterson frequently rejects the label "legal thriller" for his novels, and The Final Judgement works hard to transcend this limiting category. A cleverly assembled murder mystery told with rich prose ("Moonlight refracted on the still, obsidian waters of the lake and traced the pines and birches and elms surrounding it. The only sound Brett heard was the rise and fall of James's breathing.") and filled with a cast of quirky small-town New Englanders, the novel ultimately succeeds through Patterson's talents as a writer, not just as a plotter."Read another of his books, Exiled, and enjoyed. So we will see about this one.....11.26.11 - enjoyed this one just as much. Good narrative, and suspense. I didn't figure it out til the end - but, that's not saying much. Will now pick up another of his books each trip to the library.Now the sun on the front porch to begin, The Distant Hours by Kate Morton.Take note - apparently, I read an entirely different genre of books when I am not purchasing them in hardcover for myself!!
—~mad
