Customer Reviews

The Associate

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Reed, Briggs, Stephens, Stottlemeyer and Compton is the largest and most prestigious law firm in Portland, Oregon and Daniel Ames, young, up and coming associate, still can't quite believe his good fortune of working there. But when Reed Briggs' biggest client, Geller Pharmaceuticals, is sued for manufacturing a pregnancy drug that causes horrible birth defects and opposing attorney, Aaron Flynn, finds evidence, during discovery, that Geller is hiding studies that prove it was aware of the problem, Daniel finds himself to be the company scapegoat, blamed for incompetence and fired. Within hours, senior partner, Arthur Briggs, is murdered and Daniel is arrested. Now, as murder and mayhem ensue, Daniel is determined to sort out this mess and get to the truth and he finds that his life may depend upon it..... Phillip Margolin is back with a readable, fast paced thriller, but this is also a book with problems. The plot, though compelling at times, is more complicated than intricate and the convoluted storyline jumps around so much, it's confusing. I found myself constantly flipping back and forth to keep track of who's who and what's what. His characters have little depth and less motivation and you never really get inside their heads. Add to that, an ending that leaves too many loose ends and unanswered questions and you have the makings of an unsatisfying novel that leaves the reader feeling cheated. Phillip Margolin has written some great thrillers, Gone But Not Forgotten and Wild Justice, being among his best, but not this time out. Do yourself a favor and skip The Associate.

Philip Margolin is one of my favorite writers, but he must have been fulfilling a contract with a time requirement on this one. The plot is interesting though overly convoluted and the characters are basically one dimensional. We have the non-ivy league associate in a major big city law firm, the attractive former cop/investigator for the firm who first befriends and then falls for our "hero", the highly succesful plainiff's lawyer who has filed suit against a pharmacutical company represented by the firm, a venal top litigator for the firm who sets out to make our hero's life a living hell for failing to spot a damaging document during a review of their response to a document request, we have the hero's best male friend in the law firm who never loses faith in him, we have the good cop/bad cop investigating team for the local police force and we have a whole other story within a story that takes place earlier in time and which provides an improbable link the the main tale. You do keep turning the pages because the writing is straight forward and you kind of wonder who all of the bad guys are. With several chapters to go you have it figured out and the book finally just ends. That was the best part.

Margolin's latest effort is a far cry from the giants such as After Dark and Gone, But Not Forgotten. The book premise is ludicrous and does not get started. The book's plot development holds no suspense and is by far the worst of all his efforts. Usually, his books are the highlight of my summerr reading activity but this fails to generate any excitement. I wish they would find the real Philip Margolin because he certainly did not write this book. Oh!! How the mighty have fallen. This book is about 300 pages too long. Once you get past the copyright page, it is all downhill from there. This book should be Gone and Forgetten. I strongly recommend that you do not "Associate" yourself with this novel and wait for his next effort. Please may the real Margolin come back and replace this imposter.

The Associate is Daniel Ames, a young ex-toughguy who grew up fending for himself. He worked his way through law school and discoverd he was as bright as the best of them. Or so it seemed when he was hired by Reed, Briggs, a top notch law firm in Portland, Oregon. As the story begins Daniel is a struggling associate working too many hours and trying to please everyone. He allows himself to be conned into reviewing the discovery papers in a case involved in a possible product liability case. Arron Flynn, a plantiff attorney is suing Geller Pharmaceuticals for manufacturing a drug that allegedly causes birth defects. At the conference following Daniel's review of the papers a document surfaces that Daniel had missed entirely revealing that the company's research doctor had discovered that the drug did indeed cause severe defects. Daniel was quickly fired, and out of work, humilated, and scared about his financial future, he begins to investigate the drug company. People begin to die around him, and a several year old case of unsolved kidnappings surface. When the partner who fired him is killed, Daniel is accused of murdering him. Amanda Jaffe from "Wild Justice" is now a more seasoned criminal defense attorney who takes on his defense pro bono and works with Daniel's friend Kate to solve the case. The two women seem to do all the work while Daniel blunders along from murder to murder.

I will continue to wait for another blockbuster from Margolin, whose books I have enjoyed in the past. This one seemed to be a lot of loose ends that needed to be connected, but it was an ok read.

Daniel Ames, "the Associate," keeps making the same mistakes throughout the book. His character becomes maddingly annoying simply for his stupidity. Since he supposedly was bright enough to put himself through law school and be hired by one of the top-notch firms in Portland, this premise alone lacks credibility. Actually, Daniel Ames is not especially likable nor the majority of the company he keeps. While the plot has some possibilities, there are no real surprises. Hopefully, Mr. Margolin will get back to basics and his next offering will be more entertaining.

Daniel Ames, an associate at a large law firm seems too overjoyed with his good fortune. When he gets talked into reviewing thousands of documents for an upcoming case, things start to go haywire. This is only the second Margolin book that I have read, Wild Justice being the first, however, Wild Justice was by far a better read. Daniel is about as naive a lawyer as I have ever seen and represents a weak main character. The suspense is weak and the plot jumped around so,that I frequently had to go back several pages just to figure out who's who and how they fit into the story. While I did manage to finish the book, this was not the best legal read.

See storyline above.

I think this time around Phillip Margolin slipped a bit. More a murder mystery than legal thriller. Margolin's story of a young associate will keep you reading at a steady pace, because if you don't read this in one or two sittings, you're apt to forget who certain characters are. I think Margolin's previous novels put this one to shame. This novel was just a little to short to accomodate this type of story line. It needed more depth to the story and the characters.

Recommended for Margolin fans.

If the first two opening scenes don't grab you than you had better check your pulse and see if you're still alive!

Others have reviewed this book and correctly stated that it is not a pure legal thriller. True enough. There are legal parts to this story, but the case is not resolved through fancy legal footwork. Rather, the thriller becomes a mystery too and we race along with our heroes to see if they can save everyone and expose the villains.

Is it great literature? Hardly. But, it's a lot of fun and I tore through it like a starving man at a buffet.

Daniel Ames is "The Associate" in the latest novel by Philip Margolin. Daniel is a somewhat naive young man whose impoverished background has not prevented him from getting a good job at a prestigious law firm in Portland, Oregon.

Unfortunately, Daniel gets caught up in a series of complex events involving a drug that may cause birth defects, a scientist on the run, and a bunch of dead bodies that keep cropping up. The police are suspicious of Daniel, since not only was Daniel overheard arguing with one of the victims before he was killed, but an eyewitness saw Daniel fleeing the scene of the crime.

Daniel gets help from a beautiful and brainy woman named Kate Ross. Daniel and Kate look into the circumstances surrounding the various crimes that have occurred and their investigation unearths a plot that is both convoluted and sinister.

"The Associate" is weak in many areas. The characters are completely undeveloped. The plot is so filled with dead bodies and intrigue that it collapses under its own weight. It is impossible to keep track of what is happening without a score card. Who killed whom and why become very tricky questions by the time you reach the end of this confusing and pointless book.

Needless to say, I do not recommend "The Associate." If you want to read a terrific legal thriller, do yourself a favor and pick up Barbara Parker's excellent new novel, "Suspicion of Vengeance."

One reviewer said that if you don't read this book in one or two sittings you will forget some of the characters. Totally agree with this. Parts of this story are so easily forgotten, sadly.

Daniel Ames, a blue-collar associate at a white-collar law firm, gets conned by a pretty work colleague into reviewing thousands of pages of documents. The client, a pharmaceutical company, is charged with falsifying test results on a new drug that appears to cause horrendous birth defects. Daniel is sure the company didn't do it, but among all the documents he overlooks a letter that could destroy his client's defense. The opposing counsel gets hold of it, next thing, Daniel's in the middle of a murder as well as the attendant in a legal fraud suit.

This isn't Margolin's best, I preferred SLEEPING BEAUTY by Phillip Margolin