Customer Reviews

The Bad Witness

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

 

 

This is a coming of age novel in a series that recognizes that people don't stop growing just because they've graduated from college, gotten a job, and had a few affairs. Sally Harrington is not dumb, just on her way to the maturity that comes with age and experience - - as are many of us. Things happen TO Sally as a result of her intelligence mixed with a youthful inability to count the costs of her actions. Harrington has to deal with the mores, and current news events of life right now in the United States. I like her new love interest, who is not the usual handsome cardboard foil for a romantic damsel in distress - - he's thinking about the consequences of commitment and partnership. The mystery is not confined to the consequences of the ageing US mafioso families, but also includes Sally's maturity. A lively page-turner that's 3rd in this mystery series that is firmly grounded in today's intricate personal mix of sex, work, and having to find a way to balance everything. A good read.

NY TV news reporter Sally Harrington is in Santa Monica to testify as a defense witness in the "Mafia Boss Murder Trial". Hollywood producer Jonathan Small stands trial for killing mobster Nick Arlenetta. While the prosecutor screams murder one, the defense team insists self-defense as they claim that Jonathan shot Nick before the mobster could kill his sister. Sally who has done a documentary on the East Coast mob families plans to testify that Nick tried to kill her also.

Following attempts on Sally's life, her boss and mentor at DBS News Alexandra Waring coaxes the police to provide her reporter with protection around the clock. Officer Paul Fitzwilliam and Sally feel an immediate attraction, but her safety comes first especially when she is hurt in a hit and run incident. As Sally becomes the news rather than reporting it, the trial takes center stage, but will she live long enough to provide her "expert" opinion?

Though shifted to the West Coast, the fourth Harrington novel reads similar to the previous three tales as she once again makes for a good novel when Sally is in center stage. The problem is the trial that goes on and on and on, etc. while keeping Sally on the sidelines for the most part as a mere observer. Not as powerful as tales like TROUBLE BECOMES HER, HE BAD WITNESS contains enough of Sally's brand of shtick to satisfy her fans.

Harriet Klausner

this book was a big disappointment. First -- there was no real plot, unless a New Guy is supposed to qualify. the whole book is about the trial that follows the last book. Nothing new or surprising happens at the trial. this is the biggest flaw -- the whole book is just an epilogue

Second: things that should be Startling Developments are a letdown. Much is made of the fact that the wife of the killer of Sally's father has a dying wish to see her, but when we find out why, the why leads nowhere. it's a big "so??" This is just one example.

Third: you don't have to be a trial lawyer to find the courtroom stuff annoying -- you learn this much just from watching Law & Order -- which is, that all that defamatory stuff about Sally could have been objected to by the defense. So I found it annoying.

I came away with the impression that van Wormer's books are heading more and more away from mystery/suspense and closer to superficial romances.

This is more a collection of small vignettes interspersed with sometimes humorous court testimony. The story was more convoluted than it had to be due to (that old standby, the Witness Protection Program. The main characters are referred to by both their "real" and given names making it a task as to whether someone is Lillian or Julia. The author threw in a few hints of lesbian sex (all by gorgeous, feminine females). I guess it was a teaser since nothing really happened. For that matter nothing really happened between her and boy stud, the police officer she accidentally met and fell for.

Sally's current boyfriend was from Central Casting as were most of the other characters - wily lawyer, concerned boss, desperate reporter, etc. The plot was so mixed up that the author was forced to continually review testimony from the witness stand in order to inform the reader what was happening. The writing style is sparse but ineffective; think of a hard-boiled police procedural without the procedure OR the hard boil. I kept waiting for SOMETHING to happen and then, when we discover the identity of the person trying to kill the "bad witness" we realize, "But you just said the previous attempt was by X and the one before that was by Y so now you're telling us Z is also getting in on the fun?" The conclusion was also a cheat since no hint was ever provided over the real identity of the shooter in the trial until the reader finds a loud, Perry Masonish, "I done it!" My Grade: C-

The Bad Witness is Van Wormer's 4th novel to feature Sally Harrington as the heroine. Sally is a young TV journalist who works for a news station in New York. She is bright, funny, and admits to being "dreadfully impulsive," which leads her into situations where others might fear to tread. Set mostly in southern California, the main plot involves the murder trial of a Hollywood producer accused of shooting a Mafia crime boss to death. Sally is the key witness for the defense. During the trial, she manages to stay in touch with her on-again, off-again boyfriend back East while she explores a new relationship with a young, single cop in Los Angeles. Perhaps not Van Wormer's best in the "Sally" series, this book is still a pleasing mix of suspense, courtroom drama, and romantic relationships. It also gives interesting "behind the scenes" insights into the world of TV journalism.

I think you must read The Sally Harrington novels in order. Her work and her characters mature with each book.
Was this book, wildly exciting, or riveting reading? No, not really.
But, it was involving. I love Sally because of her wonderful imperfections.
I could have done with much less courtroom shenanigans. They went on a bit too long.
But, everything with Sally and her relationships with friends and co-workers is great.
Formulaic has been tossed about in reviews of Van Wormer's work. To a certain degree I would say that is true.
But, it is a FORMULA that works.
Just very readable, DAY IN THE LIFE, of Sally Harrington kind of story.
I have enjoyed them all.
And Van Wormer's RIVERSIDE DRIVE and WEST END as well.

This book is about reporter in LA testify in a Hollywood/Mafia court case. It is a great book with a fun romance and great mystery. I found this book and didn't know it was a series. I picked up the Kill Fee which is the next book in the series.

I became a fan of Ms. Van Wormer's books with "Expose" and have found her books to be real page turners; however, in comparing her recent books -- including "The Bad Witness" -- with earlier works such as "Riverside Drive," "West End" and "Jury Duty," these fall short of the rich detail and story development that the previous works have shown. This book was little more than a bridge between "The Last Lover," "Trouble Becomes Her" and the next book in the series. There was a lot of repetition from those two books as well as way too much focus on the trial and way too little focus on Sally's career development and maturation as a person.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book, but as other reviewers have eluded to, there isn't much plot or story development here. I hope for Ms. Van Wormer's sake that she doesn't simply get lost in the sea of run-of-the-mill romance writers. Sally Harrington is an interesting character and there could be so much more done with her, but it appears that the focus is down to two things: (1) how much danger she can get herself into and (2) how messed up her love life is (mainly self-induced). Additionally, the other richly developed characters from previous novels have faded into the woodwork -- I would like to see more done with them as well!

Hopefully the next book gets back to the quality of "Riverside Drive" and "West End"!!

Television producer Sally Harrington is called as a witness in a murder trial. While on the stand, the prosecutor tries to make Sally seem a complete slut--and completely untrustworthy. Meanwhile, her life is confused, with her longstanding relationship going nowhere and a much younger cop suddenly looking better and better. Add an attack heliocopter and a hit and run assault on Sally and her cop-date, and you have a woman with real problems.

THE BAD WITNESS is a strange book. There really isn't much of a mystery in it. Much of the story is actually back-story, as one witness after another steps up to tell of what happened in the earlier Sally Harrington novel TROUBLE BECOMES HER. Strangely, though, it works. Author Laura Van Wormer delivers a well-written and compelling page-turner.

Put on the spot as a 'bad witness', Sally Harrington emerges as a sympathetic character. Although she continues to look at every twist of fortune as an opportunity for news coverage and more money for Sally, this behavior has become understandable and even admirable. Sally may be a BAD WITNESS, but she makes for an interesting and fun character.

I tried to like this book. I really did. However, when Sally Harrington is finally called to the witness stand to testify for the defense in a mob-realted murder, there is a Perry Mason Moment that would most likely never happen in real life. Not to be a spoiler, but the moment robs this book of any credibility.

Then, Sally's attraction to a cop, complete with a very strange motel-room scene, left me more than puzzled.

I don't care for smug, one-dimensional characters who think only of themselves...and that's exactly what Sally Harrington is.

No more fluff fiction from this author for me.

It's such a pity that books like this are on the shelves when accomplished writers who weave plausible stories filled with complex characters can't find a publisher.

Yuk.