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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new master of the legal thriller, November 11, 2005
Mark Gimenez' first novel is a winner on every count. A truly fast-paced legal thriller with a believable plot and characters who almost breathe.
A. Scott Fenney has it all. A fast-rising partner in a top Dallas law firm with a client who pays $3 million a year for Scott's advice; a beautiful if somewhat empty-headed wife; a mansion in an exclusive suburb; a Ferrari, Mercedes and Range-Rover; memberships in all the right clubs and a nine year old daughter who is so perceptive that she becomes one of the few elements in the story that doesn't ring true. But no matter, because Gimenez is so skilled that the reader simply doesn't care.
Fenney attracts the interest of a federal judge when he gives a speech as part of his campaign for the presidency of a bar association. The judge is so impressed by Fenney's impassioned plea for lawyers to do good that he assigns Scott as pro bono counsel in a murder case. Not just any murder case, of course, but one involving a black, heroin addicted prostitute accused of murdering Senator Mack McCall's son. It doesn't help that McCall is about to become a Presidential candidate.
Fenney doesn't want the appointment, but the judge puts him in an untenable position. Refuse the appointment and Scott will be unveiled as a hypocrite, a lawyer who doesn't really care about doing good, but does care about proper appearances and, above all, money. Lots of money. Take the appointment and Scott's law firm --- which just happens to be headed by Sen. McCall's former personal attorney and potential White House lawyer --- may be embarassed.
Gimenez's plotting is flawless. From his initial entrapment, we follow Scott as he deals with his social climbing wife, the insistent moral and ethical questions raised by his unbelievably precocious nine year old daughter, his confrontation with the defendant, his attempt to get a less than successful law school pal to take on the defense and, finally, his need to make a life or death, potentially career destroying decision.
Not a page goes by without Gimenez ratcheting up the tension. His development of Scott, his senior partner and mentor Dan Ford, the federal judge, his wife, his law school buddy are all close to perfect.
The climax is a prize in itself and getting there as a reader is a reward.
It's a delight to read a novel so well executed. Yes, those familiar with the operation of the criminal justice system and trials will find places where Gimenez has distorted things, but as a reader, I don't care. Gimenez has provided me with a great story and earns nothing but praise from me. This is one of the best legal thrillers in years.
Jerry
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Rate!!!!!!!, November 11, 2005
It is so much fun to discover a new author who shows such promise that you expect he will be writing entertaining novels for some time to come. Mark Gimenez looks as though he may fit that bill. Wisely, Giminez has chosen to write about something he knows about; i.e. the practice of law from the perspective of a member of a large Dallas law firm. A. Scott Fenney is our boy and he has ridden his reputation as a star running back at SMU and his intelligence and ambition to a partnership in one of Dalla's most successful law firms, Ford Stevens arriveing at this apex in just eleven years since joining the firm. He has a Ferrari, a 3 million dollar plus home in Highland Park, memberships in prestigious clubs in the area and a georgeous wife who is as ambitious as he is and whose main goal in life is to be chair of the Cattle Baron's Ball. His main client is a ruthless real estate developer named Tom Dibrell who is good for 3 million dollars in billings a year. A. Scott knows all the tricks of the trade on keeping Dibrill happy and the money flowing in.
As the story opens, A. Scott is giving a speech to members of the Texas Bar Association in which he reminds them that everyone thinks lawyer's jokes are hilarious and challenges them to ask themselves if they as lawyers are really doing good, or are they just doing well? Are they noble guardians of the law or just greedy parasites? Are they making the world better or just themselves richer? He then thunders into a litany of how lawyers are making the world better and are fighting for justice and that hif he is elected President of the Texas Bar that he will remind people that society is better because of lawyers and that he will tell people that "he is proud - damn proud, to be a lawyer...because lawyers - do - good!" Of course he doesn't believe a word of it as is quickly revealed when he remarks to a fellow lawyer who admires his gift of oratory that "you don't get laid or elected by telling the truth."
One member of his audience has been wondering about a problem during A. Scott's speech. That member is US D.Ct. Judge Samual Burford who has been wrestling with the question of who to appoint in his court to defend what may be a very high profile murder case. One in which representation of the defendant may be very difficult and unpopuar. The speech gave him his answer and soon thereafter A. Scott got a call from the judge.
The case involves the murder of the son of Texas's senior US Senator, Mack McCall. Clark McCall is one of Dallas's most eligible bachelors. Rich, handsome, the Chair of a federal agency thanks to his father's influence, Clark is back in Dallas for the weekend to pursue his favorite pastimes; doing drugs and engaging a hooker. This time, his interests have resulted in his murder and a black hooker has been charged.
From this beginning, we watch as A.Scott's world slowly disintegrates and what effect it has on him, his family and his ambitions. Not a new story line in writing novels, but the beauty is in how it is written and how it reads and this story will pull you along as though you were floating in a large raft on a raging river. Giminez has the gift of a geat story teller and he spreads it throughout the book.
I haven't enjoyed a read of this type this much in some time and I hope you will give this new author a look. He has great promise and I for one cannot wait to see how he does with the future novels that will surely follow. If he is more than a one trick pony, we are all in for quite a treat.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Be a lawyer. Do good.", October 19, 2005
The protagonist of "The Color of Law" is Dallas lawyer A. Scott Finney. Scott is a lucky man. He is an acclaimed former jock, a partner in a prestigious firm, the proud owner of a luxurious home and car, and the husband of a gorgeous woman. He defends mostly well-to-do clients, practicing what he calls "aggressive and creative lawyering," which is code for cheating, conniving, and doing whatever it takes to win a case.
When Scott is appointed by a federal judge to represent a black prostitute named Shawanda Jones, he is horrified. Jones is accused of murdering Clark McCall, the spoiled rich son of an influential United States senator. After trying in vain to extricate himself from Shawanda's case, Scott slowly realizes that fate has brought him to a crossroads. Helping Shawanda Jones may give Scott the chance to be the kind of lawyer his mother always wanted him to be--one who is anxious to do good, not just to do well.
In "The Color of Law," Mark Gimenez presents a complex plot featuring a tragic miscarriage of justice, political corruption, family conflict, greed, and the abuse of power. The author also explores the possibility that an arrogant, self-centered, and shallow individual can seek redemption. Gimenez skillfully orchestrates Scot's fall from grace and his gradual reawakening to the value of a principle-driven life. The best scenes in the book show the warm relationship between Scott and the two girls he cares for most--his eight-year-old daughter, nicknamed Boo, and Pajamae, Shawanda's daughter. Scott's decision to fight for Shawanda earns him Pajamae's respect, affection, and gratitude.
"The Color of Law" is not perfect. It is at least fifty pages too long and the conclusion, although satisfying, veers dangerously close to sentimentality. However, the story ultimately works because of Gimenez's fluid writing style, dry wit, and sharp delineation of character. Not only does the author effectively depict the deep chasm between Dallas's haves and have-nots, but he also shows, through Scott's poignant journey, that one need not "check one's conscience at the door" in order to be a successful lawyer.
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