Customer Reviews

Conduct in Question: The First In A Trilogy

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CONDUCT IN QUESTION is an intricately woven web of greed, power and insanity. I was caught up from page one.
Harry's character develops through the novel, and you can't help but cheer him on. The other characters are finely detailed, as is the plot.
Harry's life has always been on the conservative side, he has a routine job in a small firm, and he wonders if things will ever change. Then his partner drops dead, his wife seems to be gone more and more, and the death of a long-time client leads to secrets that shatter Harry's once calm existence. Harry is caught up in corporate greed, money laundering, fraud, murder, and some newly awakened feelings of desire for the beautiful Natasha.
Can he ever again find the calm existence that he once despised?
This is the first in a trilogy by author Mary E Martin, and I can't wait for the second installment!

Roxanne Sailors Taplett
Editor, Simple Things

This is really a fabulous book, I have never read anything like it. It is suspenseful and thrilling, but not in that cheesy classic thriller way so many books are. There are lots of twists and turns, and it is fast-paced. The best part about this book is that it deals with deeper and more intellectual themes that most suspense novels never cover. What a great read, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Harry Jenkins is an estate lawyer and partner of Crane, Crawford and Jenkins law firm. First, his partner, Crawford, dies on the floor in his office while remember the love he once had with one of their clients, Marjorie Deighton. For Harry, things go from bad to worse and rather quickly.

Harry is asked to meet at Marjorie's home; her intent is to review her will and consult with him about a meeting she is supposed to have earlier in the day. Along with his secretary, Harry visits the home of Ms. Deighton in late afternoon, only to find Ms. Deighton dead, lying on her bed. Harry believes that she must have died peacefully, but he is suspicious; there are just too many things going on that could make her passing a coincidence.

A mysterious man, Albert Chin, is referred to Harry for property acquisitions. Only, the properties are those surrounding the Marjorie's estate. Plus, the names of the parties acquiring the properties seems fishy to him, as they are all numbered accounts. Money laundering? Harry allows himself to be blinded by the money, believing he may just live up to his wife's expectations. But he knows the marriage is dead. Both have changed during their 20-year marriage; they no longer talk, nor are they in love. He also believes that his wife, Laura, is having an affair, mostly likely with her boss. Meanwhile, he fantasizes about the beautiful Natasha. And when he tries to deposit the checks from Chin into the trust, Mr. Mudhali, the manager of the bank, brings him to the office. It seems that Crawford had taken out a loan against the firm's account. However, Harry believes that this is just as fishy as Mr. Chin's acquisitions; it takes all the partners signatures for that loan, and Harry knows he's never signed it.

And all the while, the serial killer, The Florist, is going around Toronto, judging and murdering women, using a knife to cut floral designs in their skin.

Harry believes that, somehow, they are all connected, even when he hopes they are not. But are they?

An incredible first novel by Canadian author, Mary E. Martin. Using her knowledge of the field, she writes an incredible novel filled with twists and coincidences. While the main character, Harry, goes through the motions of day-to-day life, he wishes his life were more exciting, more freedom, more love. And while I'm used to reading murder mysteries through the eyes of the detective, a criminal lawyer, this time, it's through the eyes of an estate lawyer, one who usually deals with the passing of his clients, the grieving family and friends, wills, and estates. Not criminal. I liked the difference, and can't wait to see what else Harry gets into. Also, I like how the author touched base on more than murder, money laundering, estates and wills. She adds abusive bullies, abused women, and very manipulative people. A fascinating combination. On to Book #2, Final Paradox.

Harry Jenkins, a lawyer with a small firm in Toronto, is viewed by many lawyers as a dinosaur. Believing in hard work and honesty, he often finds his beliefs challenged by fellow lawyers and his wife. Yet it is exactly these traits which endear him to some of his oldest, and the firms most valuable, clients. And it is his perseverance which both gets him involved in his clients' troubles, and often save the day - but not his marriage. Yet there is a reward waiting for Harry, a burgeoning relationship with the beautiful real estate agent, Natasha.

Harry Jenkins has worked under his senior partner's thumb for years in a Toronto small estates practice. When his partner drops dead from a stroke in their office, suddenly Harry is on his own and free to run their law-firm his own way. Almost immediately, he is swept into the conflict surrounding the estate of his wealthy client, Marjorie Deighton, and his naïveté lands him in the midst of a massive money-laundering scheme, engineered by the enigmatic Mr. Chin. Harry is convinced Marjorie was murdered but Sergeant Welkom gives little credence to his theories until Marjorie's will is stolen and her maid found murdered


At the root of Conduct in Question is the sadistic murderer dubbed by the media as "The Florist." The Florist haunts Toronto, a serial killer who marks his victims with his "art," floral designs he carves into their skin. The Florist hides behind the rigidly controlled mask he presents the world. Is The Florist somehow involved in the money-laundering scheme in which Harry is mired? Will Harry, despite his naïveté and personal troubles, find the answers before The Florist kills again?

Mary E. Martin has crafted a solid beginning to her trilogy of legal thrillers. A bit slow at the start, readers will soon be drawn into the drama created by the bickering members of Marjorie's family, and the slowly blossoming relationship between Harry and realtor Natasha Boretsky. Harry is a very human character who is torn between his desire to uphold the ethics of the law and to keep his practice afloat. The manner in which Harry faces these dilemmas provides heart to this thriller.

Mary E. Martin, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, practiced law in Toronto for twenty-eight years. Conduct in Question is her first novel.