Customer Reviews

The Deep Blue Alibi: A Solomon Vs. Lord Novel (Solomon vs. Lord Novels)

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This book is touted as "Hiaasen meets Grisham." The only comparisons to Hiaasen that I could see are it's location in the Florida Keys and a sense of humor. The only common ground with Grisham is that it's about lawyers. Paul Levine has a writing style of his own, miles away from wacky, yet infused with good humor. Levine's characters are the people that Grisham and Hiaasen, Dorsey, et al. have been sniggering at.

Steve Solomon was a difficult sell as the male romantic lead, embodying too many annoying traits that romance heroes never have: a proclivity for pithy tee-shirts, a Jimmy Buffet addiction, he owns an ancient Cadillac, and he's a slimy criminal defense attorney. Victoria is the kind of female lead we've come to expect from male authors who like women: strong, stylish, intelligent, literate, beautiful, and successful. Plus, she's got mother issues and other vulnerabilities, so she's easy to like. So is Steve's surrogate son, his nephew Bobby, a 12-year-old genius with a rapier wit. Victoria's mother, the Queen, could have been a Park Avenue nightmare but instead came through with touching humanity. There were many more characters in a multitude of small roles: Steve's ex-judge dad and his cronies; Lexy and Rexy, the calorie-counting opportunists; Delia Bustamante, the sexy Cuban restaurateur; Hal Griffin, Victoria's surrogate uncle and millionaire developer; and his Adonislike son, Junior, a free diver and distance swimmer. These are people we get to know, even if the appearance they make is brief. All are delightfully well drawn, save Junior, who vacillates between being an all right, intelligent guy and a bimbo who can't sit still in court.

What sets Levine apart from the writers he's compared to is that this book is about the lawyers interacting with the people behind the story, and are set apart from the actual events themselves. It works, though, since the book has a different spin, which is to let Steve Solomon charm our socks off while getting us to like him in spite of everything there is not to like.

Though wrapped around a murder mystery, this book is about characters, which is never a bad thing. As Victoria and Steve go about figuring out who really killed Ben Stubbs in order to defend Hal Griffin, the fun is more in meeting the people along the way than in what's going on. It bogs the book down a little bit, time seeming to drag every now and then, but a little shot of adrenaline could have perked things up. All in all, this was an entertaining South Florida murder mystery...but not a crime caper.

Around a decade or so ago, I read a series of books by Paul Levine featuring Jake Lassiter, an ex-athlete turned lawyer. I enjoyed the books immensely, but Levine seemed to have dropped off the map. Finally, last year, he returned with the very enjoyable Solomon vs. Lord. The principal characters from that novel have returned in The Deep Blue Alibi.

As the story opens, law partners and lovers Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord are enjoying a nice day at the ocean when a boat nearly hits them and then crashes into the shore. Aboard the boat is Victoria's family friend "Uncle" Hal Griffin and a dying EPA man named Stubbs. Although Hal survives the crash rather well, he is accused of the murder and the two lawyers are hired to defend him. This will wind up being quite the challenge, especially for Steve. His antics both in and out of the courtroom are beginning to alienate Victoria to the point she wants to end the partnership; their personal relationship is also threatened when Griffin's son (and Victoria's childhood pal/boyfriend) appears in their lives. Junior Griffin is wealthy, mature, very good-looking, adventuresome and a generally nice guy; Steve's constant wise-guy attitude makes himself look bad by comparison.

Solving this case will also require Victoria to delve a bit into her past, especially the reasons for her father's suicide many years earlier. Steve is also looking to the past, as he attempts to rehabilitate his own father's reputation. Both these side investigations will open up old wounds and force the two to view their parents in different ways.

To those more familiar with Levine's earlier works, Steve Solomon is essentially a reworked version of Jake Lassiter. Both are wise-cracking ex-athletes who can barely subsist on their legal fees. If there's a difference, it's that Steve is in a more-or-less committed relationship, while Jake was always very unlucky in love (his girlfriends tended to either be killed or be killers). And like the Lassiter books, this one has a definite Florida feel, including a bunch of Jimmy Buffett references and the title allusion to the granddaddy of all Florida mystery writers, John D. MacDonald, and his first Travis McGee book, The Deep Blue Goodby.

Now for the bad news: while this book is decent (a low four stars), it is not of the same caliber as other Levine books. While it's readable and quite amusing in places, there is just something that is "off" about the writing in this one. It's hard to come up with a better description than that: it just doesn't click the way great writing should. For Levine fans, this will be a little disappointing, but still a worthwhile read. Other mystery fans will want to read other of his books first; this one is entertaining but the weakest of his works.

Get your beach blanket, your bottle of water and take along a copy of Deep Blue Alibi for a great read at the beach - or anywhere else, actually.
Deep Blue Alibi is the second outing for Levine's Solomon and Lord a funny, involving legal duo. They first appeared in Solomon Vs. Lord (2005) and I'll be sure to get a copy of that now that I've enjoyed his latest so much.
Where do I start? The plot? Levine is a master plotter. His work for TV (among other things 20 episodes of JAG) and the big screen shows and his story not only adds up it doubles your enjoyment. There are twists and turns, secrets and lies all of which make the story zip along in many directions and give it a depth that satisfies.
Victoria Lord wants to break up the firm. Steve Solomon, her partner in the office and at home, has some serious reservations about this plan and is willing to go into overdrive to stop it. But he doesn't have to - Victoria 's sort-of-uncle, Hal, turns up, actually comes flying onto the scene in a runaway boat. Also in the boat is an EPA official - run through with a fishing spear and quite dead. Hal, of course, as the only other occupant of the boat, is accused of murder. Victoria , seeing her plans derail in spectacular fashion, can't let Hal down and throws herself into the investigation.
Family secrets, the intricacies of love and lovers, and much more round out this book and make it something you shouldn't pass up. There's also good writing, lots of banter, some of which will leave you smiling, and characters with depth. These are people with flaws and imperfections, but also people who you will care about. Steve isn't the perfect lover or son or uncle - but he tries. His loyalty to his clients, forces him to take the law and bend it to suit his needs. Victoria is not a fan of his methods - unless she finds herself with no recourse and then she lets him have at it. She's also a very real, quite likeable woman. She wants to be her own person, build her self esteem and yet, Steve provides something in her life that keeps her forever vacillating. Other characters, like Hal, or The Queen ( Victoria 's mother) are also filled with life and depth.
All in all a great read - I put aside a lot of other things in order to finish this book. Make it your vacation read and you'll have a great time.

At a tumultuous time in Victoria Lord's life, dealing with her boyfriend (and law partner) and relationships in general, what else could go wrong for her?

A longtime friend of her family, Uncle Grif, calls to say they need to meet to go over some legal things for his new business adventure. Things don't quite go as Harold Griffin would like. Someone is out to sabotage Uncle Grif's "floating hotel." Enter several possible suspects, although the only one arrested is Uncle Grif, and you have a delightful whodunit mystery on your hands.

Victoria's partner, Steve Solomon, who has been fired by Uncle Grif, helps solve the case in a round about way. Steve feels all along Grif is innocent, yet starts accusing his son, Junior--and thus ends up being canned. The whole time Victoria is trying to fly solo, Steve is getting in his own trouble. Whoever is trying to make Grif look guilty wants to make sure all persons are out of the way, including attempts on Steve's innocent nephew, Bobby.

So, does Victoria do a great job flying solo? Does she solve the crime or does it take the outside help of her partner to put two and two together? What could be more romantic than walking the beach at sunset after a hard fight for justice?

I have not read the first Solomon vs. Lord story but there was enough information to catch up to the characters and figure out who was who and really feel involved in the story. This was definitely filled with a lot of legalese that made it difficult to follow the storyline.

Armchair Interviews says: Delightful mystery to enjoy.

I am new to this series so this was the second Solomon and Lord book I have read. I really enjoyed the first book. I found it to be smart and funny which made me want more. Unfortunately I found this story to be a little tiresome due to the amount of text devoted to Victoria's agonizing over her career and relationship with Steve. A little introspection is tolerable but this was dangerously close to taking over the story. And it was disappointingly perdictable that she concluded she loved Steve and would remain a partner in the firm only after he is almost killed (saving her case, I might add). Stop whining and grow up. I am reading book three now.

Coming hot on the heels of Paul Levine's surprise hit romantic-comedy-legal-suspense-thriller of last fall, Solomon vs. Lord, is its sequel, The Deep Blue Alibi. I, for one, was glad to see it arrive so quickly, since I really enjoyed the first book, but I doubt that Levine can keep up this 500-page-book-every-four-months pace.

Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, now romantic partners and law partners (it is probably best to have read Solomon vs. Lord first to get the history), are swimming in the ocean off Sunset Key when a runaway yacht comes heading right for them. It barely misses them and crashes onto the shore, but Victoria recognizes the boat. On board are Victoria's "Uncle Grif" (Harold Griffin, Sr., the business partner of her late father, a suicide who didn't leave a note) and what turns out to be an EPA official who has been speargunned through the chest.

This looks like a job for Solomon and Lord, Attorneys at Law, to discover The Deep Blue Alibi of her Uncle Grif, but Victoria wants to go it alone and then dissolve the partnership ... and maybe the relationship, as well. What starts out as a seemingly routine murder investigation turns into, what with the ties to her family, an opportunity to find out some of her family's long buried secrets, whether Vic wants to know them or not.

Meanwhile, Steve is finding out some things about his family as well. In trying to get back his disgraced ex-judge of a father's legal license, he runs into a problem: the old man doesn't want it back and, in fact, he wants Steve to stop the proceedings immediately. He would rather let the past stay in the past and enjoy his new role as grandfather to Bobby (Steve's nephew, the son of his drug-addicted sister -- again, read Solomon vs. Lord to get caught up). Never satisfied to leave well enough alone, Steve begins his own investigation into the reasons for his father's resignation and finds it a more difficult proposition than he expected.

The Deep Blue Alibi replaces the "Will they, won't they get together?" romantic subplot of its predecessor with a "Will they, won't they break up?" subplot, which isn't nearly as fun to read about. Add the reappearance of an ex-lover for each and Levine has created a pretty high level of potential discomfort. But he keeps the proceedings light with the requisite amount of quirky comic characters (mostly family members), quick quips, embarrassing anagrams (from Bobby), and even a visit to a nudist colony (a la A Shot in the Dark). Also returning are the always enjoyable Solomon's Laws ("3. Beware of a sheriff who forgets to load his gun but remembers the words to 'Margaritaville'.").

Levine owes a great debt to other Miami authors like Elmore Leonard, John D. MacDonald (the title is an obvious riff on The Deep Blue Good-by, the first Travis McGee novel), Carl Hiaasen ... heck, even Dave Barry. But he has also ensured that The Deep Blue Alibi, if not the most original of novels, is at least one of the most entertaining: a novel fans of legal thrillers and Jimmy Buffett can enjoy together.

Monroe County, Florida police believe business mogul Hal Griffin shot his yacht guest EPA official Steve Stubbs with a spear gun into the chest. Griff calls attorney Victoria Lord, daughter of his former partner, to represent him. Victoria cuts short her vacation with her partner Steve Solomon to rush back to Key West to help her "Uncle" Griff though she wonders why he stopped calling her a few years ago.

As Victoria adhering strictly to the law tries to uncover what went down at sea without the interference of Steve, he insists on helping her in his nuke the rules style on the case. The evidence is overwhelming that Griff shot the dying Fed with greed as the motive. The yacht contained 100 grand. Though Solomon is somewhat tied up trying to learn why his father has been suspended from the judicial bench, he still finds time to battle with Lord in and out of court while her inquiries take her back to the partnership between her dad and Uncle Griff.

The latest SOLOMON VS. LORD legal thriller is a fun tale mostly because of the amusing battles between the lead couple. Whether they are in a courtroom or at dinner, Steve and Victoria exchange barbs and rips skin off as few partners can. The investigation is cleverly done so that the attorneys believe they have a losing case, but what makes THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI so entertaining is the humorous second war of the lawyers.

Harriet Klausner

This is the first book I've read by Paul Levine, and I will probably try another sometime in the future. That said I did enjoy the book, but towards the end three things bothered me: 1) Victoria came off as a emotionally confused teenager instead of an accomplished adult female lawyer, 2) the nephew was TOTALLY ANNOYING!! He is supposed to be 12 /13 but they treat him like an adult and he comes off as a genius instead of a little boy /teenager. 3) the book got very drawn out at the end, lost it's steam.

Solomon and Lord, two Miami lawyers don't have to go far to find their next client. He comes speeding in from the sea onto the Miami Beach in a speedboat with a dead body aboard. Intertwined with suspense and humor. This legal "who done it" moves along while Levine lets us delve into the psychological hang-ups of the two main characters.
The title is appropriate for the story for Lord and Solomon debunk one alibi after another of their primary suspects including their client's. A light and entertaining read.

In this second of three in the Solomon/Lord series, Levine contrives a clever plot around characters who more and more endear themselves to the reader. Solomon's and Lord's situation aside, the father and mother of these main characters respectively garner our interest, as does the growth and maturity of Bobby, Solomon's brilliant autistic nephew. Although I feel too much wit and reasoning is given to Bobby, but hey, it's fiction, so just go with it. And there are some pretty unrealistic situations, but Levine doesn't go off the deep end with them.

I found this story akin to one of Hiassen's south Florida capers about corporate development, ecoterrorism, murder and scheming, but that is Florida in a nutshell. Levine does a nice job of rounding out his characters while weaving this strange "locked cabin" mystery. In fact, the murder becomes secondary to the other events surrounding the characters. By the time we get to the actual solving of the crime it's almost as if we don't really care. We are too consumed with the relationship of Solomon with his father, and Victoria with her mother, and the whole Bobby situation and the court decision. The only thing that made me uncomfortable in this story was Levine's, err Steve's obsession with Junior Griffin. But as with the previous Solomon/Lord book, all's well that ends well, and I was actually looking forward to his third installment "Kill all the Lawyers."

So, if you're looking for a fun, fast paced read, throw on some Jimmy Buffet, crank up the blender and enjoy a little Florida farce that doesn't blow sand in your face.
Scott A. Reighard, author: Jamestown: Journey Back in Time