Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fun in Florida...with Lawyers, February 14, 2006
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The return of Solomon and Lord, June 28, 2006
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Fun, August 19, 2006
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
