Customer Reviews

The Jury Master

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Billed as a stunning debut and legal thriller, this book is neither. It is filled with caricatures - highly successful attorney, (and an ex-marine), with a near genius IQ; his girl Friday, a young attractive single mother with a heart of gold; street wise, sarcastic yet tenacious homicide detective; an ex-CIA agent who lives as a hermit; and self-important, over-zealous political types, (there are more but I won't belabor the point), - all involved in a predictable plot which degenerates into a Freud meets The Amazing Kreskin psychological farce. Every trick in the book is used to keep this story "moving" including short chapters ending at (in)opportune moments to keep the reader hanging on, lame wise-cracking by the protagonists during moments of crisis and of course, flashbacks. To top it all off it is painfully overwritten - eye-glazingly so - at over 400 pages this would have been a chore to finish at half that length. I paid a buck and a half for this book and felt cheated. Pass on this one.

David Sloane is at the top of his game professionally. He's a wrongful death attorney in San Francisco who can take a no-win case and turn it into a winner.

But David Sloane's personal life is not as successful. He's single, doesn't have a family and is a workaholic who has begun having a reoccurring dream about his childhood that terrifies him.

Sloane receives a package from a personal friend and advisor of the President of the United States who has apparently committed suicide. The package and its contents set into motion a series of events over which people die and Sloane's history will be revealed--if only he can stay alive long enough to figure it out.

The story alternates between Sloane, Detective Tom Molia and Charles Jenkins and Alex Hart. While the different groups of people are necessary to the story line, the transitions are numerous and occasionally interfere with the plot movement.

Armchair Interviews says: Even with the over abundance of scene transitions, Robert Dugoni's debut novel is non-stop action. The information needed to break the case is provided slowly but with such intensity that you don't want to put the book down. The question is always, what's going to happen next?

The Jury Master is fashioned to stun the reader with its deft narrative and fluid action. This book was written for those who desire a plot which moves beyond the contrived formula of authors like Grisham. It does not over tip the scales of believability nor does it force the reader to be fluent in legalese. Sloane is gritty enough to be compelling. Dugoni's writing is effortless...definitely for Cleary or Lescraort fans.

BRAVO to Dugoni for spinning a yarn which can bind you to your chair from cover to cover without insulting your intelligence or replicating what has come before him...I will be buying copies of this for anyone vacationing this coming summer.

My feelings about this book are mixed. I found it a compelling read, in that I read the whole thing pretty quickly. As a trial lawyer, I was disappointed that the book was not about jury work, but I nonetheless read the entire book. I agree with other commentators that the plot was contrived and pretty implausible in the real world - where was the press, for example? plus the love stories were hokey. but my biggest objection is this - where the heck are the fact checkers? Authors, including this one, go on and on in their introductions thanking all of the people who read and edited their books - yet basic, glaring errors end up in print (& i read the paperback). For example, check out the physical description of the Old Executive Office Building. This guy could not possibly have ever seen OEB given the way he described it. Then, to top it off, he has the characters "cross Pennsylvania Avenue" from OEB to the White House. OEB is next to the White House on the same side of Pennsylvania Avenue. This type of easily avoided factual error drives me crazy and makes me want all those editors to hand in their licenses! enuf said. read this book if you want a hokey high paced thriller with a lot of factual errors and improbable events.

Get ready to suspend reality in this heavy-ladened, multi-plotted at-times tedious espionage/thriller. And I do agree with many others, the title is totally misleading.
There is little doubt one would guess this is the author's first book. The metaphors are more than the grains of sand on a beach, the suspension of reality and lack of knowledge (or ignorance) on the part of the author is evident - I cannot believe how he describes the Old Executive Office Building. In another part of the book, one of the characters is a family man who would never engage in a certain behavior. Yet, pages earlier, we find out the same guy was involved with a prostitute.
I didn't finish this book when I first took it out the hardcover from the library - and now I went and waste money to buy it. I should have trusted my first instinct. Save your money. I hope Damage Control is a big improvement for Mr. Dugoni.

The jacket makes a big deal out of David Sloane's almost supernatural ability to sway juries to verdicts they might otherwise not have arrived at. And the first dozen or so pages of the novel describe that ability. But no mention of it is made again until just before the end of this rather unbelievable tale, and then not in anything close to a legal context.

There are no holes in the storyline; you can follow it without any difficulty. But the coincidences and conspiracies keep on coming, one after the other, without any letup. This book makes David Baldacci's "The Camel Club" look like a piece of classic literature. The only reason it gets three stars is because of the seamless storyline and the action sequences.

This book is poorly written, boring, and inappropriately titled. I gave it several tries & finally had to give-up on it, deciding that it simply wasn't worth the time --- nor was it worth the $$ I spent when buying it!

The reviews all say how "fast-paced" the book is. Yes it is fast paced, it jumps into action-scenes, throw 7 sets of characters at you with no character development and never gives it to you and expects you to care/get attached to the characters. The dialogue is wooden. The action scenes themselves are the only redeeming quality about the book, but again, not a legal thriller there. If you want action, fast paced thrillers, with actual interesting characters - go with Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.

I was looking for a legal thriller (wouldn't you think with the word "jury" in the title that it would have something to do with that?"
Anyway -- read a couple of chapters. Not worth my time. He doesn't compare to the good thriller writers out there.

The Jury Master is a wonderful thriller by an amazingly talented writer. It was hard for me to believe this wasn't Dugoni's 10th book. The writing is polished and the story keeps you hooked (put a few days aside to finish this amazing story). Another reviewer mentions layers upon layers and this is so true. You might think you are buying a legal thriller, but it is sooooooo much more.
Since I'm lucky enough to work in a bookstore and so many people are constantly wanting a good book to read, this will be an easy handsell. In fact, if I could reach through this computer to put The Jury Master in your hand, I would (but I'm not that talented. . . .yet!)