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Killing the Lawyers: Unabridged: A Joe Sixsmith Novel

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Private Investigator Joe Sixsmith is irate that his automobile
insurance company could so devalue his wrecked car. Joe visits his lawyer,
who tells him to go to a specialist in motor insurance cases. Joe travels
to the posh law firm of Poll-Pott only to be accosted by a female attorney
and treated like dirt by a contemptuous lawyer, Peter Potter. A disgusted
Joe leaves the law firm, shouting nasty epithets at the lawyers.

Later that day, Peter is found murdered and initially Joe is a suspect
because he had the motive, the means, and perhaps the opportunity.
However, because of the means (a broken neck twsited by an expert), the
police realize Joe could not have committed the crime. Meanwhile, Joe is
hired to check into threats aimed at an internationally famous athlete.
However, when another Poll-Pott lawyer is murdered, another partner in the
firm hires Joe to investigate the killings. Suddenly, Joe, not noted for
his ambition, has two headline cases to investigate.

Although not written as well as Reginald Hill's other two detective series
(Daziel and Pascoe), the Sixsmith novels have their own charm and in some
ways are much more fun to read than Hill's other books. Joe is an
eccentric sleuth, whose basic honesty seems to get him in all sorts of
trouble. Being a black person in a small English town also does not help
his overall standing, especially with local law enforcement. The recurring
secondary characters are all top rate players, who readers will love,
especially the way they treat and react to Joe. KILLING THE LAWYERS, like
its two predecessors (BLOOD SYMPATHY and BORN GUILTY) is a humorous
who-done-it that is worth reading because of its entertaining cast and
story line.

Harriet Klausner