Mean Streak [Mass Market Paperback]

Carolyn Wheat (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

When the man who had broken her heart is accused of bribery and requests her help in defending him, Brooklyn attorney Cass Jameson begins to question his innocence in the wake of several witness murders. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Carolyn Wheat, one of the mystery world's emerging stars, proves that she's the equal of any of the best writers in the legal jungle in her new Cass Jameson novel. The courtroom crackle and icy insights into the hearts of lawyers, criminals, cops, and judges that the author soaked up in her years as a Legal Aid defense attorney are apparent on every page, and her writing is full of energy and compassion. Jameson's ex-lover, a manipulative mob lawyer, is charged with bribery and wants her to defend him. But is he counting on her brains or her heart to get him off? Other Wheaties in paperback are Fresh Kills and Where Nobody Dies.

From Publishers Weekly

Law enforcement emerges as a dirtier and much more interesting sport than mud wrestling when Brooklyn lawyer Cass Jameson, last seen in the well-received Fresh Kills, agrees to defend an ex-lover charged with bribery. Attorney Matt Riordan, who defends mob clients, claims he did not buy secret grand jury records of testimony given by minor criminal Nunzie Aiello: the charge-and possibly some of the evidence-has been handcrafted by federal prosecutor Nick Lazarus, ostensibly as a way of permanently getting rid of Matt. Since Nunzie has gone missing, the key is to prove that the prosecution's key witness, police officer Eddie Fitzgerald, is not as squeaky clean as he seems, a great idea until the drug dealer who could bring Eddie down turns up in the city morgue. In the meantime, the wheels of justice grind on (frustrating macho Matt, who says "adjournments are for losers"); and Cass, a convincing blend of shrewdness and emotion, watches her first high-profile, media-circus trial wobble toward increasingly likely defeat. Spurning a simple world of absolute good and evil, Wheat dexterously depicts a complex urban society where justice is not the uncontested province of the courts and it's best to keep a sharp eye on even those you think you can trust.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Reprint edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425155773
• ISBN-13: 978-0425155776
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,780,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL book, part of a PHENOMENAL series, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mean Streak (Hardcover)

Although I have read -- and enjoyed -- virtually every book in every series by the most famous female mystery writers, Carolyn Wheat unequivocally remains my favorite.

This series is about a Legal Aid attorney named Cass Jameson. As such, it introduces fascinating glimpses into seldom-seen areas of the legal system -- along with providing excellent mysteries. This is one series I buy in hardcover as soon as each book is published.

The books are all very well-written, fast-moving, and entertaining. I cannot sufficiently recommend them. IMHO, this is the best mystery series available.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More of a Ferris Wheel, March 30, 1998

By 

W. E. Morgan (Hickory, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mean Streak (Mass Market Paperback)

The title refers to the thrilling roller coaster the protagonist enjoyed after initial reluctance. "Mean Streak" had little of the thrills of a roller coaster and more of the plodding of a old steam engine.

The references to the wild new legal territory for the attorney were too great in number to be justified. Characters were introduced with little coloring to match their supposed epic status. Some of the courtroom passages were intriguing, but I found it hard to visualize much of the other narratives. Maybe that's my own weakness, but I think some editing could have made for a more direct, hard-hitting novel.