Customer Reviews

Move to Strike (Nina Reilly)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my community, among us avid mystery readers, the release of the the "latest" book in Perri O'Shaughnessy's Nina Reilly series is an eagerly anticipated event. This annual reunion with Nina Reilly, Paul van Wagoner, Sandy Whitefeather, Bob Reilly and Nina's brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Andrea, is much like spending time with "old friends" and catching up on their latest trials, tribulations and exploits. Even so, this sixth book, MOVE TO STRIKE, is far more than a welcome visit with people we've come to know and love. It's a fast-moving story shot through with action, suspense and psychological turmoil.

Nikki Zack may have murdered her uncle, Bill Sykes; she may have caused a plane crash that killed two people; and she may be mixed up in a mysterious mining claim. But when Nina Reilly's son, Bob, insists his friend, Nikki, is innocent, intrepid defense attorney, Nina, takes on Nikki's problem-ridden defense.

Masterful both at making minor characters memorable and major characters unforgettable, O'Shaughnessy brilliantly draws the reader into Nikki Zack's nightmare by making this stubborn, smart-alecky and rebellious teenager both likable and sympathetic and then spices up an already delicious plot by mixing in Paul van Wagoner's struggle to deal with his prior act of vigilantism. A satisfying "read" that's sure to please both long-time devotees and newcomers alike, MOVE TO STRIKE is yet another tour de force that will undoubtedly insure Perri O'Shaughnessy's preeminence among today's mystery writers.

Move to Strike is a worthy successor to Perri O'Shaughnessy's previous books. Nina is at the top of her form as she struggles to defend Nikki, a friend of her son's. Nikki, although a sympathetic character, is not a terribly likeable one, but her mother Daria, a total airhead, has driven her to take over the household. Uncle Bill, the victim, is a totally reprehensible character; his widow Beth, Daria's sister, appears to have some sort of hidden agenda. I found Paul's investigation of the plane crash which killed Beth & Bill's only child, Chris, one of the most fascinating aspects of this book. The killer and the motive did surprise me. I wish there had been a little more of the courtroom action. I couldn't put it down.

Nina Reilly remains grieving the loss of her husband seven months ago and though she feels the killer may return, she knows she and her son Ben must get on with their lives. Insomnia plagues her so she heads into the desert seeking peace. One night while wandering out there, she sees a plane followed by a flash of light as the aircraft obviously exploded.

At approximately the same time as the crash, someone murders plastic surgeon Bill Sykes using a sword from the doctor's collection. The police arrest the victim's niece teenager Nikki Zack, a friend of Ben, for the killing. Ben persuades his mother to represent Nikki in court. Nikki was near her uncle when an unknown person killed him. She hid in the bushes by the nearby swimming pool until it was safe to leave. However, she left her blood at the scene. Nikki's cousin died in the plane incident, leaving Nina believing a tie exists between the two events.

Perri O'Shaugnessy is a fantastic writer of action-packed legal thrillers that allows the non-attorney to understand the legalese while enjoying an exciting tale. In MOVE TO STRIKE, the suspects seem endless as each one has a powerful reason for killing the doctor. Nina is a superb character whose basic honesty and goodness make for a strong individual, but whose flaws make for a real and likable person. Fans of Nancy Taylor Rosenberg will not want to miss this winner.

Harriet Klausner

Lake Tahoe attorney Nina Reilly's latest outing, finds the single mother still grieving over the murder of her husband ("Acts of Malice") and worrying over her son, subject, like herself, to horrifying nightmares of the killer still at large.

When Nicole Zack, 16, a friend of Reilly's 13-year-old son, is accused of murdering her uncle while attempting a burglary, Reilly takes the case, though the troubled girl seems determined to thwart her through lies, stubborn silence, and even defiant courtroom dress.

Reilly calls upon her ex-lover, private investigator Paul Van Wagoner, for help. Van Wagoner, struck by the coincidental death of the victim's son in a plane crash the same night, takes that angle but he's hampered by a terrible secret - unbeknownst to Reilly or anyone else, he killed the man who murdered her husband.

Nicole and her hapless mother are sympathetically drawn and the story is an absorbing one with a surprise ending but the real meat here is the continuing development of Reilly, her pubescent son and Van Wagoner. O'Shaughnessy gets better with every book and this one will have you thinking about the next as you turn the last satisfying page.

I just finished this book after reading it for three days in a row. This book, kept me reading night after night. I could not put it down! This is another book of the O'Shaugnessy twins you don't want to miss because it's different than the rest, it builds up suspense, not through courtroom 'drama', but through the investigation process... Your wondering what will happen?! will Nina Reily move to strike to the case? You gotta read this book, but make sure you have some coffee cause you won't want to put it down at night.

Single mother, and attorney, Nina Rielly is struggling to raise her teenage son, and run her law firm when her son's best friend, Nikki Zack is accused of murdering her uncle.

Nikki is a tough, rebel type girl, living with her mother, Daria. The Zack's don't have much, so Nikki has the idea of going to her uncle Bill, a wealthy plastic surgeon, and stealing one of his many precious items. Nikki's uncle is killed when she is at his house, and one of his neighbors, witnesses her running from the yard.

Nina is not sure she wants this case...Nikki is not very cooperative, and the strange behavior of Daria, and Nikki's aunt Beth puzzles Nina. Beth was Bill's wife, and on the same night her husband was killed, so was her nineteen year-old son Chris.

Nina enlists the help of one time lover and private investigator, Paul Van Wagoner, to look into the plane crash that killed Chris.

As Nina and Paul get deeper into this case, they find out Bill was not very well liked, and Nikki may have seen something the night of the murder.

"Move To Strike" is an exciting entry in the Nina Reilly series; the pacing fast, the characters real and likable, and the plot surprising.

Perri O'Shaughnessy are two sisters that have created a fresh, original character in Nina Reilly, and they always come up with interesting plots for this legal thriller series.

An entertaining read for fans, and new comers to the series.

Nick Gonnella

The ending made this book a highly regarded success. Nina O'Reilly is hired by Beth, the widow of Dr. Bill Sykes, to represent 14 y.o. Nikki Zack, accused of robbing and killing Sykes with a samurai sword. A number of intriguing subplots make this more than the typical legal thriller: Nina Reilly continues her ongoing recovery from her husband's death; her fear that his murderer may return; and her ambivalent feelings toward Paul Waggonner, her private investigator, who has a tormenting secret of his own. There are several relationships and emerging motives for Dr. Syke's murder including an extramarital affair between his wife and his business partner; the land in the desert which may be more valuable than originally thought; and a possible coverup by Daria, the mother of the accused. Adding to the complexity of the case is the death of Chris, the son of the deceased in a plane crash at about the time of the murder. Nina believes the murder and the plane crash are related, but how?

O'Shaugnessys' abilities to tie the disparate pieces together is showcased in this highly recommended thriller. Their talents to make a complex but believable plot readable and entertaining is becoming more refined with each novel. Move To Strike is emotionally satisfying. Do yourself a favor and read it.

If a rip-roaring, fast-paced mystery can be called thoughtful, then "Move to Strike" is just that. On the one hand, we have the story of Nina Reilly's newest case, which is so riveting that it helps pull Nina from a terrible depression (I cannot reveal more without ruining "Acts of Malice," the book previous to this one).

On the other hand, for the first time in the series, the reader gets to see what makes Paul von Wagoner tick. Paul, as Nina Reilly regulars well know, is her on-again, off-again friend/lover/confidante and just about everything else. An ace private investigator, he helps Nina solve most of her seemingly unsolvable cases. And, whether he cares to admit it or not, he is deeply in love with Nina. At the end of "Acts of Malice," Paul took a step that changed his life irrevocably. In "Move to Strike," he is dealing with the aftermath of that act...and the knowledge that Nina will never love him back. His very real and complicated anguish is laid bare for the reader as we follow his thoughts, join in his nightmares, and sympathize for this very strong man who is at his weakest moment.

Meanwhile, Nina is struggling to defend a 16-year-old girl, Nikki, who stands accused of brutally murdering her wealthy uncle Bill Sykes, a prominent plastic surgeon in the Tahoe area. WE know that Nikki didn't do it, because WE were there when it happened. But nobody else does...including Nina herself, who is working half on conviction, half on pure hunch. The slimy district attorney, an old foe, is hell-bent on trying Nikki as an adult. And his vicious assistant Barbara, who has old issues with Nina, is helping him gain his way.

If Nikki didn't kill Uncle Bill, who did? Nina's desperate foray into the case involves Nikki's ultra-ditzy former-showgirl mother, Daria, Daria's sister Beth, who is Bill's widow, an older widow fond of concocting potent "herbal" elixirs, and a band of prospectors right out of the Wild West. Add in a questionable private plane crash and a couple of seemingly unrelated murders, and you have a story that just won't let you breathe until you finish.

I guessed the murderer toward the end--but once again the O'Shaugnessy sisters pulled one of their effortless plot twists. I may have been right about the murderer--but nothing could have prepared me for the truth of the crime.

Get this book and devour it! It's another incredibly good winner.

The O'Shaughnessy sisters and their legal heroine, Nina Reilly, just keep getting better. The myriad plots and subplots in this book, basically a whodunnit about a nasty but rich doctor and the poor little poor girl accused of his murder, are satisfying and the story is rich in characters and character development. It has bothered me in earlier books that Nina's relationship with her son Bob and her dual role as provider and single parent have been given only cursory coverage; here there is satisfyingly more. And, picking up from the denoument of the last book in the series, the issue of when, if ever, it is right to take the law into one's own hands and the effect of doing so on an individual is explored. And the resumption of an on-again, off-again romatic tie is very welcome. Overall, the book is tremendously satisfying...but, there are buts. Nina's hunch at the end seems a bit far-fetched, though it solves the case. And the italicized beginnings, meant to focus on an individual's struggle with taking the law into his own hands, detract from the flow of the plot by diverting focus. They would be better covered within the body of the novel. Those quibbles aside, I can't wait for the next Nina Reilly story.

This was my first experience with this author. The book had a fascinating story line and an ending that tied up all the loose ends. I sure didn't have that letdown feeling when the last page was turned. I have two more of her books. Can't wait to read them.