No Physical Evidence [Paperback]

Gus Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

Book

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine/ Fawcett; First edition (January 1, 1998)
• ISBN-10: 0804117799
• ISBN-13: 978-0804117791
• ASIN: B002Q8AM98
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,540,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An "Abuse" Legal Thriller With Surprises Aplenty, March 20, 2000

By 

Ray M. Bayles (Tumacacori, Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Physical Evidence (Hardcover)

Chinese American Writer Gus Lee explores an important area of criminal abuse in this new legal thriller. But Lee, author of four fine novels, experienced deputy district attorney, Army judge advocate, FBI trainer, and executive of the California state bar forgot to review his notes on how the system works. Lawyers and politicians will probably hate this drama. Readers will turn the last page knowing the law is not handled this way, yet will appreciate his passion for what is right, and his love for children and family. His window into the human soul saves this tangled story. A little polish would have helped as Lee creates great sentences in difficult paragraphs and confusing chapters.

This book is engrossing despite its flaws. Josh Jin's career and his personal life are slipping away due to his emotional collapse caused by the death of a daughter. Resulting mistakes caused him to lose respect and position. Jin is forced into a case in which he finds himself conflicted from grief, loss of status, ugly politics and morals, cultures, and outrage. A 13-year old rape victim refuses to talk. There is no physical evidence. He has nobody's confidence and no professional support. The accused ex-con may not be the one. Worse, his legal adversary is a powerful ex-girlfriend he once jilted who knows how to pull his chain. He cries in court and colleagues think he is without hope.

Jin struggles back from the edge while pulling another from disaster. The reader learns a bit about the Chinese-American culture and very real child sexual abuse, accurately rendered. As the story unfolds, there are surprises aplenty.

This BOMC alternate is awkward but remains a page turner. It is a complex crime story based on what is really happening, though a bit overplotted. A tale of lives in crises, untidy politics, horrifying crime, sleazy judges, shoddy legal work, messy lives, committment and personal salvation. Lee toys with the reader right up to the last few words. This is a book of passion dotted with clever observations and characters that resonate. Readers will think about this book for a long time despite it's rather unbelievable legal, political core. Gus Lee could do better and has done so(Honor and Duty) than this sometimes confusing book, but "No Physical Evidence" remains a worthwhile read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly superior legal thriller., June 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: No Physical Evidence (Hardcover)

A complicated moral man wrestles honorably with the unpredictable complexities of evil, and the plot is great, and somehow you can't put the book down. Gus Lee reminds me of Scott Turow. The style is different, Lee's spare and vivid and Turow's discursive and courtly, but the moral center holds with both, and the superior writer's touch. I hope Gus Lee is hard at work on the next one, because this guy is really, really, really good.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt and emotional--courtroom drama at its finest., December 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: No Physical Evidence (Hardcover)

Joshua Jin is a brilliant prosecutor with a heart trying to recover from the loss of his young daughter, an emotional trauma that threatens both his personal life and his career. The case he takes on, proving the horrific rape of a 13 year-old girl without the aid of physical evidence, is not only extremely difficult from a legal standpoint, it is politically unsound for a career already in jeopardy. Josh's deep compassion for the girl underscores a brilliant, passionate performance in which both the helpless victim and the downtrodden prosecutor may be vindicated. Filled with well-developed characters and an ever-changing plot that tugs at the emotions, this finely-spun story keeps the reader turning pages to its exciting conclusion.