Customer Reviews

Obstruction of Justice (Nina Reilly Series)

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

 

 

Since this is the first Nina Reilly book I picked up, I have absolutely no complaints. I literally stumbled upon this book on a friend's bookcase, casually opened it up, and almost literally didn't put it down again until I had read the very last page.

My only question is: Where have I been? Why had I not heard of this wonderful series, and its equally wonderful authors, sisters Mary and Pamela ("Perri") O'Shaugnessy? If this is, as some of the reviewers say, the "weakest" in the series, will I survive the strongest?

The story takes place in scenic Lake Tahoe, where sleazy casinos vie with gorgeous mountains and stately pines for attention. The night are dark and starry, and the days...well it depends who you are. For struggling attorney Nina Reilly, who is living with her brother and sister-in-law when the book begins, the days are full of crime and conspiracy. So she decides to hike a nearby mountain with a man who interests her: deputy DA Collier Hallowell. Collier is still mourning his wife, killed a few years earlier by a hit-and-run driver who was never found. Nina has some vague idea of bringing him into the world of the living.

But before that can happen, the two encounter a family that puts the word "dysfunctional" to shame. It consists of blustering Ray DeBeers, given to abusive language, his fearful wife Sarah, his gorgeous twins Jason and Molly, and a family friend. A storm comes up, Ray is hit by lightening and killed--and the action begins, not to stop until the very last word of the very last sentence.

Was Ray's death really an accident? Is his death somehow connected with the death of Hallowell's wife? And what of the mysterious, ethereal artist Kim Voss, she of the indoor cactus garden? Add in a genuine grave-robbing, a mysterious gardeners, stolen cars, people who won't talk, people who talk too much, and a brilliant teen who may or may not be connected to the DeBeers family, and the action is fast and furious. Nina, her sidekick and sometime lover, PI Paul van Wagoner, Hallowell himself, Nina's Native American secretary and a host of lesser characters try to solve a mystery that simply compounds upon itself like a cancerous cell. In the end, nobody is untouched or unhurt by the actions that unwind at dizzying speed.

I loved this book so much, I purchased everything else in the series I could get my hands on. Now my problem is: Do I go back to the beginning, and patiently catch up? Or do I read the next book in the series (whose teaser appears at the end of the paperback version), "Breach of Promise"? Stay tuned. This is one reviewer who is totally, happily, hooked.

Obstruction of Justice is the third book in this series by Perry O'shaughnessy. In this book, Nina Reilly and DA Collier Hallowell go on a date hiking. First of all the date was a little weird, considering in the last book Nina and Paul had something going on. Anyway, while on their hike they witness Ray de Beer's death from a lighting crash. The death brings back old memories for Collier of his deceased wife Anna, who was killed in a hit and run accident. Collier hires Paul to try and find clues from Anna's death. In the meantime, Ray de Beer's son, Jason is indicted for murder, and Nina is defending him. As Paul and Nina find out, Anna Hallowell's and Ray de Beer's death are more related that one might think. Obstruction of Justice fits right in with the previous two books in this series, as all are hard to put down, and are great reads. In this book, the only problem I had was that the ending was a stretch and quite unbelievable. Other than that, Obstruction of Justice, is another winner from the O'Shaughnessy's.

This probably the least enjoyable of the Nine Reilly series because there are so many coincidences. Nina & Paul are working on two totally separate cases in two totally different towns, and all of a sudden, the cases are magically tied together with the same people being involved in both situations. I could not suspend my disbelief that much! Also they never clear up how one of the characters (Kim) happened to be at the scene of a certain accident while she just happens to be having an affair with one of the other characters indirectly involved with that same accident. A disappointing book.

This was the third in the series of Nina Reilly novels I have read and it was the least enjoyable. I would definitely recommend Motion to Surpress and Invasion of Privacy but not this one.

I am thrilled to discover Nina! I have been disapointed with my favorite characters from Patricia Cornwell and Sue Grafton lately. I'm excited to discover a new series to get to know. The ending of this book is a little forced and the parallel murders stretches credibility. However, the fun character development and location make up for the deficiencies. Looking forward to reading the earlier books which are supposedly even stronger.

I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked from the first page. I love the characters - Nina, Bob, and Paul. I also read and enjoyed Motion to Suppress, and I will start Invasion of Privacy soon. When will the next one be out?

The third book in the Nina Reilly series was one I had high hopes for. The previous two novels featuring Nina were great court-room dramas with very well developed storylines/plots and characters.

All this was missing in the third novel. The courtroom was entered only at a very late stage in the book and only for a brief period. The plot was quite flat and uninteresting and the development of the characters was not what we are used to from this writer team. Nina, Paul and Collier were still there old self ( in a way..) but the rest was not the sort of people I could feel any empathy with. I hope the next one will be better.

Entertaining, yes. Believable... well, uh, perhaps this is better left unsaid. There's just something beyond the pale in the predicament in this novel, which remains highly entertaining nonetheless. Its characters are likeable, the plot straightforward, and the issues interesting. This book is a good beach read or poolside froth, but for the readers committed to stories of simmering, complex motivations and labor-intensive research reeking of literary significance, this book is a bit too pop for you.

The crisis of the story is Nina's hiding of evidence for the sake of a young man she believes in. Problem is, we don't get to know the young man, Jason, well enough to convince us that she would risk her career for his sake. He's supposed to be intelligent, but we never see him do anything intelligent. Basically, he's a blond blank.

Then too, the ending is pure Hollywood chase/cliffhanger.

I live here at the So. shore of Lake Tahoe. I have lived here for 25 years. "Obstruction of Justice" was the first book that I read. When I read that there was a murder at the north end of the Raley's parking lot, where the trees are, I thought, that can't be true. My husband has worked at that store for 22 years and there are no trees at the north end of the parking lot. I had to drive down there at 12:30A.M. to check it out! There are trees. So many of the details are absolutely right on! Very exciting.