Open Season on Lawyers: A Novel of Suspense [Paperback]

Taffy Cannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

Somebody is killing the sleazy lawyers of Los Angeles. LAPD Robbery-Homicide Detective Joanna Davis matches wits with a serial killer who tailors each murder to a specific legal abuse. His victim profile: attorneys who use the law to achieve outrageous results. His murders: vehicles for poetic justice: • a lawyer who won big bucks for careless coffeeservers is parboiled in his hot tub • another who got a food-poisoning caterer off dies of botulism.

The clever, efficient murderer, with meticulous preparations and many disguises, is reminiscent of the assassin in The Day of the Jackal. However, Det. Davis is a immensely sympathetic opponent, an experienced professional at the top of her powers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Somebody was killing the sleazy lawyers of Los Angeles. In the beginning, hardly anyone even noticed," begins Taffy Cannon's (Guns and Roses) sharply clever Open Season on Lawyers. LAPD homicide detective Joanna Davis pursues a murderer whose vengeance takes strange parallels to the lawyers' perceived crimes (a lawyer who defended a caterer against charges of food poisoning later dies of it, for example); readers just might be torn between wanting her to catch him and wanting him to get away.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a brightly malicious tale." -- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2002

Sharply clever. Readers might be torn between wanting Detective Davis to catch the murderer and wanting him to away. -- Publishers Weekly, March 4, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Daniel & Daniel Publishers; First Edition edition (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284510
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284513
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,379,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can Joanna find the Atterminator?, June 9, 2004

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open Season on Lawyers: A Novel of Suspense (Paperback)

It's not until the fourth lawyer is found dead that the police begin to see a pattern. Of course, the others were ruled as accidents or suicides. But now it's as plain as day. A serial killer is on the loose in LA killing off lawyers. Not that the victims were innocent either. It's fallen on Joanna Davis and her partner to lead the task force tracking down this fiend. But he's good. Almost too good. With very little to go on and copycat killings to sort through, it looks hopeless.

This book is a combination of police procedural and serial killer, two sub-genres I tend to not read. Even so, I was easily sucked in and entertained by this tightly plotted tale. Ms. Cannon is a master of the multiple viewpoint story, and here she uses it to good effect to increase the tension. Joanna herself is an interesting character, although one of her personal sub-plots could have been eliminated to make the story stronger. The villain is an interesting and creative character as well. I actually looked forward to his viewpoint almost as much as Joanna's.

Fans of this author's other books need not fear; the violence is kept well under control. This is an entertaining mystery that will appeal to fans of many sub-genres.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unusual, to say the least!, August 13, 2002

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Open Season on Lawyers: A Novel of Suspense (Paperback)

If you've ever had a less-than-happy experience with an attorney, you'll LOVE this book! It's everyone's fantasy about how to rid oneself of an enemy. Or perceived enemy, at any rate.

Joanna Davis is a wonderful creation; a police detective on the LAPD force who is tough yet sensitive, smart yet cautious, feminine but strong, a very young grandmother and an almost-menopausal woman, all rolled into one delightful bunch of contradictions. Any woman who reads this book would like to have a Joanna in her life as a friend.

Of course, almost anyone who reads this book would probably like to have the 'perp' as a friend, too, as long as one stayed on his good side. He's clever and funny and thoughtful and kind to the elderly; it's just most of the legal profession of which he's not overly fond.

This is a delightful book, satisfying in every way; it's well-written with a most unusual plot, right up to and including the last page, and peopled by characters you won't soon forget. I'm off to find more books by this author who was previously unknown to me. No longer, though.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lawyers - let's go, May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Open Season on Lawyers: A Novel of Suspense (Paperback)

This was an extremely fast paced book with infinite innuendoes. The suspect is revealed early on, but the mystery is at large until the very end. Ms Cannon appears to have an in depth knowledge of the LAPD workings and she skillfully uses this to her advantage. Warning - this is a hard book to put down!