Customer Reviews

Self Incrimination

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Self Incrimination by Randy Singer is another amazing book by an amazing author. Singer, a lawyer himself, writes terrific fast-paced legal thrillers with Christian aspects that are nearly impossible to put down. Tara Bannister put up with her stepfather's abuse for as long as she could, and then she struck out, shooting him dead. New lawyer Leslie Connors takes Tara on as her first real client, but Tara's story has a lot of holes in it, and suddenly a lot of people are taking an interest in how the case turns out. Leslie is a character from Singer's first novel Directed Verdict, and she and Brad prepare for their wedding, she finds out that she's suffering from a rare heart condition. Too much stress for one new lawyer! The truth about Tara's case isn't too hard to figure out, but I really wanted to shake some sense into her mother Trish for much of the book. Leslie never pushes Tara hard enough for answers, and while that works well for the plot of the book, for the reader, it can be a bit frustrating. Leslie's struggle with the Lord and her illness are really the heart and soul of the book. She grapples with her previous husband's death and her love for Brad in a way that is convincing and sad. While Singer is an excellent writer (I always end up staying up late while reading his books), I was disappointed that much of the novel was resolved through exposition in the last few pages. The main characters aren't actually involved in the wrap-up and haven't been. Everyone's been working around them without telling them. That kind of ending is very dissatisfying. Still an enjoyable book to read.

What attracted me to the novel was that he wrote it entirely from the first-person perspective of a female protagonist. Sure, the first-person really draws you into the character but let's face it, a male author writing from a female perspective is a tall task. You can't help but sneak in some male biases. From the looks of it, he certainly had a cadre of female readers to help him along the way, but gone are the days when the editor does a good part of the rewrite to "fix" any situations. He still has to originate the characterizations.

His protagonist, Leslie Connors, is a rookie lawyer that is trying her first murder case, planning a wedding, and contemplating a dangerous heart surgery-- all at the same time. Of course, her client Tara Bannister doesn't help matters by giving a confession that doesn't add up with her self-defense claim. But as Leslie digs deeper, she is led to believe that the Commonwealth's top prosecutor is somehow involved and that the evidence against her client was tampered with. Confronted with the truth, Leslie catches her own client in a lie, or maybe not? She struggles to find a way to keep her client out of jail as well as to save her own life.

Singer exposes the classic lawyer dilemma between doing what you believe is ethically right versus representing your client to the fullest extent possible. The courtroom scenes were very realistic but not overly technical. Lots of cool trial techniques that you don't learn in law school. Overall it was a great piece of work.

'Self Incrimination' is a superb legal thriller that will keep the reader's attention from start to finish.

Written by Randy Singer, who has penned several other excellent novels, this story is very hard to put down. It contains a murder mystery, a spoiled rick kid defendant, possible corrupt police and prosecutors, and a defense lawyer who is dealing with an impending wedding and a life threatening physical condition along with her first murder case at the same time.

While writing a great novel, Mr. Singer has also pulled off a very impressive feat: He wrote this book in the first person as a woman. In spite of this great challenge, he pulled it off very well.

I have enjoyed several other books by this author. This one is certainly no exception. I not only recommend it. I also recommend that interested readers check out his other work.

I love a good legal thriller, so when I found this book at the local bookshop, I snapped it up. Having heard how great it was, how could I not?

It had all the right ingredients. The dysfunctional family, complete with abusive husband, a wife suspected of infidelity, and of course your token troubled children. Toss in hints of corrupt police and lawyers and you are sure to have a novel that sizzles.

I was a little disappointed then when I thought I had the plot figured out after reading just the prologue. It seemed so obvious. Thankfully there is still an author out there that can surprise me, even if my second theory proved accurate.

SELF INCRIMINATION introduces us to Leslie Connors, a lawyer who just a few months ago was studying for her bar exam, and now faces her first murder case. Wealthy executive James Bannister is shot dead in his home, and his sixteen-year-old stepdaughter, Tara, claims self-defence. With Tara and her mother's battered faces to back up the allegations of ongoing abuse, it seems an open and shut case. Until Leslie meets with the Prosecution.

Faced with evidence that this was no simple case of self-defence, Leslie must now hunt out the truth from her reluctant client. Help comes from an unlikely source when Leslie is approached by a fellow lawyer who claims his insurance fraud case is somehow linked to the Bannister murder.

While her law partner fiancé, Brad Carson, is busy with his own court case, Leslie not only faces handling this trial on her own, but also a life-threatening medical condition and wedding plans.

SELF INCRIMINATION is certainly a page-turner. However, I did find the 450+ pages a little weighty. The storyline sagged towards the middle of the book with too much time spent on Leslie's health problem. A little trimming would have turned this into a tight, sensational read.

You have to question the sanity of any male author that chooses to write a complete novel from a female first-person point of view. Singer pulls it off rather well, not an easy job when you combine it with the fact the book is also written in present tense. It so impressed me that I found myself dreaming in first-person for several nights.

SELF INCRIMINATION is a worthwhile read. I'm sure it won't be the last Randy Singer book I'll indulge in.

I have seen Randy Singer preach and I've read all of his fiction novels. What can I say? He's excellent at both! He spins stories together in such a way that you cannot put them down until the very end. It is amazing just how he can grab your attention and hold it until the last word, and "Self Incrimination" is the latest and strongest proof he has given of that yet. I read this book thinking surely he couldn't write a story any better than the ones he's already written, but I was most definitely wrong, finding this to be superior to his other novels by far (and that is in fact saying something).

Tara is a teenage girl who has just killed her abusive stepfather because he decided to beat her mother one too many times...or so she says. However, the evidence just doesn't stack up to incriminate her. Why would she be so happy to claim the murder of this man when the evidence clearly states she didn't do it? One cannot help but wonder.

In steps Leslie Connors, Tara's new lawyer. Leslie is trying to make sense of the whole situation. She's trying to help a teen be declared not guilty when in fact the girl seems to want to go to prison. She also is trying to make sense of all of the different motivations and evidence Tara is throwing at her for killing her dad, but but some things still just don't add up. In the midst of this whole situation, Leslie has a lot of stress on her mind, namely the fact that she's getting married to the most charming man in the world, the head lawyer of the firm she works for, Brad Carson. She's in the midst of working on wedding plans and such when a heart condition strikes for which she needs open-heart surgery immediately. However, could her new husband ever find her attractive on their wedding night with a big scar running down her front? What man would want such a woman? Why should he be forced to care for her when she can't be physically attractive to him? He shouldn't have to put up with it, and Leslie loves him enough to go to just about any lengths to make sure he doesn't. Would this be worth calling off the wedding? Add to that the fact that Leslie's got some Christian missionary who's just a little too sweet trying to convert her "just in case" things don't quite go right on the operating table. Leslie's tried religion before, and it didn't do a thing to save her last husband, who left her as a widow. She's not gonna waste her time with that any more!

Altogether, this turns into an amazing story with suspense, hatred, love, and mystery. If you are looking for a book which will absolutely capture you and leave you wanting for more, "Self Incrimination," or any of Randy Singer's books for that matter, is for you!

I read "The Justice Game" first. That was a well written legal thriller, akin to vintage Grisham. Some of the characters in "Justice Game" had and expressed Christian beliefs---but this worked well with the plot line and was not intrusive. Without having known in advance, I don't know that I would have labled "The Justice Game" as Christian fiction.

Because I enjoyed "The Justice Game", I purchased "Self Incrimination". This book is well written enough to be more or less entertaining. But the plot is not as well developed---it is pretty obvious where the story is headed. And the preachiness and "saving ourselves for marriage" aspect of the story seems forced and overbearing. In my opinion, this book is Chritian fiction first and a legal thriller second.

I am still behind on my Randy Singer reading. I've read only the first four of his eight novels (at this point). I am reading them in order, by the way. And this one is the best so far.

He introduced Brad Carson and Leslie O'Connor in his first novel ("Directed Verdict"), as well as secretary Bela, and paralegal Nikki Moreno. Nikki showed up in the next two novels, but Bela only showed up once in the third novel, Brad's firm was mentioned with no appearances from Brad, and Leslie was not mentioned. In "Self-Incrimination", we see the return of Brad, Leslie, and Bela, with Nikki only mentioned twice.

Randy Singer took risks in this novel. The major risk was his decision to tell the novel from the first person's perspective. Is that a risk? Only if he took it from a female perspective, which he did. This is Leslie's story. The second risk was bringing back Mitch Taylor, the protagonist of the second novel ("Irreparable Harm"), as an antagonist. Singer makes both work well. The story is believable as being told by a woman (Singer mentioned in the acknowledgments he had female advance readers to give him feedback), and Mitch stays in character, being a believable antagonist. (Note -- there is a difference between an antagonist and a villain; an antagonist merely needs to be an opposing party, but you can have a nice, decent antagonist.)

The only drawback to this story is trying to put the first four stories on a timeline, which is not a problem if you are reading this one first or if you skipped from "Directed Verdict" directly to this one. It sounds like this is the most recent one in time because of the (lack of) role of Nikki Moreno. However, it sounds like this story follows "Directed Verdict" by a period of time too short to fit the other two novels in. This is a nit-picking criticism of my favorite author -- it has nothing to do to keep this novel from being a great read.

I'm learning not to read the back of Singer's novels, because they usually tell something that happens late in the story but that has my mind thinking throughout the book -- it would be more fun not knowing. This is one where I advise you forget the descriptions and start reading.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this one. Technically, I consider this novel Singer's best out of his first four. (I would say "Directed Verdict" is still my favorite because it touches on themes dear to my heart, but that is subjective.) I would recommend that you read this one.

Now, I finally am ready to read a novel with one of my favorite titles: "The Judge Who Stole Christmas"! It will be interesting which characters show up in that one!

This is probably my favorite Randy Singer book thus far. I couldn't put it down. I took it to the beach on our vacation and finished it in a day. The storyline was terrific and the characters are so real. A great follow up to Directed Verdict.

Randy Singer's SELF INCRIMINATION is a riveting Christian legal thriller. The haunting prologue opens with Trish Bannister getting abused by her husband. The novel moves forward a few months and reveals that James Bannister is dead and that his step-daughter Tara shot him in self-defense. Or did she? Attorney Leslie Connors works for Brad Carson, he is her fiance and busy working on another case. Leslie gets the responsibility of representing Tara at trial. Right away, there are problems with Tara's story. Sure, she had bruises on her, but the scientic evidince points to premeditation, not self-defense.

The is my first Singer novel, and won't be my last. I found this novel to be perhaps a bit too long, but that is because it needed room to juggle all the plots. Brad is suing the makers of a reality TV show. Leslie is trying to plan a wedding, and also finds out she has a life-threatening heart condition. The district attorney may have something to hide. Throw in insurance fraud, sexual abuse and Leslie's curiousity about Christianity, and you have a lot to cover. While I think the novel could have been better if it had been about 50 pages shorter, I give credit for Singer for tying up every lose end and also making every plot thread, however minor, turn outto be significant at the end.

I also give kudos to Singer for writing the entire novel except the prologue in 1st person present. You don't see that often, and it takes some getting used to, but it worked. Also, he wrote it from Leslie's point of view. I'm a man, so I don't know how successful he was, but I sure found some of the wedding talk to be cringe inducing, exactly as it should be when a guy hears a woman planning her wedding.

Christians who love Grisham, Finder, Turow or Coben will enjoy this novel. Singer takes a lot on on SELF INCRIMINATION, but he delivers. I look forward to reading more books by this talented writer.

Randy Singer smokes in his latest, and just keeps getting better! All I can say is wow! But I originally said that for "Directed Verdict" so I have to say more. Just kidding, I'm more than happy to report after self indulging on this! My verdict? Pretty darn good! Maybe better.

To say the least, this starts out with a bang! Tara Bannister isn't taking anymore from her step-father! And Leslie Connors is gonna help her. Her soon-to-be husband, Brad Carson will do what he can to help. And of course, Bella, the secretary keeps things interesting throughout the whole ordeal. And Sarah Reed, a firm believer in Christ, will be praying in the midst of all this mess. And hey, Leslie tells this all in the first person. Pretty impressive if you ask me. And it was self defense, right? Surely Tara is out of harm's way, no irreparable harm done, right? WHOA! WAIT!!

Did I just say "irreparable harm"? WRONG BOOK! Yep, wrong book, but right character. Mitchell Taylor enters the picture to take on Tara! If you've read some of Singer's previous works, you may see a ghost or 2 from the past emerge with charm, or maybe in a detestable sort of nature. Things are gonna get good, right? OK, awesome!

So, read this, and you'll find out soon enough that this isn't just about self incrimination. Not just that. You'll probably find some elements of self defense, (of course) self sacrifice, and possibly some self indulgence. The last part is up to you, by the way! Read this with your heart, and you'll definitely get more than you bargained for. I guarantee it!