Shoot the Lawyer Twice (Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Michael Bowen M.A (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2008 | Series: Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Mysteries (Book 4)

When a frat boy finds himself on trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for piracy on the high seas, Lawyer Rep Pennyworth, suspects heas being used as an unwitting accomplice in a cheap publicity stunt. Meanwhile his wife Melissa, the professor-half of the couple, gets caught in the middle of a verbal firefight between two colleagues at a literary conference that soon escalates into burglary, theft, jury-tampering, forgery of an explosive papal document from World War IIaand murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Milwaukee lawyer Rep Pennyworth and his English professor wife, Melissa, latter-day incarnations of Nick and Nora Charles, deal with an assortment of unrelated concerns in Bowen's engaging fourth mystery (after 2006's Putting Lipstick on a Pig). Some of these are legal, such as a would-be rapist's trial for piracy; some ethical, such as a brooding young Catholic co-ed who may be concealing evidence in another case; and some as apparently frivolous as excessive political correctness in the classroom or the marketing of topical thriller novels. The murder of a greedy professor who dabbled in borderline extortion, however, forces the couple to take a more serious look at the cast of obsessive, eccentric characters inside and outside the academy who are bound and determined to get what they want no matter who else gets hurt. Bowen's characters are amusing even when exasperating, and his leads are especially pleasant people to spend time with. (Oct.)
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From Booklist

Lawyer Rep Pennyworth and his wife, Melissa, a professor of English at the local university, have their hands full. Rep is representing a young student who finds himself on trial for piracy on the high seas, all thanks to a date gone wrong. Melissa is caught up in the political-correctness squabble that erupted at a literary conference and balloons into murder. Readers may need a flow chart to keep all of the plot elements straight, but they will enjoy this romp through the halls of academe, where the battles are so bitter because the stakes are so small. Fast moving and funny. --Barbara Bibel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (October 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590585291
• ISBN-13: 978-1590585290
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,731,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and smart, December 16, 2009

By 

Constant Reader (NYC, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shoot the Lawyer Twice (Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Clever, complicated, engaging, actual laughs. And excellent plotting. Who'da thunk Milwaukee could be such a enjoyable place?

It's an interesting fact (at least in my experience) that lawyers laugh at themselves - when they choose to - much harder and with many more winks than the rest of us might. When a lawyer like that writes a murder mystery, with all the inside knowledge up for use or humor, the read is usually sharp fun. As is this one.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars satirical chaos, October 12, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shoot the Lawyer Twice (Rep and Melissa Pennyworth Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Married couple, Milwaukee based copyright attorney Rep and University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Professor Melissa Pennyworth wonder how they got involved in this entangled fiasco that makes the DNA helix look like Lego construction. The mess apparently started at sea on Lake Michigan when undergraduate student Jimmy Clevenger arrives at Carolyn Hoeckstra's boat and blithely gives her a choice between sex and swimming. She chose the water. Later she filed attempted rape charges that ended in a hang jury; she followed that up with a piracy suit in federal court.

At about the same time, thriller writer Taylor Gates plans to write a novel based on a WWII document that might be a fake but paints the Vatican as the good guys. Meanwhile Professor Harold Angstrom wants out of a contract he signed to write a centennial history of the Goettinger Corporation, who's CEO happened to be Carolyn's father and just died suspiciously. The situation spins further out of control when an avaricious extortionist professor is apparently murdered and an amoral reporter seeks the scoop while Rep struggles with a stuffed nose and his spouse is caught up the middle of a politically uncorrected scenario.

Total satirical chaos as the above and much more occur with no or limited connections between the events except for driving the Pennyworth couple into wanting to dive into the Great Lakes. The story line is fast-paced and humorous as the eccentric cast sends even the amiable lead pair seeking shelter. Rep and Melissa are learning that sometimes good and honorable intentions leave the Samaritan trapped in hell although still might prove safer than PUTTING LIPSTICK ON A PIG.

Harriet Klausner