Unfit to Practice (Nina Reilly Series) [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Perri O'Shaughnessy (Author), Laural Merlington (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2004 | Series: Nina Reilly Series (Book 8)

As an attorney championing desperate people, Nina Reilly has skirted the edges of legal ethics in pursuit of a just result but she has never before broken the rule of absolute protection of her clients' secrets. One September night at Lake Tahoe when her unlocked truck is stolen, her life changes forever. Inside are her most sensitive cases, complete with the sometimes brutally candid notes she took while interviewing her clients. It's the event that every attorney most fears - one careless moment that undoes a lifetime of building trust and respect. The worst has happened - the secrets are being revealed one by one, in ways that will cause the greatest harm. Nina's own clients complain to the State Bar of California, and suddenly Nina is fighting for her license and her livelihood in a Kafkaesque legal proceeding that may ultimately lead to her disbarment. In desperation, Nina hires a top San Francisco lawyer, Jack McIntyre, to represent her. She ought to know he's tough as well as cynical and funny - he's her ex-husband. And as personal tensions erupt between Jack and Nina's on-the-edge investigator Paul van Wagoner...as reputations are ruined and people begin to die...a malign pattern of rage and revenge comes into focus. Someone is bent on destroying the lives of her clients and, in the process, destroying Nina Reilly.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Was there something more criminal than grand theft auto involved in the disappearance of Nina Reilly's truck--and the legal files locked inside it? When confidential information from those files that could endanger Nina's clients and destroy her reputation surfaces, it begins to look as though someone wants to put the feisty Lake Tahoe attorney out of business. There's no shortage of suspects, including a policewoman who blames Nina for short-circuiting her promotion, a client with a guilty secret who's convinced it was Nina's negligence that lost his custody case, and a rival attorney who's seething over all the high-profile clients he's lost because of Nina's growing prominence. With help from her ex-husband, a legal malpractice specialist, and her lover, who's also her investigator, Reilly races the clock to get to the bottom of the smear campaign and save her license to practice in this smart, sexy thriller that makes the most of the author's gifts of clever plotting, characterization, and dramatic tension. Reilly, a single mom whose personal life is as chaotic as her career, is a series heroine who gets more interesting with every new adventure. The conclusion of this one, the author's eighth, finds Reilly pointed in a new direction with plenty of interesting possibilities for the future. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Penned by sisters Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy, this eighth novel to feature South Lake Tahoe attorney Nina Reilly puts the lawyer in the defendant's chair. Ever since she was a little girl, Nina has believed that rules are what people use to make sense of the world and that law is a way of enforcing the rules to keep the world sane. But when her truck is stolen, along with her three most sensitive case files, her sane world turns topsy-turvy. In the wrong hands, those files could compromise a client's chance at fair visitation rights, affect a second client's insurance claim and put two girls at risk from the murderer whose crime they witnessed. Suddenly, Nina finds herself facing possible disbarment as she's brought up on disciplinary charges before the California State Bar Court. Current boyfriend Paul and ex-husband Jack try to help Nina figure out who stole the files and, more importantly, who is trying to destroy her life. The initial setup of Nina's predicament is taut as a wire, but the story bogs down in court, where much of the testimony, while realistic, is filler: a space-occupying rehash of what the reader already knows. As for the climax, it's so hokey that the dialogue reads like an old Batman episode. Chances are, though, since this is just a first offense, series fans will release this effort on its own recognizance in the hopes that the next case will be a winner.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD Lib Ed; Library edition (June 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593354150
• ISBN-13: 978-1593354152
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MALICE BECOMES MURDER IN THIS THRILLER, July 31, 2002

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unfit to Practice (Hardcover)

Here's a star sister act that plays not at your neighborhood theater but at the local bookstore. To date the sisters O'Shaughnessy, Pamela (a Harvard Law School graduate) and Mary (a former editor), have co-authored seven popular legal thrillers. Two of their fast-paced dramas were "Writ of Execution" and "Malice." Brace yourselves for a suspenseful ride in "Unfit To Practice."

Facing the worst fear of any attorney, Nina Reilly is looking at a disciplinary hearing before the California State Bar Court and possible disbarment. Lawyer Reilly's unlocked truck, which held pertinent case files and revealing notes she had taken, is stolen. That's not the worst case scenario: soon, information that could only be found in her notes surfaces, and is revealed in ways that are most damaging to her client.

So, Reilly finds herself before the State Bar in a battle for her license. You can tell she's in dire straits when she turns to her ex-husband to lead her defense. He and her off/on boyfriend PI Paul van Wagoner don't see eye to eye nor do they try.

Malice becomes murder in this drama that shifts from tension filled courtroom to the secret recesses of a woman's heart.

- Gail Cooke

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious plotting...., September 29, 2002

By 

L. Quido "quidrock" (Tampa, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unfit to Practice (Hardcover)

Perri O'Shaughnessy, the entertaining sister team of writers, serve up an especially interesting plot for their Lake Tahoe lawyer-heroine, Nina Reilly. Nina's confronted with a situation that could ruin her for life, and three client cases are commingled with her own downfall, when the client files are stolen.

Nina's love life with her investigator is more settled in this outing, although briefly challenged by her ex-husband. Her three clients are diverse, and the reaction and chain events set off by the loss of the files follow widely divergent paths, as well. It's obvious that Nina is someone's target, but who is her enemy?

4 stars due to the complex and interesting plot, and the unique ending, which leaves the reader guessing what direction the series will take in the future. Not nearly as good in characterization or plot fulfillment as previous Nina Reilly episodes, but the O'Shaughnessy novels are heads and shoulders above most courtroom fiction, and I eagerly await the next one!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 14, 2002

By 

"pattyq2002" (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unfit to Practice (Hardcover)

I usually relish the chance to read a new Perri O'Shaughnessy.

I thought the main plot line was somewhat unbelievable. If Nina is such a hot shot lawyer, and of course we know she is from the previous books, she would not leave her briefcase containing such
important files, in her car overnight.

The female police officer and the female prosecuting attorney are just totally unbelievable in their language and approach to Nina. Very stereotypical, we don't like beautiful smart women.<P...