Customer Reviews

Untitled Audio (Nina Reilly)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lake Tahoe attorney Nina Reilly and Philip Strong share a tragedy. Two years ago, his son Jim killed his adulterous wife Heidi and allegedly murdered his younger brother Alex. Soon after the homicides, Jim vanished and was assumed dead (see Acts of Malice).

Philip informs Nina that he was finalizing the selling of his Lake Tahoe resort ski lodge but the sale was blocked in court allegedly by Jim who is apparently living in Brazil. Philip believes the affidavit is a fraud filed by someone trying to obtain his son's share of the receipts. Nina fears Jim lives and remains a threat to her family and friends especially when females associated with casinos are suddenly murdered.

The unexpected but realistic twists to this Nina Reilly thriller make for a powerful tale as Nina recalls what her then boyfriend prosecutor said when she defended Jim that. He believed the man was a psychopath who will go after her and her family if he is convicted. She believes he is back in Tahoe while her "protector" Paul von Wagoner knows someone stalks his former lover. Dreams of the Dead is a super thrilling twister.

Harriet Klausner

In Lake Tahoe, the body of a killer is dumped from a boat into the water.

Nina Reilly, a 38 year old criminal defense attorney, receives a visit from the father of the man who killed her husband. Philip Strong owns the Paradise Ski Resort, and his son Jim has been missing and presumed dead for over two years, having disappeared shortly after killing his wife, his brother, and Nina's husband.

Philip is now trying to sell the property, having gone into the hole when a large amount of money was embezzled prior to Jim's disappearance, but a letter has arrived from Brazil that can put a stop to the sale, leaving the remaining family bankrupt and unable to pay off the debts of the resort. The letter is from Jim, stating that he does not approve of the sale, and demanding his share of any proceeds.

Now Nina is being asked to investigate the letter, and to do what she can in court to allow the sale, which has a tight deadline, to go through. Her friend Paul, who is also a private investigator, had assured both her and her son Bob that Jim had been taken care of, and now there's a letter from this supposedly dead man showing up, a man who, for obvious reasons (arrest warrants), can't come up from Brazil in person to prove his existence?

Meanwhile, one woman ends up dead in a hotel room, and the housekeeper who saw her killer finds herself in danger as well.

If Jim is still alive, how? If he isn't, who is impersonating him? Who stands to gain from having the proceeds of the sale go to an escrow account? Who in the family was the actual embezzler? Who is the new killer"

I haven't read the prior Nina Reilly books (but I will now), and I'm happy to say that this one works well as a standalone novel - the author gives you enough background into prior history to keep you from being lost.

Nina is extremely likeable and believable, with a love of expensive high heels and a wonderful assistant named Sandy Whitefeather who keeps everything in the office running smoothly.

There is wonderful character development, romantic love interests, mystery and suspense. There are many mysteries to unravel, and what appears to be more than one bad guy (or gal). I was surprised at who ended up being the villain or villains, and equally as surprised at who ended up being NOT a villain. If you like a well-turned, suspenseful story with touches of humor and romance, this is the one for you.


First Sentence (from a galley; may be different in final copy):

The dreams of the dead are unimportant to the living.

This was a fantastic legal thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and turning page after page. Even after the chapter ended, I was planning to take a break, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. There was so much action and suspense that I had to keep reading. This book had so many twists and turns it was like a wild roller coaster ride that I didn't want to end. Excellent!

O'Shaughnessy's latest Nina Reilly novel finds the South Lake Tahoe lawyer plunged back into a nightmare she had hoped was behind her.

Two years earlier she had defended a man, Jim Strong, who was accused of killing his wife. But Nina discovered his guilt and in revenge he had killed her husband and come after her. After that he disappeared but Nina has always had reason to think her old friend and sometime lover, investigator Paul van Wagoner, had made him disappear for good.

But now Jim's father, Philip, begs for Nina's help. Nearly bankrupt, he plans to sell his local ski resort. But suddenly son Jim has popped up to obstruct the sale. Not in person; there are still murder warrants outstanding, but he has filed an affidavit from Brazil. Jim demands that Philip send Jim's share to Brazil or else put the whole net profit in escrow until it's sorted out.

Nina knows it's a fraud, but she has a hard time proving it, even with Paul's help. And Philip's investigator, the impossibly handsome Eric Brinkman, is unable to break the affidavit's legality even after a trip to Brazil.

Meanwhile, two women have been killed and Paul has a hunch the murders are connected to the fraud. As the investigations unfold O'Shaughnessy (pseudonym of two sisters) keeps the pages turning, entwining the legal and investigative twists with new complications to Reilly's personal life.

Fans will be well satisfied and newcomers will have no trouble keeping up.

--Portsmouth Herald

Dreams of the Dead by Perri O'Shaughnessy

Long time readers of Perri O'Shaughnessy, pen name for sisters Mary and Pamela O'Shaughnessy, will know that in an earlier book "Acts of Malice" Jim Strong who is at the heart of this new book, had been taken care of by Paul van Wagoner...permanently. Or, so we thought. Has Jim come back to life now that his father Phillip wants to sell the fading ski resort?
New readers will not have a particularly difficult time getting into this newest book if they do not want to read the others in the series. BUT, I really do encourage you to take some time and read them in order at your leisure. The entire series is well worth it (well except for one book that is.).
While this book may not have had the heart stopping action that some of the previous books have had, it has somewhat more of a mystery surrounding everything. Plots within plots... mysteries within mysteries. And a great big moral question standing in Nina and Paul's way.
"Dreams of the Dead" has its usual cast of characters and then a few new ones thrown in for good measure and a bit of comic relief. This book is an intense nail-biting ride. One minute you will think you know for sure what's going on and the next you will be flummoxed.

If I have any criticism for this book, it is that I'm wondering just why the Ms.'s O'Shaughnessy felt the need of having the character Sandy(Nina's aide) writing a book and then adding that book into this one. It didn't add any pleasure for me since I felt it was just thrown in as some filler.
Still even with that little fly in the ointment, I feel that this was one of the better books that the sister's have produced lately and I would recommend this book and this series highly to anyone who likes legal thrillers.

This is a continuing series with Nina Reilly and her friend Strong. The reason I found this one a little better than some of the others it goes into some background about her, her son, her son's father etc. The story is exciting and I really enjoyed it.

This is a long-running series featuring Nina Reilly, a South Lake Tahoe, California attorney with a penchant for getting into all kinds of trouble. This novel actually arises from some of Nina's past experiences, including the death of her husband in a snow avalanche caused by Jim Strong, son of Phillip, owner of a resort facility headed for bankruptcy.

As a result of Phillip's need for cash to pay off creditors, he has agreed to sell his property, but the sale is complicated by the fact that a local attorney has intervened, presenting "affidavits" from Jim, who disappeared two years before, demanding that his share of the money be sent to him in Brazil where he is supposedly hiding. The attorney representing Phillip asks Nina to join her in representing Phillip in the court proceedings, which draws her into a complicated conspiracy compounded by a couple of murders.

The novel is hampered by various extraneous side issues, especially an abundance of fashion descriptions and undue attention to Nina's footwear. Also, for some reason the authors, two sisters, insert portions of a not-so-good "novel" being written by Nina's secretary, Sandy. The basic mystery is interesting and well-drawn, but the distractions hindered this reader.

Having read the previous novels by this talented duo, I looked forward to their latest work, Dreams of the Dead. Unfortunatly, this novel should be declared dead on arrival. The sentences, and entire paragraphs, in many parts of the book are awkward, at best, and clumsy in conveying both character depth and scene. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, including Nina. The plot seemed a bit contrived and a couple of sub-plots just didn't deliver anything that added to the book's entertainment value. The interactions Nina has with Paul (her ex-flame/PI), Kurt (the father of her child and latest in a long line of difficult relationships with men), and her sidekick/secretary, Sandy, are shallow and flat. The overall plot idea is fairly interesting but not executed well and the resolution falls flat. The novel needed a much stronger hand in editing both structure and overall execution. I had a hard time completing it as much as I liked the previous novels by the authors. Read all of the previous novels but skip this one. There are much better books around.

I've read every O'shaughnessy book and have enjoyed all of them. I look forward to each new one. Looking forward to the next book which I hope comes soon.

The sisters are back with an installment in their Nina Reilly series. This book does not disappoint. Nina, her assistant Sandy Whitefeater, her son and her sometime lover Paul all make appearances. The dysfunctional Strong family from Acts of Malice is prominent in a story that keeps you turning the pages. I only wish they published more often.