Customer Reviews

Witness for the Defense

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4 star:		(1)
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For almost a decade, public defender Hunter Dobbs has worked in the San Francisco legal system. However, today going about his job is a bit difficult because his divorce was just finalized yesterday. Even as he knows he must focus on the Martinez murder case, Hunter continues to dwell on what went wrong in his relationship with his former spouse, Marlene. The day gets worse when Hunter struggles with a slightly tipsy judge and dealing with Bobby Miles, a so-called witness willing to lie under oath.

However, his day turns worse when the dedicated attorney is accused of suborning perjury. Bobby claims that Hunter tried to coerce him into lying in court. The California Bar is looking into the charges. A peer Sarah Harris offers to represent him with the bar if he will defend a friend accused of kidnapping. He accepts her offer, but neither one expected to be involved in a murder that will require their intercession to insure that a second killing does not occur.

Michael C. Eberhardt clearly sits on the highest bench of legal thrillers with peers such as Turow, Patterson, and Grisham. His novels are always personal and thrilling. Mr. Eberhardt's latest book, WITNESS FOR THE DEFENSE, needs no defense as the awesome author of such classy tales as BODY OF A CRIME and AGAINST THE LAW has provided a great story. The gut attack on Hunter's belief system is brilliantly developed, making all the characters and their motives seem so real. There is no appeal for any sub-genre fan who has failed to read Mr. Eberhardt from being sentenced to a lifetime of solitary confinement on the Rock.

Harriet Klausner

Exquisitely, brilliantly written. I would prefer Eberhardt to Grisham. Eberhardt starts the novel with two incidents. they get inextricably intertwined with each other. I wish I could write just this well. But one thing, Obviously passion didn't give birth to this book. This one is more like a Hollywood action block-buster.

A fast-paced, easy read, this is a very good legal thriller. It's certainly better than the wooden prose of Mr. Grisham.

A reasonably well-written court-room drama, with good dialogue and a neat twist about the defendant.

However, I don't feel the action sequences were very credible - particularly the ending which seemed contrived (as Mark Twain said when, an American novelist doesn't know how to end his story - "kill everyone off").

Also who would really believe that a teenage drug-addict caught the public defendant in a bribe - more so when he wanted to state that the main culprit was not at the scene of the crime. How did this teenage addict discover that the defendant was in the guest house of a former judge far removed from San Francisco?

Too many open variables to really work.

With the detaila nd literary flair of a pro, author Michael Eberhardt draws you into his legal thrillers and warns you to hold on tight as you take the journey with him. In WITNESS FOR THE DEFENSE the characters are real, the story line flawless and the ending just what you would expect.

I picked this up at the Goodwill used book aisle and was instantly enthralled by the story, the characters and the level of suspense. Unfortunately, the writer only wrote two more books in the 90's and then stopped writing which is a shame. If you can find a copy of this book, I think you'll find it very entertaining and you'll wish the author had continued with their writing career.

This was the first novel that I ever read in my life and I thought this was the best one, I have tryed to read others but they just don't have the same impact as this one. If any one thinks about reading this novel, DO IT. It will be the best you ever read....