After Dark (Paperback)

by Phillip M. Margolin (Author) "The Multnomah County Courthouse occupied the entire block opposite Lownsdale Park..." (more)
Key Phrases: right drawer, Charlie Deems, Abigail Griffen, Matthew Reynolds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Margolin's legal thriller, in which a killer claims that a local female prosecutor hired him to murder her husband, spent two weeks on PW's bestseller list.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
If Margolin's new novel of legal intrigue isn't hot stuff, a lot of readers will be disappointed; his Gone, but Not Forgotten (LJ 6/15/91) sold over a million copies. Here, a high-profile prosecutor is accused of murder.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553569082
• ISBN-13: 978-0553569087
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,052 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard to improve on, April 15, 2001

By	Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This one combines the best elements of the "cozy" and "suspense" styles of mystery-writing. The protagonist is Tracy Cavanaugh, a recent law school graduate who clerks for a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.

During her last days at the Oregon Supreme Court, one of Tracy's clerk colleagues is murdered. That murder is followed shortly by the murder of the justice who employed the murdered clerk. The murdered justice's estranged wife, herself a brilliant prosecutor, soon becomes the prime suspect. At the same time, Tracy's year of clerking is up, and she goes to work for renowned defense attorney Matthew Reynolds, who is defending the accused wife.

This is definitely a better novel than "Undertaker's Widow", which was the first Phillip Margolin mystery I read. Most of the primary characters are well-drawn and memorable. The plot is unpredictable but doesn't stretch credulity. The last 75 pages give the plot several twists before the ultimate solution is revealed. The book is captivating and well-written throughout.

This book provides one more example of the foolishness... several years ago, to change the rating system from a 10-star maximum to a 5-star maximum. This book is a cut above Hazel Holt's "Mrs. Malory, Detective in Residence", to which I gave 4 stars. It is also a definite cut below Elizabeth George's novels, all of which deserve 5 stars. I will stick with my contention that only real literature deserves 5 stars, and this isn't real literature. But it's about as good as genre mysteries ever get.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but..., November 27, 2004

By	DWD "intrepid reviewer" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Now, don't get me wrong - this book has more good things going for it than bad, but the whole thing just seems a bit off to me. There is a lack of focus, for one thing. Whose story is it? Tracy's? Abigail's? Matthews? Charlie's? I also figured it out about 1/3 of the way through the book but I was written well enough that I gladly stuck it out to see if I was right. (I was, but my theory about the motive was a tad bit off). This is not Margolin's best work ('The Burning Man' gets that honor) but it is a good enough read for a long holiday weekend.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HARD FOR ME TO RATE!!!, June 4, 2002

By	Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

"After Dark" is about Tracy Cavanough finding her best friend dead and then Justice Robert Griffen being killed with a car bomb. Are the two killings related? Abbie Griffen, wife of Robert is charged with the murder of her husband. Tracy has just been hired by Matthew Reynolds, the best defence attorney there is. Together they set out to prove Abbie is not guilty. But, is she? Has she snowed Matthew Reynolds? You think it is all figured out then, Bang, you are off again with a new twist. It was hard for me to rate, I nearly gave it a three, but is a little better than that, I guess. I got lost during the first several pages because so many names were thrown at me. I also thought the description of some things went into to much detail. Such as what makes up a piece of metal, or how a picture can me made one time and looks like another time. All in all it was fair.