Open Season on Lawyers: A Novel of Suspense (Paperback)

by Taffy Cannon (Author)
Key Phrases: state bar, suspect sketch, dead lawyers, Kevin Pearse, Francesca Goldberg, Henry Mason (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Somebody was killing the sleazy lawyers of Los Angeles. In the beginning, hardly anyone even noticed," begins Taffy Cannon's (Guns and Roses) sharply clever Open Season on Lawyers. LAPD homicide detective Joanna Davis pursues a murderer whose vengeance takes strange parallels to the lawyers' perceived crimes (a lawyer who defended a caterer against charges of food poisoning later dies of it, for example); readers just might be torn between wanting her to catch him and wanting him to get away.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...a brightly malicious tale." -- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2002

Sharply clever. Readers might be torn between wanting Detective Davis to catch the murderer and wanting him to away. -- Publishers Weekly, March 4, 2002

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Daniel & Daniel Publishers (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880284510
• ISBN-13: 978-1880284513
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,331,155 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can Joanna find the Atterminator?, June 9, 2004

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's not until the fourth lawyer is found dead that the police begin to see a pattern. Of course, the others were ruled as accidents or suicides. But now it's as plain as day. A serial killer is on the loose in LA killing off lawyers. Not that the victims were innocent either. It's fallen on Joanna Davis and her partner to lead the task force tracking down this fiend. But he's good. Almost too good. With very little to go on and copycat killings to sort through, it looks hopeless.

This book is a combination of police procedural and serial killer, two sub-genres I tend to not read. Even so, I was easily sucked in and entertained by this tightly plotted tale. Ms. Cannon is a master of the multiple viewpoint story, and here she uses it to good effect to increase the tension. Joanna herself is an interesting character, although one of her personal sub-plots could have been eliminated to make the story stronger. The villain is an interesting and creative character as well. I actually looked forward to his viewpoint almost as much as Joanna's.

Fans of this author's other books need not fear; the violence is kept well under control. This is an entertaining mystery that will appeal to fans of many sub-genres.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crais, Coben and Cannon, March 20, 2003

By A Customer

From TV to movies to a dark history of mystery noir, we just can't get our fill of that slice of humanity that passes for L.A. underbelly. And when we're talking L.A. Low, we're talking L.A. Law. For some reason, the lawyers getting theirs in this book never come off as quite slime-ball enough for my taste. But in fairness, there's a balancing act going on here between the ongoing plottings of a serial killer (so bland he blends) and his deserving victims. It's hard to tell who the real bad guys are without a good detective so Cannon delivers up her most well rounded protagonist yet - Joanna Davis, an empty nesting middle aged career cop who gets the case of a lifetime - especially after it becomes intensely personal. Cannon's SoCal circus is populated with a great sideshow of characters all given their marching orders by the masterful mystery ringmaster. How she loves to get crack that wit. On Viki Vale, trophy wife: "The lady shopped at some classy stores, but she had a gift for finding the sleaziest apparel each had to offer. Basically this was a room to get naked in. Trash will out." In the whatever happened to Vicki Vale category, hey? What did happen to Vicki Vale? No matter. Another character. "Nothing in this office indicated that its occupant had a personality. Including the occupant." Or the Midwest sheriff. "The big, barrel-chested sheriff wore no overcoat and his improbable uniform featured a lot of silly cords and complicated braids and shiny hardware. He looked like an organ grinder's monkey on steroids." Or a victim's wife as "an ebony stunner". Good stuff. This is a well plotted, highly engaging and entertaining read that cascades to a clever and unpredictable action climax. Mystery trolls will appreciate that this is an honestly written caper - the planted clues all come together in the end as Cannon gets the last laugh. Sometimes the author's sharp wit works against her; i.e. - "The Atterminator" - the name the local then national press ascribes to the lawyer killing antagonist works against giving the book a really gritty anchor. The female detective is almost too perennially optimistic - is this woman too nice to be a cop? I don't know. But she's likable. While investigating a twelve step program, she observes "Nobody had founded Cigars Anonymous, a program she considered desperately overdue." She doesn't have the angst or sex drive of Robert Crais' lady cop in L.A. Requiem and the only reason I bring that up is cause this book is close to being as captivating as that great piece of L.A. noir, imho. Any comparison in that company is pure compliment. Open Season on Lawyers is a good read that really gets up on its legs after the case breaks, running all the way to a heart pounding finish.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unusual, to say the least!, August 14, 2002

By	kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

If you've ever had a less-than-happy experience with an attorney, you'll LOVE this book! It's everyone's fantasy about how to rid oneself of an enemy. Or perceived enemy, at any rate.

Joanna Davis is a wonderful creation; a police detective on the LAPD force who is tough yet sensitive, smart yet cautious, feminine but strong, a very young grandmother and an almost-menopausal woman, all rolled into one delightful bunch of contradictions. Any woman who reads this book would like to have a Joanna in her life as a friend.

Of course, almost anyone who reads this book would probably like to have the 'perp' as a friend, too, as long as one stayed on his good side. He's clever and funny and thoughtful and kind to the elderly; it's just most of the legal profession of which he's not overly fond.

This is a delightful book, satisfying in every way; it's well-written with a most unusual plot, right up to and including the last page, and peopled by characters you won't soon forget. I'm off to find more books by this author who was previously unknown to me. No longer, though.