Stephen M. Murphy

Abiding Conviction by Stephen M. Murphy is the third legal thriller in the Dutch Francis series but it also reads well as a stand-alone. Francis is an attorney whose services have been retained by an important judge accused of murdering his wife. Just as the trial is due to begin, the attorney’s wife is kidnapped. Why was she taken? She is a news broadcaster and may have upset a viewer to the point of doing her harm. Or could this be retaliation for one of Francis’ cases gone wrong. This is where the story begins to depart from the believable. Although I understand that this is a work of fiction, there should still be a modicum of reality. The accused judge will not release the attorney from defending his case. Francis then finds himself balancing an important case while investigating the disappearance of his wife. The story becomes difficult to follow and the action is hyper-active. Either of these storylines would have been interesting but both together is confusing at best. The characters are strong and well-drawn and there is a lot of potential here. I would like to read other Stephen M. Murphy novels because this could be strictly my own opinion. Thank you to Oceanview Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

Book # 3 in the Dutch Francis legal thriller

In a few words:

Lawyer Dutch Francis faces and impossible situation: search for your missing wife or defend your high-profile client. Dutch is defending a Judge accusing of killing his wife. Just as the trial is about to begin, his wife Ginnie Turner, a TV broadcaster goes missing...

My thoughts:

What would you do if you were in his shoes?

Courtroom drama and thrillers I absolutely love them. So dialogue oriented and I enjoy reading the banter that usually comes with them. Although this one has some it felt a little short and missed sharpness. Defending your client while worrying about your wife can’t be easy. So the legal scenes went fast and the preliminary hearing happened the next day. Can that be possible in real life? Experts say it doesn’t. Ok. I will give a break considering this is minor.

The story has fillers and the courtroom scenes were short but what gave this book thrills is Ginnie got kidnapped. I would say “Abiding Conviction” has two stories within a story and Dutch Francis happens to be the main character. Ginnie story is well said and exciting as for the Judge, his defense was a bit disappointing.

It may seem that I didn’t like book, far from it, although not perfect this thriller packs one hell of a story in its 293 pages or so. In all, the experience wasn’t bad at all. I enjoyed most parts and stayed with it till the very last page.

Although this book is part of a series it stands well on its own. Will I read more books from this series, indeed I will.

I received a copy of this book from Oceanview Publishing via Netgalley for my thoughts.… (plus d'informations)