I really think this series has some potential if the author, Avery Duff, can keep the plot a lot more tight in the next book.

"Beach Lawyer" follows Robert Worth. Robert has been working for a very prestigious law firm for five years and is given the nod that he is about to become a partner. Even though he finds the actions of one of the partners, Jack Pierce, to be personally distasteful, he thinks that he has more than shown the firm his worth. Things go great til Robert ends up flaming out when he is verbally pushed by Pierce. When Robert realizes that he is getting blackballed in town, he decides the best thing to do is take on Pierce.

I honestly think the first half of the book was really good. I loved how Duff developed Worth. Heck, I even liked how Worth got his first client/assistant. But then the wheels came off and all of these things are being revealed about secondary characters and things got confusing. We even have some reveals about Robert that I honestly didn't care about.

I would say this book tried very hard to be "The Firm" and then it just turned into a Lifetime Movie. There are way too many coincidences to be believed after a while.

I would suggest for future books it may be better to make sure that the legalese gets turned down a bit. You definitely realize Duff knows what he is talking about. But after a while I felt like I was drowning in legal minutiae and I just didn't care.

The flow which started off very well just jumped back and forth til the end. I didn't know who I was supposed to care about, who was a hero, who was a villain, etc.

The book ending fell very flat. I think I am supposed to intuit that some of these characters are going to pop up in the next book, but am stretching my brain to see how anyone but Robert should return. ( )

I enjoyed this book very much - it's a quick read that actually is a legal thriller, not just a thriller that happens to have a lawyer involved. It harkens back to early Grisham when he wrote books I enjoyed. A lawyer bucks the system, the big law firm and his mentor, to do what he thinks is right. Well paced with good characters. Definitely recommend. ( )

DNF @20%

Book source ~ Kindle First

Robert Worth is a lawyer. He does lots of lawyerly stuff. In great detail. Mind-numbingly boring detail. At 20% in, I had to give up or lose my sanity. The most exciting part is where he pushes the dillweed senior partner scumbag who then fires Worth on the spot, but even then he’s completely Worth-less. See what I did there? Characters are cardboard, women are there to be berated and sexually abused, Worth is ball-less. The writing is ho-hum. I sentence this book to the outgoing tide. ( )

A west coast/left coast read for fans who enjoy the likes of John Grisham. Although I wasn't happy with the portrayal of my nursing profession at the end (we would NEVER treat another human that way - much less laugh about it! Goes against everything we're taught and believe in as healthcare professionals), I just kept reminding myself that it's fiction :)

I could definitely continue following this author, hopefully he'll keep churning out books! ( )

BEACH LAYWER
AVERY DUFF

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Thomas & Mercer
PUBLISHED May 1, 2017

A engrossing legal thriller full of twist and turns that will keep you up after your bedtime!

SUMMARY

BEACH LAWYER intriguingly begins with Robert Worth in jail, and then flashes back eight weeks earlier. Robert has worked in a powerful Santa Monica law firm for the past five years. He is days away from being made a partner, and he screws up. A client confides in him that senior partner Jack Pierce has sexually assaulted her. Robert confronts Pierce and is fired on the spot, losing his job and making a enemy of a ruthless and powerful attorney. Unable to find another job, Robert vows revenge against Pierce. He decides to legally go after Jack Pierce in the client's sexual assault case. Robert's investigation uncovers a twisted world of sex, drugs, infidelity and deception. Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted.

REVIEW
The story is full of twists and turns that will have you guessing till the end. The writing flows, well and the tone is suspenseful enough to keep the pages turning. You can't help but like Robert Worth, he's good looking, comes from a wealthy family, has a promising career, he's humble, and then top it off with good manners. He's just a nice guy. Until he has to face off with Jack Pierce. The story is complicated, but that's what makes it good!

Avery Duff earned his juris doctorate degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He practice five years with a Chattanooga law firm. He later moved to Los Angeles to become a screen writer. This is his first book, and is promised to be the first of a series. The second book, The Boardwalk Trust (Beach Lawyer #2) is set for publication April 2018. ( )