After drinking rather too much one evening, Carl wakes up with a splitting hangover and the name Chantal Adair tattooed on his chest. Who is or was Chantal, and what does she have to do with the elderly lady who just called in a very large favor from Carl's father?

When I purchased this book, I didn't realize it was part of an ongoing series. I might have better understood Victor and his relationship with his partner if I'd read previous books, though it didn't matter much with this story.

On the positive side, the plot holds an intriguing mystery. Victor is a fun character who approaches life with dark humor, and doesn't always uphold the law as he should.

On the negative side, for me, this book had too much dead space within the 499 pages. It could easily have been condensed down to 300 or so for a much more engaging story.

The story started out strong, though it quickly became scattered and messy. There was a whole lot going on, yet there were also a whole lot of pages of nothingness. The characters here felt too much like people in an absurd sitcom. Everyone was excessively quirky and this made the entire story seem more like parody than a believable suspense novel.

Overall, this one just didn't work for me. ( )

Sixth in the Victor Carl, Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer, series.

Not everyone has the ability to wake up in the morning after an admittedly drunken night out and find himself tattooed over his left breast with a heart and the name of a woman he’s never met. This might strain the credulity of some, but then they’ve never met Carl.
Still, the plot isn’t really thick enough to quite carry this off, and while the book is good, is is not as good as the five others in the series. True to form, Lashner has created another excellent one-off character, and there are satisfactory twists and turns. But still.

Recommended for hard-core Victor Carl fans, but the first five books are better. ( )

Philadelphia Attorney Victor Carl wakes up one morning in the vestibule of his apartment building, his suit disheveled, socks missing, and the name Chantal Adair inscribed on his chest. Victor can’t remember what happened the prior night and is on a quest to find out, along with who Chantal Adair is. But his efforts are waylaid by a stubborn Greek woman on her deathbed, demanding he bring her son Charlie Kalakos home in return for a favor Victor’s father owes her. Charlie is wanted by the District Attorney’s Office and the FBI for stealing a Rembrandt painting from a museum. Charlie wants to return home to tell his mother goodbye but Charlie’s partners-in-crime would prefer he stay gone. While negotiating with the authorities as well as considering a shady offer by an art dealer/mercenary named Lavender Hill, Victor hires his own investigator to find Chantal Adair. To his surprise, a young girl with the same name disappeared the night Charlie and his gang stole the Rembrandt. Could the two crimes be connected?

Each outing with self-deprecating Victor Carl is a treat for readers who like a good mystery with wacky characters and a narrative voice that entertains throughout. A flawed man who thinks worse of himself than he actually is, Victor is tempted by fame and money with an internal monitoring system that allows him to step outside the bounds of law, but just barely. Victor, who seems to remain in a self-identity crisis, is joined this time by his partner, Beth Derringer, the moral gauge of their partnership. Lashner’s excellent style offers plenty of humor enmeshed within a good story and characters that just can’t be matched. This series is a hard one to top. ( )

If you’ve never tried author William Lashner, I highly recommend him. His sardonic Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl, is a flawed yet likable character. The situations Victor gets into as he proceeds through complicated plots are often quite humorous, but there’s always more to it (and to him) than you originally think.

In his latest adventure, “Marked Man,â€? Victor wakes up with a humongous hangover and a fresh tatoo: emblazened on his chest is a woman’s name he doesn’t recognize. How did it get there and who is this woman? Meanwhile, he has been enlisted to facilitate the return of a small time thug on the lam for his aging Greek mother, and his partner Beth is going through a midlife crisis. And how are a missing work of art and a missing girl involved? Lots of fun and layers of meaning intertwine in all his books.