Review of The Impossible Mock Orange Trial
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CDBeck
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- Latest Review: The Impossible Mock Orange Trial by Thad G. Long
Review of The Impossible Mock Orange Trial
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Impossible Mock Orange Trial" by Thad G. Long.]
It's Saturday morning, and Bess Johnson has a dentist appointment in town. Having no car to get her there, she arranges to borrow a Logos van from her uncle, Sam Johnson, the sheriff of Phoenix County in South Carolina. While she has the Logos for the day, why not add a shopping trip? Bess brings her daughter and niece to shop for Easter clothes, and Bess's friend Doretta comes along with her son, who needs some things as well.
All goes well until the return trip. A tire blows out, sending the van out of control down an embankment and into an old mock orange tree. The collision results in multiple injuries and, for one person, death. Lawyers Fred Bates and Jack Ripps are quick on the scene, smelling a multi-million dollar settlement from deep-pocketed corporations. They are suing the car dealership Citizens Tergano, Tergano Motors, and Universal Tire for damages on behalf of the victims.
As lawyers on both sides prepare for the trial, it's up to attorney Ted Born to defend Universal Tire. In The Impossible Mock Orange Trial, author Thad G. Long tells how Ted Born prepares for the trial in a county courtroom with a history of awarding large settlements to plaintiffs. The book takes us through twists and turns as Born investigates the accident and researches the legal history of Phoenix County. He builds his defense team of lawyers, experts, and witnesses to defend his corporate client against tall odds.
Long’s writing style is clear and easy to understand. From the descriptions of people and places, I can easily picture scenes without getting bored and bogged down with too much detail. Long builds tension from the point that Born starts researching the case and keeps it growing as he puts together his defense team. How the team deals with the obstacles and works to craft a defense strategy kept me turning pages until the end.
All the characters, plaintiffs and defendants, are drawn with sympathy and understanding. The plaintiff's lawyers come across as self-serving and sloppy in preparing their case. I like how Long incorporates the growing relationship between the two main characters into the plot. Ted Born, the experienced white lawyer, and the young black lawyer Dave Thompson show considerable thought and consideration for the other as they build trust. By the time the trial starts, both characters respect and trust each other and extend that to the whole team.
As for the negative aspects of this novel, I don’t understand why Sam Johnson has to be a sheriff. I have a hard time believing that a sheriff would keep worn tires on his vehicle: a sheriff should know better. But for the sake of the story, I suspended disbelief. I have to admit that I giggled at the sweat theory. The plaintiff's attorney never presented any data to support this theory, only a witness that said it happened. I probably shouldn’t count this as a negative but rather as an illustration of the sloppy work of the plaintiff's attorneys.
I give The Impossible Mock Orange Trial 5 out of 5 stars, as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. The obstacles that Ted and Dave encounter, both with the trial and building trust within the defense team, build tension. Even though the novel is longer than usual, the plot neither drags nor races along too quickly. I hardly noticed the extra length at all. The few errors I found did not distract from my enjoyment of the novel.
Adult fans of detective or courtroom fiction would like this book. There is some profanity, so I would not recommend this book to younger readers.
******
The Impossible Mock Orange Trial
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It's Saturday morning, and Bess Johnson has a dentist appointment in town. Having no car to get her there, she arranges to borrow a Logos van from her uncle, Sam Johnson, the sheriff of Phoenix County in South Carolina. While she has the Logos for the day, why not add a shopping trip? Bess brings her daughter and niece to shop for Easter clothes, and Bess's friend Doretta comes along with her son, who needs some things as well.
All goes well until the return trip. A tire blows out, sending the van out of control down an embankment and into an old mock orange tree. The collision results in multiple injuries and, for one person, death. Lawyers Fred Bates and Jack Ripps are quick on the scene, smelling a multi-million dollar settlement from deep-pocketed corporations. They are suing the car dealership Citizens Tergano, Tergano Motors, and Universal Tire for damages on behalf of the victims.
As lawyers on both sides prepare for the trial, it's up to attorney Ted Born to defend Universal Tire. In The Impossible Mock Orange Trial, author Thad G. Long tells how Ted Born prepares for the trial in a county courtroom with a history of awarding large settlements to plaintiffs. The book takes us through twists and turns as Born investigates the accident and researches the legal history of Phoenix County. He builds his defense team of lawyers, experts, and witnesses to defend his corporate client against tall odds.
Long’s writing style is clear and easy to understand. From the descriptions of people and places, I can easily picture scenes without getting bored and bogged down with too much detail. Long builds tension from the point that Born starts researching the case and keeps it growing as he puts together his defense team. How the team deals with the obstacles and works to craft a defense strategy kept me turning pages until the end.
All the characters, plaintiffs and defendants, are drawn with sympathy and understanding. The plaintiff's lawyers come across as self-serving and sloppy in preparing their case. I like how Long incorporates the growing relationship between the two main characters into the plot. Ted Born, the experienced white lawyer, and the young black lawyer Dave Thompson show considerable thought and consideration for the other as they build trust. By the time the trial starts, both characters respect and trust each other and extend that to the whole team.
As for the negative aspects of this novel, I don’t understand why Sam Johnson has to be a sheriff. I have a hard time believing that a sheriff would keep worn tires on his vehicle: a sheriff should know better. But for the sake of the story, I suspended disbelief. I have to admit that I giggled at the sweat theory. The plaintiff's attorney never presented any data to support this theory, only a witness that said it happened. I probably shouldn’t count this as a negative but rather as an illustration of the sloppy work of the plaintiff's attorneys.
I give The Impossible Mock Orange Trial 5 out of 5 stars, as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. The obstacles that Ted and Dave encounter, both with the trial and building trust within the defense team, build tension. Even though the novel is longer than usual, the plot neither drags nor races along too quickly. I hardly noticed the extra length at all. The few errors I found did not distract from my enjoyment of the novel.
Adult fans of detective or courtroom fiction would like this book. There is some profanity, so I would not recommend this book to younger readers.
******
The Impossible Mock Orange Trial
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Impossible Mock Orange Trial by Thad G. Long
-
CDBeck
- In It Together VIP
- Posts: 31
- Joined: 04 May 2022, 15:29
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 17
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cdbeck.html
- Latest Review: The Impossible Mock Orange Trial by Thad G. Long
For the record, we need to have a "report rude author" button. I had to submit this review multiple times because the author didn't like my error report. I finally resorted to reporting zero errors to stop the harassment. At least the book was free and the jerk didn't get any of my money.
Latest Review: The Impossible Mock Orange Trial by Thad G. Long
