Kenneth Eade's Blog - Posts Tagged "kenneth-eade"
PROFESSIONAL REVIEW OF PREDATORY KILL: A LEGAL THRILLER
Full review from Midwest Book Reviews:
Just as its title says, Predatory Kill: A Legal Thriller combines the genres of a good detective thriller with an exploration of legal process and, much in the manner of John Grisham, laces all this together with strong, believable protagonists who face the impossible.
All this comes from a lawyer/author, so the legal process is authoritative and specific as it relates a lawyer's move to take on cases that involve wider-ranging, more difficult issues of social importance.
As chance would have it, Brent's first venture into new legal realms involves one April Marsh, who instigates a case revolving around the predatory lending practices of big banks who have foreclosed on her parents' home.
It all seems pretty cut and dried ... until murder enters the picture.
With April's mother dead and her father severely beaten, lawyer Brent Marks finds himself confronting an impossible conclusion: that big business has moved beyond the boundaries of predatory lending and into the realm of predatory killing. But why? What is so important about a single home that would cause a bank to hire a killer?
That's the crux of an investigation that becomes more convoluted and complex as chapters go on, immersing readers in a series of legal and social encounters that involve twisted purposes, perspectives, and emotions gone wild.
Fans of Grisham will find equal talent here in Eade's ability to captivate and hold readers with the unexpected, both in character development in nonstop action which lays the foundation for a story that's anything but predictable.
The realistic dialogue is - well - simply killer; while action points in one direction, then often takes a 360-degree turn. In a world where plot and outcome are often predictable from the start, this will prove more than satisfying to readers already well versed in the legal thriller format.
Another note: there's plenty of legal process and background incorporated into the chain of events. This lends Predatory Kill more than a realistic feel, with courtroom proceedings and arguments fueling the fire for out-of-courtroom drama.
Atmosphere is not neglected for the sake of either legal process or character development (as is too often the case in this genre): take (for example) an opening chapter in the salvo of a battle that crosses into different territory: "To the novice, it may have a appeared that a storm was rolling down Stagecoach Road, accompanied by dark clouds and the roar of thunder. But it was not an act of God; rather, a pack of hogs rolling into the Cold Spring Tavern Saturday night. The clan of bearded men and tattooed women rumbled in on their bikes, peeled their leather coated bodies off their saddles, and packed into the bar area."
What does this rough-and-tumble piece have to do with lawyer Brent's courtroom appearances, which liberally dose the book with realistic arguments and legal encounters? Read Predatory Kill to find out.
One thing's for certain: you won't be bored by this page-turner's wealth of characters, settings, and unpredictable cat-and-mouse games. D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
Just as its title says, Predatory Kill: A Legal Thriller combines the genres of a good detective thriller with an exploration of legal process and, much in the manner of John Grisham, laces all this together with strong, believable protagonists who face the impossible.
All this comes from a lawyer/author, so the legal process is authoritative and specific as it relates a lawyer's move to take on cases that involve wider-ranging, more difficult issues of social importance.
As chance would have it, Brent's first venture into new legal realms involves one April Marsh, who instigates a case revolving around the predatory lending practices of big banks who have foreclosed on her parents' home.
It all seems pretty cut and dried ... until murder enters the picture.
With April's mother dead and her father severely beaten, lawyer Brent Marks finds himself confronting an impossible conclusion: that big business has moved beyond the boundaries of predatory lending and into the realm of predatory killing. But why? What is so important about a single home that would cause a bank to hire a killer?
That's the crux of an investigation that becomes more convoluted and complex as chapters go on, immersing readers in a series of legal and social encounters that involve twisted purposes, perspectives, and emotions gone wild.
Fans of Grisham will find equal talent here in Eade's ability to captivate and hold readers with the unexpected, both in character development in nonstop action which lays the foundation for a story that's anything but predictable.
The realistic dialogue is - well - simply killer; while action points in one direction, then often takes a 360-degree turn. In a world where plot and outcome are often predictable from the start, this will prove more than satisfying to readers already well versed in the legal thriller format.
Another note: there's plenty of legal process and background incorporated into the chain of events. This lends Predatory Kill more than a realistic feel, with courtroom proceedings and arguments fueling the fire for out-of-courtroom drama.
Atmosphere is not neglected for the sake of either legal process or character development (as is too often the case in this genre): take (for example) an opening chapter in the salvo of a battle that crosses into different territory: "To the novice, it may have a appeared that a storm was rolling down Stagecoach Road, accompanied by dark clouds and the roar of thunder. But it was not an act of God; rather, a pack of hogs rolling into the Cold Spring Tavern Saturday night. The clan of bearded men and tattooed women rumbled in on their bikes, peeled their leather coated bodies off their saddles, and packed into the bar area."
What does this rough-and-tumble piece have to do with lawyer Brent's courtroom appearances, which liberally dose the book with realistic arguments and legal encounters? Read Predatory Kill to find out.
One thing's for certain: you won't be bored by this page-turner's wealth of characters, settings, and unpredictable cat-and-mouse games. D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
Reader's Favorite Review for HOA Wire
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite
HOA Wire by Kenneth Eade is a fast paced courtroom drama. Barbara Dennesmore is the president of the Orange Grove Homeowners Association and takes great delight in issuing citations for the wrong color paint or an overgrown lawn. Nobody likes her and, on her birthday, she receives a deadly gift – deadly enough to kill her. Everyone had a motive but suspicion falls on Nancy Hoskins who has just won a case against the HOA. Evidence is found on her property that leaves the police no option but to charge her with murder. Enter Brent Marks, hotshot lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience. As the case moves forward, Brent hires a PI to try to uncover who the real murderer is, believing with all his heart that his client is innocent. Did Nancy kill the president? And what is going on in Orange Grove that casts doubt over everything?
HOA Wire by Kenneth Eade was a very good book, written by a lawyer. A combination of courtroom drama and crime, it’s full of twists and turns and a very surprising ending. It’s an intriguing story, going in a different direction at every corner, and I found it was very easy to understand. Mr. Eade has written a winning novel here, the third in the Brent Marks series. I also very much appreciated the explanation at the end of the story on the legal aspect of Home Owners Associations as it made things in the story much clearer. I would like to read the other two books in the series as well and I hope that there is more to come!
HOA Wire by Kenneth Eade is a fast paced courtroom drama. Barbara Dennesmore is the president of the Orange Grove Homeowners Association and takes great delight in issuing citations for the wrong color paint or an overgrown lawn. Nobody likes her and, on her birthday, she receives a deadly gift – deadly enough to kill her. Everyone had a motive but suspicion falls on Nancy Hoskins who has just won a case against the HOA. Evidence is found on her property that leaves the police no option but to charge her with murder. Enter Brent Marks, hotshot lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience. As the case moves forward, Brent hires a PI to try to uncover who the real murderer is, believing with all his heart that his client is innocent. Did Nancy kill the president? And what is going on in Orange Grove that casts doubt over everything?
HOA Wire by Kenneth Eade was a very good book, written by a lawyer. A combination of courtroom drama and crime, it’s full of twists and turns and a very surprising ending. It’s an intriguing story, going in a different direction at every corner, and I found it was very easy to understand. Mr. Eade has written a winning novel here, the third in the Brent Marks series. I also very much appreciated the explanation at the end of the story on the legal aspect of Home Owners Associations as it made things in the story much clearer. I would like to read the other two books in the series as well and I hope that there is more to come!
Reintroducing "The Lincoln Lawyer," courtesy of John Grisham?
Remember The Lincoln Lawyer? That legal thriller by Michael Connelly which introduced unconventional lawyer Mickey Haller? He’s back! And apparently because of John Grisham.
Grisham’s Rogue Lawyer is Sebastian Rudd, who works out of a van instead of an office, has a driver/bodyguard instead of a receptionist, an ex-wife and a kid, a problem with alcohol and with authority and the occasional brush up against the law. Sound familiar? Apparently readers think so too.
That is the reason why The Lincoln Lawyer is enjoying a renaissance of sorts; not because the protagonist in Rogue Lawyer admits reading it. From the release of Rogue Lawyer on October 20, Michael Connelly’s street lawyer tale has shot up the charts, where it now occupies the #1 spot in legal thriller books on Amazon.com, the #2 spot in legal thrillers on Kindle (where it is #31 in the Kindle Store). Not bad for a book that was released 10 years ago.
As a legal thriller author myself, I have admiration for the work of my fellow authors who write in my genre, and I know there is room for all of us. Grisham was probably inspired by Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer and there is nothing wrong with that. There is room for one more rogue lawyer on the block and there will probably be more. In fact, Michael Connelly should probably send a thank you note to John Grisham for the boost.
Kenneth Eade http://kennetheade.com is a recovering lawyer and the author of the Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series; a series of 9 legal thrillers which are wrapped around current issues, such as Guantanamo Bay, police brutality, and mortgage fraud.
Kenneth Eade
Grisham’s Rogue Lawyer is Sebastian Rudd, who works out of a van instead of an office, has a driver/bodyguard instead of a receptionist, an ex-wife and a kid, a problem with alcohol and with authority and the occasional brush up against the law. Sound familiar? Apparently readers think so too.
That is the reason why The Lincoln Lawyer is enjoying a renaissance of sorts; not because the protagonist in Rogue Lawyer admits reading it. From the release of Rogue Lawyer on October 20, Michael Connelly’s street lawyer tale has shot up the charts, where it now occupies the #1 spot in legal thriller books on Amazon.com, the #2 spot in legal thrillers on Kindle (where it is #31 in the Kindle Store). Not bad for a book that was released 10 years ago.
As a legal thriller author myself, I have admiration for the work of my fellow authors who write in my genre, and I know there is room for all of us. Grisham was probably inspired by Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer and there is nothing wrong with that. There is room for one more rogue lawyer on the block and there will probably be more. In fact, Michael Connelly should probably send a thank you note to John Grisham for the boost.
Kenneth Eade http://kennetheade.com is a recovering lawyer and the author of the Brent Marks Legal Thriller Series; a series of 9 legal thrillers which are wrapped around current issues, such as Guantanamo Bay, police brutality, and mortgage fraud.
Kenneth Eade
