Review: TRY FEAR by James Scott Bell

Thanks to Miriam from Hachette for sending me this book!

It’s not often that I come across a new to me series that I really like. Frequently I try something and think it’s alright, but not enough to run out and see if my local used bookshop has any other titles in the series. Well, Try Fear is part of a series I checked my local store for before I even finished reading it.

Ty Buchanan is a lawyer who takes on the case of a man accused of killing his brother. His sidekick is a nun who assists him in his inquiries and is generally more accepted by potential witnesses. The main plot deals with Ty’s defense of Carl and his dealings with the principals involved with the case. A sub-plot deals with Sister Mary. She is receiving threatening and vulgar emails from an anonymous sender and Ty uses his connections to try to find the culprit.

The writing is snappy and funny. From page 2:

And then I got a call from Father Bob.
"There's a fellow in jail in Hollywood," he said. "He needs a lawyer."
"Anyone in jail in Hollywood needs a lawyer," I said.
"I mean it. His mother called me, very upset."
"What's he in for?"
"He told his mother he sort of got arrested for drunk driving and telling the police he was Santa Claus."
I cleared my throat. "My dear Father, it is illegal to drive drunk, but not to say you are Santa Claus."
"He was dressed in a Santa hat and, I guess, a G-string. That's what he told his mother, anyway."
I put the Dialogues down on the table. "Are you sure it's a lawyer he needs?"
"His mother says he's been under a lot of strain lately."
"Does he have money to pay a lawyer?"
"His mother does."
"I'm reading Plato."
"She was in tears."
"I would be, too, if my son got busted in a G-string."
"Ty, will you go?"
"To see Santa Claus," I said. "By golly, who wouldn't?"

Chapters are short and allow for a quick read. The plot may not be so believable at times but it did have plenty of twists and was so entertaining that I really didn’t care about believability. Dialogue was fun to read and sometimes the author threw in one of those expressions that are meant to be life lessons but are witty at the same time. From page 16:

If an illusion gets you through the day, big deal. If it puts an ice pack on the groin kicks of life, why not?

As a matter of fact I’m impressed with anyone who can come up with so many witty comebacks in dialogue as this author did.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like legal thrillers with a lot of wit this one is for you.