Review: The Guilty Plea and Q & A with author Robert Rotenberg

One definition of a good book for me is a likeable protagonist. The antagonist can be as bad (or not) as the author can imagine him or her to be but the main character should be someone I believe I could have a rapport with in real life. Then I will enjoy the story without being distracted by a protagonist with all the attraction of a (choose your own word here (I was thinking slug)). In The Guilty Plea, authorRobert Rotenberg has a winner with Ari Greene. I liked him for all sorts of reasons – he’s smart, works hard, is responsible (looks after his Dad) – but what I found most appealing is his failure to be intimidated. And, obviously, being a homicide detective puts him in contact with all sorts of intimidating people of the criminal variety. I also enjoyed the rapport Ari Greene shares with other characters – it has the ring of truth to it and there is a smoothness to the dialogue. I especially liked the straightforward relationship between Ari and his ‘sidekick’ Daniel Kennicott.

Another important definition of a good book is plot and again Mr. Rotenberg hits the right notes. The story line took me from one to clue to the next until the end where I still hadn’t guessed the culprit (I kept wondering is the main suspect really innocent after all?). The plot was intricate and with a few red herrings thrown in, it kept me speculating until the surprise finale.

I haven’t yet read the first book in this series, Old City Hall, but it’s now on my shopping list for my next bookstore visit. Please read on for a Q & A with Robert Rotenberg.

Q & A with author Robert Rotenberg

Q: Do you have a favourite character in your books and are any based on real people?

Absolutely I have a favourite character. It’s always the same. Whichever character I am writing about is always my favourite.

Best way to answer the second part of your question is to tell a funny story. After Old City Hall came out, a judge stopped me in the hall one day and said: “Robert, that lawyer in the book, Nancy Parish, I know exactly who you based her on.” “Oh,” I said, smiling a bit to myself I must admit, “Who?” He then named a female lawyer. “Funny you should say that,” I told the judge. “You know, I’ve never heard of that woman in my life.” We both laughed. Here’s the kicker – it was true. I had no idea who she was.

Q: Given that you’re an attorney, did you still have to do research on any of the methods used by the professionals who investigated the crime in The Guilty Plea?

Most of my research is listening to people. Going to the places I write about. Hanging out. But for the technical legal and investigative stuff I am fanatical for detail and accuracy. For Old City Hall, I spent days and days at the police FIS bureau learning everything about fingerprints. Same for medical stuff. I consult with a whole team of doctors. And one of my best friends is a former homicide cop, turned private investigator (let me know if you have a problem) and we spend countless hours going over the police procedure stuff, as if we were preparing for a trial.

Q: How long did it take you to write The Guilty Plea?

Well the better answer maybe is this: It took ten years to write Book X. My first book that is living happily in a drawer. Old City Hall took seven years. The Guilty Plea took two years (a year longer than it was supposed to take). Fortunately, Simon & Schuster wants lots more books from me. But they want one a year. So Book Three is due July 1, 2011. Book Four July 1, 2012. Want to help?

Q: I was particularly curious about the character, Daniel Kennicott. Will his particular situation (i.e., the unsolved murder of his brother and questions surrounding his parents) be explored more fully in a future book?

The great thing about my fictional friends is that I know more about them than their friends and family do, and even better, I know things about them they don’t know themselves.

The short answer is yes. The long answer is it is going to take a lot of books, and a lot of unexpected turns for him, and I hope my readers, to get there.

(Secret – don’t tell anyone. I actually know how the whole series will end in the year 20……)

Q: Who are your favourite authors?

Too long a list of course. So easiest is to mention who I’ve been reading lately. Just finished the new John LeCarre. Amazing. Have fallen in love with Tim Winton. And read through all of Andrea Camilleri’s wonderful Sicilian mysteries. Can’t wait to read David Bezmogis’ new book. And then there’s my brother David Rotenberg. Hey, he’s my BIG brother.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and author Robert Rotenberg for a great book! To learn more about this author and his legal thrillers, click here. For a fun and interesting look at some of the areas visited in the book, check out foursquare.

Tuesday Teaser: The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin

Tuesday Teasers is hosted by Should Be Reading. The rules are as follows:


Grab your current read and let the book fall open to a random page. Share two sentences from somewhere on that page and the title of the book that you’re getting the teaser from. Please avoid spoilers! Read the official Tuesday Teaser Rules.





My teaser this week is from The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin. From page 214:

Noor snatched up pen and paper and began to record the letters she was reading from the flashing lights. Who was the sender?

Tuesday Teaser: Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows

Tuesday Teasers is hosted by Should Be Reading. The rules are as follows:


Grab your current read and let the book fall open to a random page. Share two sentences from somewhere on that page and the title of the book that you’re getting the teaser from. Please avoid spoilers! Read the official Tuesday Teaser Rules.




My teaser this week is from Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows. From page 34:

Iris decided that her birthday would be a good day to die. That gave her three more weeks.

Mailbox Monday April 18, 2011

In April, Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Amy of Passages to the Past.






I received Fool's Republic by Gordon W. Dale last week. I opened the book yesterday just to read the first page (I've currently got three books on the go so this one was going to wait until I've finished at least one other) but before I knew it I was on page 60 and had trouble putting it down! The description of this book from Gordon W. Dale's website:

As Fool’s Republic opens, Simon Wyley floats in a tiny all-white cell. A short-order cook with a genius-level IQ, Wyley has had a steady job for twenty years, paid his taxes, kept to himself. A dedicated husband and father, he’s a model citizen.

So why is he being held?

Wyley is accused of committing crimes against the state—the charges are always implied, never specified—and is being held without formal charge, benefit of counsel, or due process of law. He confuses and confounds his interrogators using the only weapons at his disposal, irony and whimsy, to challenge their arrogance and false assumptions.

As Wyley’s journey proceeds, we develop a deeper understanding of the man behind the wisecracks and of the society that has inexplicably imprisoned him. Exhibiting a crackling narrative energy and vivid prose, Fool’s Republic is about freedom—freedom of action, freedom of thought and, ultimately, the freedom to be human. It is the story of a man’s struggle to come to terms with himself and the culture in which he lives.

Tuesday Teaser:

Tuesday Teasers is hosted by Should Be Reading. The rules are as follows:


Grab your current read and let the book fall open to a random page. Share two sentences from somewhere on that page and the title of the book that you’re getting the teaser from. Please avoid spoilers! Read the official Tuesday Teaser Rules.




This week's teaser is from The Best of Men by Claire Letemendia. From page 57:

"...And if I may beg another favour, keep your distance from the servants," she said, as she settled back at her desk. "They won't respect you if you treat them as equals. I don't know why you persist in that."

Mailbox Monday, April 11, 2011

In April, Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Amy of Passages to the Past.





Last week I received two books. The first is The Taker by Alma Katsu. From the author's website the description reads:

Dr. Luke Findley is on the midnight shift in the emergency room when the police bring in a young woman. Few strangers come to this remote town in northernmost Maine in the winter, and this stranger is accused of a bizarre crime: killing a man and leaving his body in the Great North Woods. The young woman, Lanny, tells the doctor that she and the man in the woods lived in this town at its founding two hundred years ago, until fate sentenced them to an eternity of unhappiness until they atone for their sins.

The man in the woods is Jonathan, son of the town's founder, and the love of Lanny's life. After Lanny commits a terrible sin in the hope of claiming Jonathan for her own, she's banished from town and sent to Boston to serve her penance. In Boston, she falls in with a beguiling yet frightening man, Adair, who has otherworldly powers, including the ability to confer immortality. His world is one of unknown sensual pleasures and seemingly limitless power, but at what price?

Adair wants to add Jonathan to the collection of treacherous courtiers who do his bidding (but for unknown ends) and sends Lanny back to Maine to collect him. It seems like the answer to Lanny's deepest desire—to be with Jonathan forever—but once Jonathan has joined Adair's pack of immortals, she sees that Adair is not what he seems and his intentions toward Jonathan are far worse than she imagined. And now it is up to her to save her beloved—and herself—from a terrible fate designed to last for all eternity.

If you like a creepy story, then this one sounds like it will fit the bill!


The second book is one that I profiled last Wednesday and received in the mail on Thursday - The Civilized World by Susi Wyss. The synopsis reads:

When Adjoa leaves Ghana to find work in the Ivory Coast, she hopes that one day she'll return home to open a beauty parlor. Her dream comes true, though not before she suffers a devastating loss—one that will haunt her for years, and one that also deeply affects Janice, an American aid worker who no longer feels she has a place to call home. But the bustling Precious Brother Salon is not just the "cleanest, friendliest, and most welcoming in the city." It's also where locals catch up on their gossip; where Comfort, an imperious busybody, can complain about her American daughter-in-law, Linda; and where Adjoa can get a fresh start on life—or so she thinks, until Janice moves to Ghana and unexpectedly stumbles upon the salon.

The first chapter of this novel is beautifully written and has already pulled me into the story. What's in your mailbox?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Civilized World by Susi Wyss

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.


I'm really looking forward to reading The Civilized World by Susi Wyss. This novel looks fantastic! The book's description reads:


When Adjoa leaves Ghana to find work in the Ivory Coast, she hopes that one day she'll return home to open a beauty parlor. Her dream comes true, though not before she suffers a devastating loss—one that will haunt her for years, and one that also deeply affects Janice, an American aid worker who no longer feels she has a place to call home. But the bustling Precious Brother Salon is not just the "cleanest, friendliest, and most welcoming in the city." It's also where locals catch up on their gossip; where Comfort, an imperious busybody, can complain about her American daughter-in-law, Linda; and where Adjoa can get a fresh start on life—or so she thinks, until Janice moves to Ghana and unexpectedly stumbles upon the salon.

At once deeply moving and utterly charming, The Civilized World follows five women as they face meddling mothers-in-law, unfaithful partners, and the lingering aftereffects of racism, only to learn that their cultural differences are outweighed by their common bond as women. With vibrant prose, Susi Wyss explores what it means to need forgiveness—and what it means to forgive.


Author bio:

Susi Wyss's fiction is influenced by her twenty-year career managing women's health programs in Africa, where she lived for more than eight years. She holds a B.A. from Vassar, an M.P.H. from Boston University, and an M.A. in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University. The Civilized World is her first book. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Tuesday Teaser:

Tuesday Teasers is hosted by Should Be Reading. The rules are as follows:


Grab your current read and let the book fall open to a random page. Share two sentences from somewhere on that page and the title of the book that you’re getting the teaser from. Please avoid spoilers! Read the official Tuesday Teaser Rules.





From page 56 of The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber:

I chewed on the cloth and kept the liquid it yielded in a cheek pocket, like a country-boy pitcher on the mound. Faintly herbal, a little like turkey stuffing, not unpleasant.

Mailbox Monday April 4, 2011

In April, Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Amy of Passages to the Past.



Last week I received Mothers and Daughters by Rae Meadows. The back cover of the book reads:

When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers things about her mother she never knew - or could even guess. But she is puzzled by much of what she finds. She learns that Violet, the woman she knows as her grandmother, left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl and found a better life in the Midwest. But what was the real reason behind Violet's journey? And how could she have come that far on her own at such a tender age?

Mothers and Daughters is a luminous novel about three generations of women, the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold.

I've already read the first few pages and it has me very interested! Happy spring reading everyone!