Author: Mark Nolan
Genre: Thriller
Format: Paperback 600 pages
Release Date: 1 January 2016
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
My Rating: ***
Today it is my great pleasure to join the blog tour for Mark Nolan’s novel ‘Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie’. My thanks to the publisher for the copy for review and for RABT blog tours for inviting me to join the tour. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Synopsis
Jake Wolfe, our main protagonist, is a former marine dog-handler turned photo-journalist. On the other side we have our villain, a mysterious bipolar Russian assassin, known as ‘the Artist’, who has been commissioned by a group of wealthy corporate individuals to murder three lawyers in San Francisco. Jake happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and accidentally photographs the assassin kill the first lawyer while he is enjoying a round of golf and bragging to his friends about how much he is over charging his clients.
The assassin knows he has been seen and makes it his mission to add one more death to his tally. But who will come out victorious in this game of cat and mouse? Jake struggles with wanting to leave his violent past behind him, but when the assassin threatens those closest to him, he may just have to revisit his old ways after all.
You can order your copy of ‘Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie’ on Amazon at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Lawyers-Dont-Lie-Gripping-ebook/dp/B018SCGDWK
My Thoughts
I really liked the lead character Jake and I thought it was incredibly endearing how attached he is to animals and in particular Cody, the war dog who he adopts after his friend passes away. I found Jake’s character very believable in his post-war life struggles and he is clearly suffering from some form of PTSD.
I enjoyed the fact that this book is not just a mystery thriller. There is some comedy and romance thrown in as well which helps the ebb and flow of the book from fast paced action through to the inevitable downtime sections.
Be prepared, this is a long read. At 600 pages it is probably a third longer than the average novel. I personally felt that some of the chapters weren’t particularly necessary and didn’t really add much to the overall story. However, all of the characters that feature in this book are really well developed. Even the side characters are evolved quite deeply. Maybe this wouldn’t have been possible had the book not been the length that it is.
One slightly annoying trait of the book is the fact that all the characters within the law enforcement side of things, bar Jake’s friend Terrell, seem to be portrayed as being overzealous and incompetent in their jobs. I feel that characters of this nature give law enforcement the world over a bad reputation.
Nonetheless, this book does have many good moments that make it a worthwhile read and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys a book from the thriller genre.
About the Author
Mark Nolan is the author of Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie, and the sequel, Vigilante Assassin. Right now he’s busy writing Jake Wolfe Book 3. He has raised two great kids and one very smart retriever dog. Mark also tries to make time every day to answer emails from readers. You can reach him and subscribe to his newsletter at marknolan.com.
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