Ultimate Justice.Ultimate Justice Mimi Latt Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899–1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897–1970), whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a best-seller. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY10020 384 pp., $24 Reviewed by Laura Ariane Miller Lawyer-turned-author Mimi Latt has joined the band of prolific writers of legal thrillers with her third novel, Ultimate Justice. As with her previous books, Latt's protagonist is a female attorney who struggles with personal and professional issues. Alexandra Locke, a successful New York prosecutor, sacrifices her East Coast career to return to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to be with her dying mother. She takes a job with the Los Angeles County district attorney despite--rather than because of--the fact that her father, Thomas Kendall Thomas Kendall (13 December 1778 – 6 August 1832) was a New Zealand schoolmaster, lapsed missionary, recorder of the Māori language, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori. , is the D.A. (A Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). review of Ultimate Justice says Latt got the idea from former Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti's controversial decision to hire his daughter as an assistant D.A.) Locke's already complicated relationship with her father-employer becomes immediately more complicated. The book opens with a deathbed confession by Erica Collins, a cancer patient at the clinic where Locke's mother is also being treated for cancer. In addition to confessing to assisting her husband in the murder of his best friend 20 years ago, Collins admits to their having avoided prosecution by paying a substantial bribe to the deputy district attorney. The prosecutor in charge of the case, of course, was Thomas Kendall. Collins's former husband is now married to the widow of the murder victim. The family of the deceased also includes a Hollywood director, who becomes a love interest for our lonely heroine, and his mentally unstable sister, who is married to a peculiarly protective college professor. As Locke investigates whether Erica Collins's confession holds water, her mother's health deteriorates, her father's campaign for re-election falters, and her own career is thrown into jeopardy. Part Harlequin romance and part detective yarn, this novel is, nonetheless, engaging. The author introduces a host of interesting characters, all of whom are suspects in one nefarious scheme or another. Latt unfolds the story ably, and, with commendable ease, she ties together the many loose strands of involvement. I have but two complaints, and they are related. The first is that the protagonist engages in ruses and misrepresentations that strain any sense of professional ethics professional ethics, n the rules governing the conduct, transactions, and relationships within a profession and among its publics. professional ethics liability, n 1. in this otherwise somewhat sanctimonious sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous adj. Feigning piety or righteousness: "a solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg that looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity" Mark Twain. character. The second is that I just plain don't like Alexandra Locke. This disagreeable Nancy Drew is not brave but merely foolish, and far too often, her naivete na·ive·té or na·ïve·té n. 1. The state or quality of being inexperienced or unsophisticated, especially in being artless, credulous, or uncritical. 2. An artless, credulous, or uncritical statement or act. is coupled with unlikable behavior. The book is not great, but it is entertaining. It would have been more fun, though, if I had been rooting for, rather than against, the heroine. Laura Ariane Miller is a partner in Nixon Peabody Nixon Peabody LLP is one of the largest multipractice law firms in the United States, with offices in seventeen cities and more than seven hundred attorneys collaborating across twenty-five major practice areas. in Washington, D.C. |
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