Reaching Beyond
Nora E. Milner
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2004 AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1418487724

Murder on an international space vessel.

Plundering the riches of an African nation. The first Court of Outer Space. A conspiracy of the greatest proportions, threatening to destroy mankind. These seemingly unrelated events weave themselves into a mystery that encompasses every continent of Earth into the far reaches of outer space. The U.S. stands on the brink of its greatest conquest yet, the arrival of a crew on Mars, & the exploration of the Red Planet. But powerful forces are at work to stop the West from “reaching beyond”. The extent to which these forces will go is unimaginable & unforeseeable, except to everyone but a small tribe of Gypsies in Europe.

Senior Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Legal thrillers can be divided into two categories: the good lawyer fighting all odds, to secure justice for his clients, culminating in a David & Goliath fight in a courtroom, with a final victory. John Grisham, Steve Martini & Lisa Scottoline are mighty exponents here. The second category has the lawyer taking on a big legal problem -- say, euthanasia or the justifiability of the death sentence, etc., culminating again in hefty courtroom action: Scott Turow & Richard North Patterson are prime contributors here.

Thus it was without much expectation, & belief that Reaching Beyond would belong to either of these categories -- I got a really BIG surprise -- Reaching Beyond encompasses the best elements of both Grisham & Turow -- with a plot & setting that are simply “out of this world” ... literally & figuratively.

Reaching Beyond deals with a murder that happens in an international space station. The reason is unknown, the motive, again, unknown, as too the identity of the murderer. It is up to Addy-Mac, a bright 53 year old lawyer & the brain behind the International Court of Outer Space, to deal with the question -- & to bring the guilty to book.

To add more misery: that the Chinese government is plotting to explode a bomb in space to thwart the attempt of U.S. to conquer Mars. Addy herself has to deal with it & come up with a pacific solution. What follows is exciting action in & out of the courtroom, culminating in an exciting, & more importantly, a justifiable finish.

Nora E. Milner, a post-graduate in Space Law, has put to good use her knowledge in Reaching Beyond -- a wondrous journey through the galaxy & a story filled with suspense, deception & murder on an international scale. The protagonist Addy is, I believe, an alter-ego -- both the author & her creation are in their middle years, both have a daughter practicing law ... need I say more?

I enjoyed Reaching Beyond greatly, & my deepest compliments to the author -- it's a stunning plot -- & will be a trend setter in contemporary legal thriller writing.
(04/24/05)

Narayan
2005©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org