The Legal Thriller in American, British, and Continental Courtroom Literature. An authoritative & in-depth bibliography on legal thrillers.
Sr. Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:
Let's face it; the legal thriller genre is here to stay -- it's probably the most popular sub-genre in contemporary mystery writing today. The stupendous success of lawyer/authors like John Grisham, David Baldacci & Scott Turow, & TV Programs like LA LAW, COURT TV & JAG stand testament to the same.
As a self-proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover, & author of A Fiction Of Law, a bibliographic work on the popularity of the legal thriller genre, I take great pleasure in reading (& occasionally reviewing) legal fiction works.
Terry White's Justice Denoted is a must for the lover of legal fiction. To call it wonderful would be an understatement. It is a marvelous & fantabulous compilation that focuses on legal fiction works written by various authors from U.S.A, U.K., France, Finland, Germany, India, etc., etc.
With almost 2000 odd annotations, the work is comprehensive. The clarity & brevity of the synopses is praiseworthy. However, I wouldn't call this work the first of its kind -- of annotations of legal thriller works -- that credit goes to Jon L. Breen's Novel Verdicts: A Guide to Courtroom Fiction. Terry White is quick to admit his admiration for Mr. Breen, but I would give Justice Denoted a higher rating, simply because there are a lot, lot more entries than in Novel Verdicts.
What makes the compilation more interesting are the “Craft Notes”. The author has interviewed about 14 lawyer/authors including Lisa Scottoline, William Bernhardt, Phillip Margolin & 15 great trial lawyers & law teachers, asking them about their works, why they have taken to the genre & how far real life has influenced their stories. The answers make interesting reading, though they are diverse, though there are differences of opinion of books & authors, the underlying fact is that all authors/lawyers aver that legal fiction is here to stay. Terry White's style of interviewing reminded me of the scheme followed by Stephen M. Murphy in Their Word Is Law.
Justice Denoted is a great reference guide, & probably the only one of its kind, after Novel Verdicts. I found it really useful, & for the student of Law & Popular Culture -- no second thoughts needed -- go buy this book! It's more than worth the money spent.
K-U-D-O-S Terry White. A great job!
Do catch Narayan's Interview with this detail-oriented author!
(04/11/04)
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
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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.