Philip Friedman (2) (1944–)

"Hey-I'm on your side. I me an, look, I'd be crazy if I want ed to plead this one out. Where else am I going to get a case this big?'
Horray for dedication to the law and the search for justice, Ryan did not say.

Reasonable Doubt by Phillip Friedman

I read a lot of legal thrillers and most of them are by John Grisham. Reasonable doubt is not by John Grisham. It is one of the best legal dramas I’ve ever had the pleasure to read and any fan of legal dramas really should put this one on the list as there’s not a doll moment in the whole book. The writer really did a superb job.

So the story focuses on a woman accused of murdering her husband. They’ve got the evidence and they have a motive. Jennifer however, insists she is innocent.

She asks the father of her husband to represent her. Michael, the above mentioned attorney is grief stricken about having just lost his son and he’s not so sure he believes in Jennifer’s innocence but for his own reasons he agrees to represent her.

To say I enjoyed reasonable doubt is putting it mildly. I loved everything about it. I found the pacing was perfect and the characters believable.

Very often with reading legal thrillers I find some of the court scenes seems boring but that was not an issue here. I really commend the writer since these scenes crackle with energy. They were all very interesting. I also love that it goes into the jury selection process and we get to know some of the jurors. The characters are a mix of both good and bad making them pretty much like everybody else in the world. This is not just a legal story but a story of a fractured family and a father and wife both looking for redemption.

I flew through this book in one night. I love a good legal thriller when it’s done right and Reasonable Doubt is definitely done right. It remains one of my favorite legal thrillers to this day.… (meer)