Sheldon SiegelBesprekingen

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Great ending

While I guessed towards the end who done it......it was still a great story. One to his next book and many more.

Enjoyed this book-I now know the characters. Mike and Rosie are a great team in this legal thriller. Great ending and more to come with the next book.

I love this series although this one was a disappointment for me. It was not written with his usual gusto. I felt he was just putting out another book.

I enjoyed this debut legal thriller and I look forward to reading more of the series. I like the protagonists, Michael Daly and Rosie Fernandez.

In this sixth book in the series, Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez are working against the clock to stay the death row execution of a pretty unpopular lawyer. He is entitled to a defense so they once again provide it with the help of family and friends. I enjoy a good legal thriller, especially when the main characters are likeable, real people. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

I’ve read the first 5 books in the Rosie Fernandez and Michael Daley series. Somehow I missed this one, number 2, and went back for it. The good guys are people you would want to know. They defend people who are not always good, but are sometimes innocent. Makes for a great story!

I have read each of the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Novels and have looked forward to each of the series' debut. Suffice to say, I am hoping that Mr. Siegel will continue with Book 13 (unless he is skips the unlucky number). He continues to build each character and their lives as he takes you through a courtroom drama and mystery. San Francisco unfolds in your mind with places , sights, smells and sounds to the reader who has been fortunate enough to have visited and those that can imagine how really tremendous the Golden Gate city really is. The story unfolds, the lives of the characters change with each book. It is definitely a series worth following. Sheldon Siegel's books never disappoint.

I like books with realistic (as far as I can tell, anyway) courtroom scenes with lawyers slowly building cases. Siegel does this very well. This is the second in his series I have read. I liked it and the mystery of who actually committed the crime was intriguing. The relationship between Rose and Mike is developing, but having just read the first in the series, it felt vaguely formulaic, i.e., overwhelming evidence against their client with a surprise ending just at the moment of jury decision.

Still, it's a good formula, well-executed, so on to #3.

I love legal novels (hate to call them thrillers since they don't seem to reach that level of stimulation.) Especially those that focus on legal technicalities and niceties, relationships between lawyers and clients, and those that have lots of courtroom dialogue. This one succeeds on all counts. It's often acerbic and satirical at times and that adds to the enjoyment.

I could detail the plot, but I'm too eager to move to the second in the series.

Another exciting new author!! Special Circumstance is Sheldon Siegel's first novel. Mike Daley gets fired from his stuff huge law firm and he's not really unhappy about it. Plus, the very day he's fired, the most profitable partner and an associate are murdered in the office. Not his problem, until his best friend - and really only lawyer friend - in the firm is charged with the murder. This story moves along really well and is captivating. The characters are quite interesting and credible. I sure hope he's working on another.

San Francisco's District Attorney, facing an election, wakes up in a hotel room without his wife, but with a dead male prostitute. Defense attorney, Michael Daley and his partner (and ex-wife) Rosie, take the case. Like his first book, Daley and Rosie are interesting characters. Daley's an ex-priest and Rosie is spunky. However, this story, while good, does get a little convoluted.

Mike Daley and his now ex-wife but still law partner, Rosie, are back. This time their family priest has been accused of murder. And it's the murder of a lawyer defending another priest accused of rape. Sheldon's books are kind of 'read one, read 'em all' but they are still pretty good reads.

This novel was Sheldon Siegel's first legal thriller published in February 2000. As a reader that loves legal thrillers I'm surprised that I only learned of this author recently. There are currently 10 novels in this series and I'm ready to read them all.

Mike Daley has been fired at year-end from a prominent San Francisco law firm. He had already decided to set up his own firm (renting office space from another attorney who is also his ex-wife) but he never expected his first major client to be a friend and former colleague charged with murder of 2 individuals - a man and a woman. The prosecution may call this case special circumstances by legal definition. For Mike, the special circumstances that seem almost inconceivable is the setting of the alleged murder is at his old law firm and as the attorney of record and ex-priest he'll be defending a rabbi's son.

As I kept turning pages I continued to vacillate my prediction for guilty or not guilty. I made my final prediction and was correct but the clues to motive escaped me. If you enjoy legal thrillers I'd recommend adding this author/title to your tbr list. I'm looking forward to reading Mike Daley's next case.

I plodded through this book but about halfway through, I was no longer interested in "whodunit". The characters, including Mike Dailey weren't that interesting to me. Maybe it was just too many lawyers. I was convinced that Joel actually did the murders and the actual murderer came out of nowhere. There weren't even any hints. The courtroom scenes were too long and repetitive. I won't continue this series.½

This is an action packed thriller from beginning to end. Someone is placing bombs in cars and then detonating them with untraceable cellphones striking fear in the heart of Chicago. Wrigley Field station, Millennium Park, the Museum of Science and Industry, O’Hare Airport, Hyde Park train station have been targeted. The bomber has shut down a major US city.

Comes detectives Gold and Battle on the hunt across Chicago’s colorful neighbourhood for what they believe is a “long wolf” but this “terrorist” has an agenda up his sleeves and plays a taunting cat and mouse game with Chicago’s finest.

Enjoy this book for what it is: a captivating suspense of improbable moves: a wicked plot that unwraps at a rapid speed and two Detectives always one step behind the killer. Bombs are bursting everywhere, this is so well described you can see and feel this happening and you almost smell the aftermath, tremendously well written action scenes. The author definitely spins a good yarn that held me spellbound and interested from the first page. The suspense is undeniable. Keep guessing, the usual suspects are there but the ending may surprise you……The characterisation is great: well-defined and portrayed cast of players. Gold and Battles are likeable detectives and I hope they return soon to entertain us.

This story is in many ways scary, could this really happen? Could one person cause all this mayhem and shut down a city?

“The Terrorist Next Door” is a great read.

This is #6 in the series, and the best of the three that I have listened to. The plot is fairly intricate, although there is little doubt about the outcome, no matter how little time remaining. Siegel tends to reveal crucial facts only at the very end, so it is almost impossible to guess how the mystery will resolve itself, a weakness in the telling. Nevertheless, it held my interest, and the main characters and their families are interesting.

Even though the author is an attorney and I am not, I still find his courtroom scenes rather unrealistic, even after taking poetic license into account.

Tim Campbell is a good but not great reader. I liked Stephen Hoye better.

This is an short entry in the series, just a little more than 7 hours long (320 pages in paperback) and is one of Siegel's best (of the four in this series I've read.) The set-up and time frame is a little far-fetched, but how many times have I said that "truth is stranger than fiction"? So I had no difficulty in suspending disbelief for the purposes of listening to the book. It is a good legal mystery, although the outcome was never really in doubt (at least, not in my mind.) The Five W's were sufficient to sustain my interest. Tim Campbell's reading is excellent, although not exceptional.

This story deals with two issues in the life of the unlikely duo Daley/Fernandez: (1) the "California felony murder rule", and (2) what ultimately happened to Mike's older brother Tom, whose plane was shot down in Vietnam. In case you think that the felony murder rule is confined to crazy Californians, be aware that it exists in some form in 46 states as well as in some other countries. For good reason, IMO; the general rule is that if a murder is committed in the course of a felony, it doesn't really depend on which of the perpetrators actually did the deed, they are all equally responsible. However, the law has frequently been written so that it can be applied too broadly, as is explained and demonstrated in this novel. For example, in the case in point, it can even apply if none of the perpetrators committed a murder, but one of them is killed!

As for details of this and the second issue, there are lots of other 4* reviews that you can read, and since I agree with most, I will not repeat their sentiments. To those readers/reviewers who may be skeptical that the "felony murder rule" would not apply in this case, I remind them that [a:Sheldon Siegel|69191|Sheldon Siegel|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1347308351p2/69191.jpg] is a long-practicing attorney in San Francisco. He even comments on the rule and may respond to your questions.

I would strongly encourage you not to start the series with this book unless the only thing you care about is the legal issue.

In Sheldon Siegel's debut courtroom thriller we meet Mike Daley. He's a former priest and a former public defender. He's just been asked to leave his a job as a partner in a prestigious law firm for not bringing in enough business. His last obligation is to attend the going away function that's been planned and picking up his final draw, which he needs to open his new criminal defense firm. The next day two of his former partners are found dead, and Mike's best friend, also a firm partner, is accused of their murders. Now Mike's first case is high profile and high risk. The new District Attorney, and coincidentally one of their former partners, has asked charged Joel with Murder in the First Degree with Special Circumstances, which carries the death penalty.

Mike Daley and his ex-wife Rosie are interesting characters who engage in lots of witty banter. The courtroom scenes are quick paced and believable. The new district attorney, Prentice Gates III (Skipper), is everything we love to hate in lawyers. There was lots of action, twists and turns, and some surprises at the end. If you are a fan of courtroom thrillers, I highly recommend this one.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES is BOOK 1 of 7 in the legal thriller series featuring Mike Daley & Rosie Fernandez.

Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal thriller arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a fresh, sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner. Mike Daley is the lawyer who has just left the large firm for which he was working, only to find himself involved in defending one of his former colleagues accused of the double murder of two others from the same firm.
Whilst the evidence that exists points to his friend being the murderer, it is mainly circumstantial and therefore worth defending. The firm's dirtiest secrets are gradually revealed and it becomes very clear that ambition, friendship, greed and long standing grudges are all players in this tense courtroom drama.
I found it to be engrossing, set mainly in and around the court case and involving a great deal of clever questioning and investigation. I was both enthralled and interested in the proceedings, and I enjoyed all the revelations and indeed surprises, as they were revealed. The trial scenes are excellent, there is good characterisation and the plot is of a high order. Is justice served at the end? Indeed it is with another very interesting surprise still to follow the conclusion of the trial.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and look forward to renewing acquaintance with Daley and Fernandez in the future.

From Book Cover:

Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal thriller arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a fresh, sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner. Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex–public defender. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him. As he prepares his case, Daley uncovers the firm's dirtiest secrets. It doesn't take long for him to discover that in this trial, ambition, friendship, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role as truth and justice.

My Thoughts:

I found that there was a fair amount of humor in this legal thriller...yet it didn't take away anything from the story line. The court room scenes are like reading from a court transcript only a thousand time s more interesting. I found the main character to be almost perfect in his imperfectness. He had issues both professional and personal...he made mistakes and he realizes very early on that he may be in way over his head here. Anyone that likes court room dramas will love this book...those that say they don't like the courtroom drama so much may just change their minds with this one. 5 stars for a great first time writer.

There are lots of characters in this novel. If you read several books at the same time as I do (work, home, mobile device while in transit) you might want to highlight some names, particularly at the beginning. It can be difficult to find your place in the story after brief interruptions to your reading.

Just as a preview: Skipper is a nickname for the DA. He is charged with murder after being found in a hotel room with the dead body of Johnny, a gay drug dealer. Given that Skipper called the police, should he have been charged with the murder? The race, and the story, is on. Natalie is Skipper’s long suffering wife, not oblivious to his infidelities. But we are not sure why she is long suffering. Ann, Skipper’s irascible daughter, is loyal mainly to Ann, and is full of surprises. Although the reader develops a sense of confidence that Skipper is not gay, it seems he has slept with or propositioned every female character in the novel (OK, maybe not Ann). Michael, a somewhat rogue lawyer is a partner with Rosie, his former wife who is also a lawyer. Although they are divorced, they are frequently together for comfort sex when other partners are not available. Both are lawyers for Skipper, who tried to sleep with Rosie (but not Michael). Carolyn, the third lawyer in the firm and thus also an advocate for Skipper, has also slept with Skipper. Then there is the growing number of professionals who surface saying they have also slept with Skipper, but all ceased to do so when the sex went rough. Michaels’ brother Pete is a private investigator helping the firm, Rosie’s brother Tony is a local businessman with innocent ties to the criminal element; he only uses his connections to find information to help Michael. Then there is a host of named characters that support Skipper’s growing political ambitions, another host that support the opponents of Skipper, yet another host of social workers concerned with the dead guy and his family, and a few members of the clergy thrown in. As an aside, Michael, our hero lawyer, used to be a priest, so we have confessional anxiety. This was like trying to follow the family tree of England’ Henry VIII.

For those interested, as voyeurs of course, in drug dealing operational methodology, terminology related with rough sex, and the seemingly inherent corrupt behavior of political aspirants this is a novel for you.

Other good news is that this is a novel in a series. I am not good at reading things in order; this was book 2. It was fascinating enough that I will definitely read book 1 (there is an excerpt in this epub). I am just guessing that I will continue with other books in this series and other works by this author. I recommended this novel to my ex-cop colleagues.

Enjoyed Siegel's first book in this series and moved right on to the second. Incriminating evidence is another exiting courtroom drama with a lot of similarities to the first in it's plot. Still a good read if you like courtroom drama and suspense.

Excellent legal thriller. Lots of plot twists and engaging courtroom drama. An ending that the reader does not see coming.
Great characters and a story that you won't want to quit reading. Highly recommend.

Michael Daley has just been politely let go from a prestigious law firm because he hasn't t earned enough billable hours. The night of his last day, a major player within the firm and his supposed lover have been found murdered. As Mike embarks on a new career as a defense lawyer without a big, regular paycheck, his first client is his friend from his former firm who's been arrested for the murder. Good courtroom scenes½