The Ex

Was a great book. The only downside for me was that I figured the ending at the middle of the book. So from that point on, I was just shouting to Olivia that its so obvious, why cant you see it?

Olivia Randall is defending an old flame, Jack Harris, on murder charges. But there is a story there, 20 years before the murders, about why their relationship ended and the effect it had on each of their lives. Randall is a kick ass defense attorney who finds herself waffling between Jack is guilty or innocent. And that effects her on a personal level. I enjoyed her investigation of the murders and the conflict she had regarding his guilt or innocence that made her wonder how well she really knew him. Even when I thought the case was solved, it wan't. Lots of twists and turns make this a great read.

NY attorney Olivia Randall defends her ex-fiancée, Jack Harris, accused of killing 3 people in a public park. The highest profile victim and apparent target was the father of the kid who killed Jack's wife in a mass shooting. Jack's story is that he was drawn to that location through an online dating contact who asked him to meet her there.

I'm a fan of Alafair Burke's novels. This one is a quick, easy read with a good plot and good characters. The story progresses through the initial steadfast denial of guilt by defendant Harris, the discovery of evidence by both prosecution and defense, the period of wavering conviction by Olivia that her client is innocent, and finally the ‘whodunnit' revelation. There are plenty of clues along the way, and a sharp mystery reader should be able to figure this one out. A fair portion of the story is also given to details of the past relationship between Randall and Harris. If there was a surprise at the end, it was more in the ‘romance' aspect of the story than the murder plot.