First edition as new

It's hard to follow up a Gearino with just about anything, but Margolin is so different and The Burning Man turned out to be a good choice. Peter Hale is a young lawyer who has gotten everything in his charmed life the easy way. But, he's just accepted everything and made no effort to learn from his advantaged gifts. In real life - after school and in his father's prestigious law firm, he quickly shoots himself in the foot. And, not for the first time. His father finally cuts him lose and he's forced to learn how to swim on his own. Banished to a small town with no Welcome Wagon, he learns, but not easily as he claws his way through an impossible death penalty case. The story is good and the telling of it makes this an excellent read.

A very good read. Although the outcome was somewhat predictable, many of the circumstances were not. In addition, it is rare that one finds an excellent moral in a murder mystery but there is one here. The principle is a spoiled brat but he recognizes his shortcomings and grows up. He stumbles over himself often but he learns from his mistakes in a way he would not have thought possible. ( )

From Amazon:

Peter Hale is a young attorney struggling to make his own mark in his father's venerable law firm when he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. During the trial of a multimillion-dollar case, Peter's father, the lead counsel, suffers a heart attack and asks Peter to move for a mistrial until he's feeling better. Peter decides this is his only chance to prove to his father that he is the terrific lawyer he knows himself to be, and he chooses to
carry on with the case against his father's wishes. In his zeal to prove himself, Peter neglects his client and ends up losing everything—the case, his
job, and his father. Unemployed and disinherited, Peter takes the only job he is offered—that of a public defender in a small Oregon town. He hopes that if he can make good there, he can reinstate himself in his father's good graces. But his ambition again gets the best of him when he takes on a death-penalty case, representing a mentally retarded man accused of the brutal hatchet murder of a college coed. He's in way over his head, and it's only when Peter realizes that his greed and his ego may end up killing his client that he begins to understand what it really takes to be a good lawyer—and to become a man.

My Thoughts:

I picked this book up at the library by mistake...but since I don't have the heart to turn a book down...I took it home and read it. I hope I can make more mistakes like this in the future. I was hooked from page one. The book is full of twists and turns... and his writing captivates your attention from beginning to the end. Phillip Margolin shows human nature at its worst and shows it at its best. Just when you thought you have it all figured out, you get surprised again. It's a fun and fast legal thriller. I can absolutely promise that Phillip Margolin has become one of my new favorites. ( )

A pretty good read -- the prodigal son redeems himself and finds a little humanity. I wasn't terribly surprised about the outcome, but it was still entertaining. ( )