Review: Sharply paced, crackling dialogue. A fun & satisfying series installment
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 30, 2012
Sharply paced with dialogue that crackles and truly interesting characters. A fun and hugely satisfying legal thriller that leaves the reader hungry for more of Riley Morgan and her supporting cast.Awesome is the second book in the Riley Morgan Series by Abigail Arrington (@AbbyArrington), following her debut novel Precession.Florida attorney Riley Morgan is smart as a whip and drop-dead gorgeous, but she's got a big problem: Sam Stone. Sam's a playboy lawyer who isn't afraid to use his looks and charm to get what he wants, in the courtroom or the bedroom. And he wants Riley, but she won't play along ... at first.Knowing the money she earns can be used to help the less fortunate, Riley agrees to serve as co-counsel on Sam's latest high-profile case: fighting a sexual harassment suit brought by a former stripper against a man who failed as a politician and then created an adult entertainment empire. The first order of business is to remove Sam's previous co-counsel: a brash, self-promoting lawyer who also happens to be an ex-stripper/employee of the businessman being sued.As if all that wasn't enough, Riley is also involved in a missing persons case with a highly unique twist and there's a Category 4 hurricane heading toward Florida. The plot takes a few twists before the exciting conclusion.As interesting and engrossing as the plot of Awesome is, for me much of the enjoyment of reading this book came from the characters and their interaction. The dialogue between Riley and Sam crackles as he strives for an advantage and she parries his moves.Riley and her supporting cast were introduced in Precession and in Awesome we learn even more about her best friend and assistant Dani, Sam and Kent, a government agent. Additionally, in this installment we're introduced to Wade, a computer savant with questionable morals.Ms. Arrington, who is a lawyer, sketches these characters with great depth while leaving herself plenty of room to explore them deeper in follow-on books. There are a few threads left dangling that the reader will want to pick up and follow, and I especially hope we get to see more of Wade, who does some unsavory things but somehow the author got me to root for him.As a final note, if you're into Twitter, Ms. Arrington is one of more interesting follows in my timeline. Her views and opinions on everything from politics to food to television are always thought-provoking.