Review: Another spine tingling offering
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 11, 2012
The law firm of Dimsdale, Morris and Mott has been doing business the same way since its establishment in San Francisco in the 1800's. A respectable firm, they now are located in Los Angeles and the current four senior partners run the firm with the same discretion and reserve expected of such a venerable establishment. There are two exceptions, they now allow female associates and once a year have a partner's retreat where all the associates and most of the office staff are allowed to mingle with the senior partners for one weekend.  This year the retreat is being held at the ritzy Regency Hotel in Beverly Hills, the founding partners would be turning in their graves if they knew.During the last evening of the retreat, one of the senior partners', Lucas Mallory's wife is murdered and a suspect is almost immediately arrested. The suspect is Nora Royce, one of the female associates with DM&M; and considered a rising star and a favorite of all the partners.Now considered an outcast by the entire legal community, Nora reaches out to the only attorney she thinks will help her, her sister Amanda Cross. Amanda has her own one person firm in Century City where she defends the cities downtrodden for a pittance of a fee.Never close, now the two sisters must stick together to try to come up with a way to keep Nora out of prison. Aided by an independent legal aide/gofer/jack of all trades - Mark Fleming, Amanda takes on the case of her life to defend her sister and prove her own ability as an attorney.Once again Ms. Forster gives us a legal thriller full of twists and turns and rich with characters that leap off the page. Each person, from the lead character to the smallest bit character is fleshed out and presented to the reader is such detail that by the end of the book, you feel as if you know them all.Nora Royce is a tall, beautiful, confident, outspoken lady. She is a shark in the courtroom, lives in a beautiful condo, drives an expensive car and is hated by most of the female associates at DM&M.; When we meet her she is full of life, disdainful of Amanda but knows she is her only hope. As her story unravels and the odds stack up against her, Nora seems to shrink right before our eyes. I have to agree with the associates, I don't think she was a nice person.Amanda is the opposite of Nora, she's not beautiful - she might have been pretty at one time but now at 40 years old she is attractive. She is not successful; she has a small home, an old car and a small office suite she shares with the colorful owner of Maid for You, Consuelo Hernandez. Amanda is a competent attorney and at times feels overwhelmed by this case but valiantly shoulders through. She's not sure if Nora is innocent, but she is determined to give her the best defense she can.Mark Fleming is a bit of a mystery at first, but as the story progresses we get his story. He is middle aged and wears his age well, he made it through law school but didn't pass the bar exam, thus he is now a sort of legal mercenary for hire, just perfect for Amanda's small firm. Sparks fly between Amanda and Mark from their first meeting and their interactions with each other were fun to watch.We meet all four partners and their wives, each as different as day and night with only one thing in common, their complete and total loyalty to DM&M.; These are not nice men and it's obvious from the beginning that they are always going to present a united front.Ms. Forster has the ability to take the reader on a journey full of twists and turns, passing out little bread crumbs along the way to lead one on only to quickly snatch them back and lead us down another path. I have accepted the challenge a number of times, each time thinking I have figured out the puzzle only to have Ms. Forster defeat me in the end. This time I was pretty sure I had figured out who had committed this horrible murder pretty early in the book. Ms. Forster was having none of that, and kept trying to pull me in another direction. I stuck to my guns. I'm proud to say, aha take that Ms. Forster, one for me, I got it right.I highly recommend Beyond Malice to anyone who loves a true legal thriller; if you enjoy the chase, you will not be disappointed.Reviewed as a Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Dual Review Team