coops456's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series so picked up this standalone, which turned out to be a very early work. Not bad but not a classic.
ring01's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tarsel's review
3.0
Not one of Deaver's best. Too many twists and turns had to be made by the villain leading to several plot holes and an overly contrived storyline.
mariakm's review
1.0
dreadful, gave it up two thrids of the way through. I usually like Deaver but this one was boring and difficult to read, sorry, but not for me
katmarhan's review
3.0
One of Deaver's early novels, and not one of his best. A legal thriller that fell short in terms of sustained suspense, with a number of characters who were almost, but not quite, caricatures. Taylor Lockwood is an engaging protagonist--persistent, creative, and smart (about most things), and the story is at its best when it focuses on her. The several subplots are odd distractions.
si0bhan's review against another edition
3.0
Jeffery Deaver is one of those authors I have been meaning to pick up for a very long time. I constantly see his work in bookstores. His books appear in my recommendations. People I know have enjoyed his work. Therefore, it was about time that I picked up one of his books.
From what I can gather Mistress of Justice was not the best place to start my expedition into Jeffery Deaver’s work. From what I can gather, this isn’t the best example of his work. Due to this, I’m not going to base my entire judgement of Jeffery Deaver upon this one book. I have more of his work to read – I found quite a few going cheap and opted to grab them – and I’m hoping the future books I read will be more enjoyable.
I’m not saying Mistress of Justice was a bad book. I had highs and lows with it; I merely expected something more. As I said, I know many who have enjoyed his work. With this one, I found there were times when I was really interested, and then there were certain elements that really bored me. Like I said – highs and lows. Up and downs. When I was pulled into the story, I was really pulled in. When I was bored, well… I could put the book down and forget about it. I’m crossing my fingers that the future Jeffery Deaver books I read will contain more of the highs – I’ve seen it in reading this there clearly is the potential for great things, hence my belief in having started with the wrong book.
For me, I think my big issue is that there was too much happening in this story. There were multiple elements and the story kept shifting which of the characters was being followed in that moment. I rather enjoy stories with multiple interlinked elements – in fact, I favour when such is the case – yet I’m not a fan of the shifting viewpoint. I’d much rather stick to one person. In fact, I know such would have made this more enjoyable. A lot of my waxing and waning interest was based upon which character a scene involve. That’s just a reflection of my personal preference, though.
As my first Jeffery Deaver book, it was an okay read. It’s certainly left me interested in reading more, but it has not made me a lifelong fan.
From what I can gather Mistress of Justice was not the best place to start my expedition into Jeffery Deaver’s work. From what I can gather, this isn’t the best example of his work. Due to this, I’m not going to base my entire judgement of Jeffery Deaver upon this one book. I have more of his work to read – I found quite a few going cheap and opted to grab them – and I’m hoping the future books I read will be more enjoyable.
I’m not saying Mistress of Justice was a bad book. I had highs and lows with it; I merely expected something more. As I said, I know many who have enjoyed his work. With this one, I found there were times when I was really interested, and then there were certain elements that really bored me. Like I said – highs and lows. Up and downs. When I was pulled into the story, I was really pulled in. When I was bored, well… I could put the book down and forget about it. I’m crossing my fingers that the future Jeffery Deaver books I read will contain more of the highs – I’ve seen it in reading this there clearly is the potential for great things, hence my belief in having started with the wrong book.
For me, I think my big issue is that there was too much happening in this story. There were multiple elements and the story kept shifting which of the characters was being followed in that moment. I rather enjoy stories with multiple interlinked elements – in fact, I favour when such is the case – yet I’m not a fan of the shifting viewpoint. I’d much rather stick to one person. In fact, I know such would have made this more enjoyable. A lot of my waxing and waning interest was based upon which character a scene involve. That’s just a reflection of my personal preference, though.
As my first Jeffery Deaver book, it was an okay read. It’s certainly left me interested in reading more, but it has not made me a lifelong fan.
bookforthought's review against another edition
3.0
This was my third Jeffery Deaver book (though I still have to read [b:The Bone Collector|2373|The Bone Collector (Lincoln Rhyme, #1)|Jeffery Deaver|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437538512s/2373.jpg|2589896]!), and I have to say I was expecting a little bit more than I got with this one. Mistress of Justice wasn't a bad read by any means, but it just didn't quite meet my expectations.
First off, let me say that I LOVE legal thrillers. I don't mind long courtroom scenes, or the descriptions of endless hours of research and detailed explanations of finer legal points. But here, there is a lot of telling rather than showing. And for me it just ended up making the story move really slowly. I was expecting a lot more excitement and nail-biting suspence than I got. But even so, I still found it interesting enough to read, and I was curious about where it would end up. Because I was so sure that there would be a big twist at the end that I wouldn't see coming. I mean, I was starting to think it would end one way, but the big reveal would prove wrong. Right? Wrong! Turns out the unpredictable ending was actually really pretty predictable. And that is just plain disappointing.
[image]
I did really like Taylor, though! She's smart and driven, she knows what she wants and fights to get it. I loved the depth her character had, and how hard she struggled to keep fighting for her dreams. The rest of the cast I wasn't as impressed with. Where Taylor is developed very well, all the other characters seem very one-dimensional and experience very little (if any) growth throughout the book. A few of them were so dull and unremarkable that I kept mixing them up even well into the book!
Overall, this was an entertaining book, but hardly one that I will re-read anytime soon.
Originally published on Book for Thought.
First off, let me say that I LOVE legal thrillers. I don't mind long courtroom scenes, or the descriptions of endless hours of research and detailed explanations of finer legal points. But here, there is a lot of telling rather than showing. And for me it just ended up making the story move really slowly. I was expecting a lot more excitement and nail-biting suspence than I got. But even so, I still found it interesting enough to read, and I was curious about where it would end up. Because I was so sure that there would be a big twist at the end that I wouldn't see coming. I mean, I was starting to think it would end one way, but the big reveal would prove wrong. Right? Wrong! Turns out the unpredictable ending was actually really pretty predictable. And that is just plain disappointing.
[image]
I did really like Taylor, though! She's smart and driven, she knows what she wants and fights to get it. I loved the depth her character had, and how hard she struggled to keep fighting for her dreams. The rest of the cast I wasn't as impressed with. Where Taylor is developed very well, all the other characters seem very one-dimensional and experience very little (if any) growth throughout the book. A few of them were so dull and unremarkable that I kept mixing them up even well into the book!
Overall, this was an entertaining book, but hardly one that I will re-read anytime soon.
Originally published on Book for Thought.
jlrmac's review against another edition
3.0
Way too many characters, sometimes using loo first or last or both names added a level of difficulty following the audio version. Taylor, the main character, was interesting enough to keep me listening through to the end. But I was disappointed after finishing it. Not worth the effort of trying to sort the characters and many plot twists.
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