Fugitive (Amanda Jaffe Series #4)

Forget It

I usually love Margolin's books,read everyone except this one. Did not like the main character at all. Book was just boring from the start.

Good Reading

Another good one from Phillip Margolin.

Phillip Margolin's "Fugitive"

Definitely an edge-of-the-seat read. So harrowing, I initially had a very difficult time reading through the beginning, the mayhem, gore, et al., & thought that maybe this was more of a man's read than a woman's; but once the main character, Amanda, is on board, it's both a good read for mystery lovers of both genders.

Nothing Special

Margolin has fallen behind the latest generation of writers in this genre.

"The Fugitive" A hit for Margolin.

Charles Marsh is a small time crook. He's out of jail and having an affair with Sally Pope. She is the wife of a U.S. Congressman. Someone sends revealing photos of Sally and Charles to the Congressman, there is a confrontation and shots are fired from a crowd, the Congressman is dead.
Sally is being tried for murder and Charlie is the co-defendent.
However with his criminal background, Charlie thinks it's best to skip town so he goes to an African nation called Batanga that has no treaty for extradition with U.S. Charlie stays there for 12 years and his old self comes to his downfall again. He's having an affair with the dictator's wife and when he finds out, he has his wife killed and Charlie barely escapes.

At this point the story catches its breath and we learn of Charlie's time in prison. He saved the warden's life when the warden was being attacked by a knife wielding inmate. Then when he's released, Charlie writes a best selling book about his time in prisio and his supposidly religious conversion. He makes money by giving seminars around the country on how to find peace in a person's life.

When Charlie returns to stand trial he hires Amanda Jeffe to defend him.
Amanda is an excellent character who has appeared in two other Margolin works such as "Proof Positive."

As Amanda and her private eye build evidence for Charlie, we learn the events leading to the Congressman's shooting and the attempted framing of Sally. However, Amanda's father did a masterful job on her defense and charges were dropped. Now that it's 12 years later when Charlie turns himself in, something happens to Sally Pope. There are a number of people after Charlie and Margolin provides good action, steady drama and interesting characters to read.

Well worth the effort. A perfect book to bring on your summer vacation.

Exciting

In 1997, con man Charlie Marsh is a few weeks from being released from prison when his best friend Crazy Eddie holds three visiting female librarians and the penitentiary warden as hostages. He saves a guard's life getting accidentally stabbed in the process and that of the other hostages. Eddie blows himself up. Charlie is a hero and hooks up with agent Mickey Keys as they claim "The Light Within You" guided him. However, on tour in Oregon, Charlie has a tryst with local host Sally Pope, wife of a Congressman. When the spouse Arnold Pope Jr. attacks Charlie, all hell breaks out and Arnold is killed. Charlie flees for Africa while Sally stands trial for abetting a murder; attorney Frank Jaffe gets her acquitted after some shenanigans from her father-in-law Arnold, Sr.-------------

However after a dozen years in Batanga under the ruthless rule of Jean Claude Baptiste, Charlie needs to escape as the cruel dictator knows he had an affair with his favorite wife the tortured and now dead Bernadette. Charlie arranges for World News to fund his return to the States where death row is safer than Batanga. Frank's daughter Amanda heads the defense while Baptiste sends killer Nelson Tuazama to kill Charlie but not before he retrieves diamonds the expatriate snuck out of the country.------------

This thriller is clearly over the top especially the last third current day trial, but no one will care as the reader is hooked from the opening sequence in Batanga, through what happened a dozen years ago, and finally the present day legal thriller. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and the cast solid especially the title character and his lawyer. With a terrific full circle spin, fans will appreciate Phillip Margolin's exhilarating thriller.-------------

Harriet Klausner

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