Author: Paul Levine

ISBN: 9780440242765

Paul Levine’s latest in his Solomon vs Lord series, Trial & Error, pretty much follows the same formula as his three other novels in the series where the lives of three individuals are intricately intertwined-Steve Solomon, the unconventional and quirky trial attorney, his live-in girlfriend, the straight-laced Victoria Lord, who practices law by the book, and Steve’s nephew Bobby, who has physical and emotional problems, who lives with Steve and Victoria.

Our latest yarn unfolds when Bobby, who has a profound interest in dolphins, spends a great deal of his time conversing with two dolphins, Spunky and Misty at Cetacean Park in Miami. Bobby believes he can understand “dolphinese,” as he terms it, and he is even building a dictionary pertaining to the clicks, whistles, and moans that came from their blowholes.

One evening Bobby slips out of his house without permission from his uncle in order to play with his dolphin friends, however, little does he realize that he would stumble into an animal liberation raid resulting in the murder of one of the perpetrators and the escape of the dolphins.

Apparently, the Animal Liberation Movement, the ALM, had been terrorizing zoos, tourist attractions and research laboratories for months. The park owner, Wade Grisby, discovers Bobby wandering around the park and as he knows he is Steve’s nephew, telephones Steve to come and pick him up.

When Steve arrives on the scene he ends up catching one of the three terrorists, a second one escapes while the third one is shot and killed by Grisby who claims self-defense. However, what is quite interesting is that the criminal, Gerald Nash, who is taken into custody, turns out to be the nephew of the State Attorney, Ray Pincher.

Furthermore, he is now accused of the crime of felony murder. This is a quirk in the law which states that if you and your buddy commit a crime such as robbing a convenience store and the owner kills your buddy, you’re guilty of the murder because your crime-robbery precipitated the shooting.

It doesn’t matter if you personally shot the perpetrator or that the victim is your partner in crime.

Steve winds up as Nash’s defense attorney and faces off against Victoria who is specially appointed by the State Attorney as the prosecuting attorney. Apparently, the State Attorney and his entire office are not able to take on the case as there would be a conflict of interest.

Steve as usual is up to his old tricks and as he states, “when the law doesn’t work, work the law.” However, Victoria is aghast at Steve’s tactics and the two become embroiled in a match as to who will eventually succeed in court.

Such are the principle components of Trial & Error: A Solomon vs. Lord Novel. The twist is that Steve and Victoria eventually discover there is more here than just an animal rights issue, and they now want to know what exactly was going on the night that all of this transpired? Steve didn’t know and he was quite sure his client, whom he believes was duped into participating, was just as clueless.

Levine has concocted an interesting plot, but the book is a trifle disappointing and not as good as his previous ones in the series. At times I felt it was dragging with the repetition of Steve’s “shticks” and his peculiar rules. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a quick read on the plane or beach, this one would suffice.   

The above review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN:  Retired Title Attorney: Editor & Publisher of Bookpleasures. Here are  Norm Goldman's Reviews