Review of Blanket Immunity

[CornishPixie]

[i][Following is a volunteer review of "Blanket Immunity" by Adam Van Susteren.][/i]

[rwc=id350720-125]4 out of 4 stars.[/rwc]After failing to become a judge, Jo Channing decided to open her own law practice with years of both defence and prosecution experience behind her. She finds an office and begins settling in when all that’s left to do is find someone to represent. Brad Gecina is her first client and with him brings a relatively straightforward case. Brad wants an immunity deal against a potential rape charge. This should be no problem for Jo as all evidence points to Brad not having committed the crime. Jo also begins representing Omar, a mysterious man who has more secrets that he is willing to let on. Is there more to Omar than meets the eye? How deep does Brads rape allegation really go? How far is Jo Channing willing to go to deliver justice and which side of the law is she actually on? [i]Blanket Immunity[/i] follows Jo Channing as she uncovers the shocking secrets and lies from her clients while trying to stay a straight lawyer at the beginning of her independent practice. With the help of her new boyfriend Dzuy will Jo managed to stay on the straight and narrow or will she lose her licence for good?



[i]Blanket Immunity[/i] is a fast paced and exciting courtroom thriller written by Adam Van Susteren, a genuine practicing lawyer in California. I will start by saying a huge selling point of [i]Blanket Immunity[/i] is Susteren’s obvious extensive experience in the world of criminal law. The inside knowledge and law jargon is what really makes this book so believable. I did not doubt once that what was happening between the lawyers and defendants was not accurate.



I found it exhilarating to have a female lawyer as the lead character. Jo Channing is an incredibly strong character that has a high moral compass. Even when she makes some questionably immoral decisions, the reader can see how she is swaying between what is right and wrong. This makes for a fun and interesting character who I was routing for the whole way through the book. Another aspect of [i]Blanket Immunity[/i] that is slightly unusual is that the romance was important but was not frustratingly tumultuous. I loved how the romantic relationship was actually fairly normal and the love interest, Dzuy, was a well-rounded character in his own right. Not only this, but Dzuy was imperative to the plot of the book and his skills and interests were needed to progress the story.



Because [i]Blanket Immunity[/i] is set in southern California there are naturally a handful of Hispanic characters. The way in which Adam Van Susteren included these characters into the book was refreshing to read. Susteren writes what these characters are saying in Spanish and doesn’t translate immediately. Therefore, if you are like me and have very limited knowledge of the Spanish language it can be a little frustrating for a couple of sentences but then the reader learns what was said by either the characters actions or thoughts.



Even though I loved this book there are a couple of points that I think subtract from a perfect read. This is linked to my earlier comment on how the law jargon is believable. I did find myself sometimes getting a little lost in the words and couldn’t follow what was happening. I ended up reading several passages a couple of times to try and understand what was going on. This does not however mean that the language is hard to understand. On the contrary, I found that the writing flows freely but also succinctly. Not everyone will find the same problem I did as others may be more familiar with the American judicial system. Similarly, there were plot points which I found confusing and characters who I felt were unnecessary to the point that the storyline would have remained the same without them.



Even though there are a couple of negative points I am still rating [i]Blanket Immunity[/i] [b]4 out of 4 stars[/b] purely because of how much I enjoyed this novel. Legal thrillers are what I very often lean towards and I can safely say I have found a new favourite author. The editing has been done professionally and to a high standard. I found only one borderline grammatical error in the whole book. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to follow a strong female lead or who likes a gritty legal/courtroom thriller.

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[i]Blanket Immunity [/i]
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