OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Spirit of the Law" by Georgia Zaslove.]

The book with the interesting title Spirit of the Law: And the Crime Against the Soul by Georgia Zaslove takes readers to the ’90s and Memphis, Tennessee. At the heart of the novel are sisters Hope and Rachel as well as their husbands Sammy and Syrus. At a slow pace, the author introduces readers to the marital, family, and business circumstances that surround these two families of Jewish origin. Hope and Sammy just like Rachel and Syrus are plagued by marital problems. In addition, Hope left behind a painful experience of fighting breast cancer, and her husband together with his business partner Alfie are in substantial financial problems. Soon Hope dies from the effects of asphyxiation during the cruise and Sammy gets two million dollars from life insurance and thus solves financial problems.

Yet Hope’s sister Rachel realizes the unusual behavior of Sammy and Alfie and begins to doubt the official version of events. In addition, he begins to suspect that Sammy and Alfie are more than just business partners. Pressed by internal unrest, Rachel will also address the psychic, and the tangle of events will begin to unravel when a successful lawyer, criminal law expert Syrus, gets involved in the case. One by one, the investigation will begin to reveal unusual facts and incredible coincidences. Will the investigation point in the direction of the murder or perhaps suicide of the often depressed Hope? Will the crime, if any, go unpunished? Did hope die with Hope's death?

What I really liked about Spirit of the Law: And the Crime Against the Soul are the superbly imagined main and supporting characters. Habits, behavior, relationships with other characters, and even their health conditions are completely authentically presented on the pages of the book. One of the things I enjoyed was the superbly written dialogues sometimes complemented with Yiddish slang. Author Georgia Zaslove did a remarkable preparation before writing the book because many complicated things like knowledge of multiple legal systems and jurisdictions, court practice, and courtroom behavior are presented with an extraordinary degree of realism. Also, the author demonstrated an exceptional sense of the pace of the plot, because the outcome is uncertain until the very end of the book.

One of the things that seemed illogical to me was a large number of chapters in the book of somewhat smaller volume. However, even this minor remark does not significantly affect the enjoyment of reading the novel.

Deciding how to rate the book Spirit of the Law: And the Crime Against the Soul was quite easy. With great pleasure, I rate the book with four out of four stars. The extraordinary plot of the novel, supported by thorough research, is complemented by fantastically imagined characters full of surprises until the very end of the book.

I recommend the novel to fans of crime and murder mystery novels as well as fans of the ’90s world. I believe that fans of novels with skillfully written plots, frequent twists, surprises, and refined manipulation will also enjoy the book.

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Spirit of the Law
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The plot of this book seems fascinating. I would like to know what really caused Hope's death. Thanks for the review.

Ethan Howe wrote: ↑29 Oct 2021, 23:48 The plot of this book seems fascinating. I would like to know what really caused Hope's death. Thanks for the review.

The book is skillfully written and just when the reader thinks that the solution is close, new elements are included in the plot. I highly recommend it.

I hope Sammy and Alfie aren't more than just a business partners. Thank you for your detailed review.

Omega_01 wrote: ↑30 Oct 2021, 10:45 I hope Sammy and Alfie aren't more than just a business partners. Thank you for your detailed review.

The book is full of extremely convincing characters. Each character has their own habits, sayings, ways of behaving and thinking. I highly recommend the book. Thanks for the comment.

I'm not into books tackling laws, but I guess this book will be an exception. I liked how you give details to the book. Thanks for sharing with us this lovely and interesting review.

Unosthetic wrote: ↑31 Oct 2021, 00:49 I'm not into books tackling laws, but I guess this book will be an exception. I liked how you give details to the book. Thanks for sharing with us this lovely and interesting review.

The book is very well written and I believe it has film potential as well. Thanks for the comment.

I am not sure but my guess is that Sammy and Alfie killed the wife for the money and maybe they also has something going on between the two of them. Anyway, I also know that you will not clarify this here so I am planning on reading this book to find out. Thanks for your amazing review.

Clifford Munene wrote: ↑02 Nov 2021, 13:50 I am not sure but my guess is that Sammy and Alfie killed the wife for the money and maybe they also has something going on between the two of them. Anyway, I also know that you will not clarify this here so I am planning on reading this book to find out. Thanks for your amazing review.

The plot of the novel is multi-layered and superbly written. Thanks for the comment.

This looks like quite an intriguing plot. Would definitely love to have this book on my shelf.

Ekezie1998 wrote: ↑03 Nov 2021, 21:43 This looks like quite an intriguing plot. Would definitely love to have this book on my shelf.

The plot, characters, dialogues and details are at an enviable level in the novel. I believe you will like the book. Thanks for the comment.

Reading your review, I think what definitely could bring me to read this book are the layered characters. I'm interested in their relationships, as well as their inner worlds and secrets. Also, the court scenes are always a nice bonus for me. This was such a lovely review, you presented the book very well!

Katarina Radovcic wrote: ↑04 Nov 2021, 07:05 Reading your review, I think what definitely could bring me to read this book are the layered characters. I'm interested in their relationships, as well as their inner worlds and secrets. Also, the court scenes are always a nice bonus for me. This was such a lovely review, you presented the book very well!

I am glad that my review aroused interest in the book. The book is very well thought out and has a somewhat open ending. Thanks for the comment.

With a plot that is multi-layered and as twisting as this, this book must be enjoyable. I also like that it is written well and also researched thoroughly. Thanks for your good review.

J Edwards wrote: ↑04 Nov 2021, 15:38 With a plot that is multi-layered and as twisting as this, this book must be enjoyable. I also like that it is written well and also researched thoroughly. Thanks for your good review.

The book is one of the better ones I’ve read this year and is definitely to be recommended. Thanks for the comment.