The Associate

July 30, 2001
Another year, another young-attorney-in-peril story from Margolin (Wild Justice). This time, the attorney is Daniel Ames, an earnest, pink-cheeked associate at Portland's most prestigious law firm. Ames gets fired for a paperwork blunder that may force the firm's biggest client out of business. The client, Geller Pharmaceuticals, is being sued for its diabetes drug Insufort, which is believed to cause severe birth defects, much like thalidomide in the 1950s. Set up to take the fall by another lawyer in his firm, Ames mistakenly gives the plaintiff's attorney the results of a secret medical study documenting Insufort's shortcomings. Ames, however, suspects the story is a fake. To get his job back, he knows he has to prove that not only he, but also Geller Pharmaceuticals, has been scapegoated and hung out to dry. But who would do such a thing? The likely suspect is rich-but-sleazy attorney Aaron Flynn, who filed the lawsuit against Geller and has a history of backhanded tactics. Aided by legal investigator and love interest Kate Ross, Ames traces the case's roots back to a mysterious murder and disappearance in the Arizona desert nearly a decade earlier. Margolin's writing for the most part is unremarkable, his plot won't stand up to serious scrutiny and his characters engage only on a surface level. Yet the author of seven previous handsomely selling thrillers deserves credit. While his latest is eminently forgettable, the whole package—light intrigue, good-looking, wealthy people under stress, a couple of ghoulish murders and a scattering of clever plot twists—is undeniably entertaining and enjoyable if you don't think about it too hard. Major ad/promo; 25-city national radio campaign; 12-city author tour.

March 1, 2002
Daniel Ames agrees to help a fellow attorney by reviewing materials pertaining to a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer, before turning those items over to the plaintiff's lawyer the following morning. The plaintiff's lawyer then claims to have found clear proof in those materials that the drug company knew its product caused birth defects. When Daniel is fired the same day, he is convinced that the evidence was planted, and he sets out to clear his name. In his investigation, he uncovers a connection to a long-forgotten kidnapping and a series of murders, attracting the attention of the killer, who sets out to silence him. Margolin, author of seven New York Times best sellers, has created a complex web of circumstances and characters whose lives are all connected to one unknown individual. The story that unfolds is well crafted and intriguing and well read by Scott Brick. Recommended. Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.