“A shot in the dark, right in the gut, that’s what Carstens is good at. The Key to Justice is full of twists and turns as the Twin Cities live in terror of a violent stalker. Carstens aims to be realistic about the law and its enforcers, and he hits it right … The plot is as full of surprises as a Minneapolis Jucy Lucy and ultimately just as satisfying.” -Tony Dunbar, Anthony- and … ultimately just as satisfying.” -Tony Dunbar, Anthony- and Edgar-nominated author of the Tubby Dubonnet legal thriller series.
THE CASE OF A LIFETIME WALKS IN THE DOOR…
Financially embarrassed, getting a divorce, living in a shabby apartment, and distinctly short of clients, Marc Kadella’s beginning to question why he ever went into the law when a friend brings him the case all Minneapolis is watching—defending an accused serial killer. If he wins, it could turn his life around—if he blows it, he better go into sales.
Dennis Carstens weaves a gritty, street-wise narrative in this action-packed legal thriller, sure to please fans of courtroom drama and classic noir. You can almost see the guys in this one sporting fedoras, and the babes would stop traffic even without the cleavage Carstens makes their standard attire. But there’s a contemporary angle sure to please fans of both sexes–the toughest guy in the story is gorgeous investigator Maddy Rivers.
Carstens seems to relish getting her into increasingly brutal fights, some with laughs—like the time she roughs up a couple of rogue cops and takes away their guns. And when this author gets into an action scene, the prose flexes its muscles like a prison weightlifter.
Kadella and Rivers’ job is to find the evidence that will exonerate Kadella’s client Carl Fornich, a convicted sex offender recently out of prison. But the prosecution’s evidence is stacked a mile high—the murder weapon found at his house, an eyewitness, a semen sample, and blood from two victims. To top it off, the cops really want to nail this guy—one cop in particular.
Carstens realistic take on the law as a nuts-and-bolts, often rickety way to make a living blends nicely with his worldly-wise portrayal of backroom deals, crooked cops, and judges and politicians who connive and collude right on up to the governor’s mansion.
It’s a classic David-and Goliath setup, and the author’s got some pretty fancy twists in store as Kadella unravels a complicated plot to set his client up, and Maddy battles demons that just keep coming at her. Fans of John Grisham, Scott Pratt, Richard North Patterson, and of course the most beloved lawyer sleuth of all time, Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason, will gobble up this one and go back for the rest of the series.
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Enjoyed seeing a regular kind of everyday lawyer win against big government and the normal law
The Key to Justice is the first installment in the lengthy Marc Kadella series of legal thrillers. The author states up front that he intends to educate readers on what it’s really like to be a lawyer, positioning the writing to come as more authentic than that of his legal author peers. The story is good, the plot premise is compelling, and the characters are well-drawn. I found the author’s effort to portray the details of his protagonist’s day as unrelenting tedium to be somewhat, well, tedious. Nonetheless, The Key to Justice is a good book. I hope future installments of this series will be better paced, but there was enough here to tempt me to sample another Marc Kadella novel.
This book stood out to me. First, it is a long book for the first book of a series. Second, the book is extremely detailed. The author stated in his note at the beginning of the book that he was trying to portray the life of a lawyer accurately instead of how most people believe a lawyer lives. The sheer tedium comes through very well. The excitement of a job well done and successful is also obvious. The twists and turns at the end were stunning. This is a character driven book and the characters are drawn with an eye, not necessarily to appearance, but to thought processes and feelings. The reader begins to understand and sympathize with Marc, the main character. He is not really a criminal lawyer, but he manages to take on the defense in a capital criminal case. He is very appealing as written. All the other characters are just as well written, although not as extensively. I would recommend this book highly.
Good read
Really good and was surprised at the end.
Good author, very entertaining.
This was a great book, a cracking yarn, and an ending that I never saw coming! It was unputdownable! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, as the character were believable, and it gave you a good insight into the American Justice System and how it works in reality. For a first attempt by an author, it was very good!
Excellent legal , trial story about a ordinary lawyer.
Great characters with personalities that are three-dimensional — flawed people trying to do the best they can — I intend to read the whole “Justice” series
loved it
GREAT BOOK, enjoyed every page…would highly recommend it to anyone
I love all his books
Had no idea how it would end and all that happened to make you believe something other than the truth.
You were rooting for the underdog
Having read many legal thrillers I was impressed by the way the book developed as a crime novel and then shifted into being a legal novel. The two were merged rather exquisitely.
This is another great book in the Marc Kadella series. Lots of twists and turns but Carsten knows how to weave a tail. A very good read.
Well written, great characters, each book is better than the last. I can’t wait for the next one
Good police procedural and legal book with great characters
Wow. Talk about unexpected. The end was such a surprise. Indeed the author had so convinced me with his misdirection I went back and re-read some of the beginning to make sure the author hadn’t made some mistake! I really enjoyed this book!
I enjoyed this book quite a bit, although in the middle I felt it got bogged down for a while. The storyline on Marc’s personal situation was refreshing and gave the reader a break from the criminal defense case. I especially liked Maddy’s kick ass abilities.