“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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3 Stars
The Key to Justice is the first book in the Marc Kadella Legal Mysteries series by Dennis Carstens. Here we are introduced to Attorney Marc Kadella, who has had a tough time of late. His practice is struggling, and his personal life is a mess. So, when he is handed a high-profile case to defend an accused serial killer, Marc’s life is about to get a whole lot more interesting. And so, the story begins.
The plot was quite clever and well thought out- but the delivery was a little lacking. Editing issues really detracted from my reading experience, which is a real pity- because this book/series really does have the potential to be brilliant. But the story did keep me intrigued enough to want to know what happens. I will read the next book in the hope that the editing issues will be resolved in future instalments.
This is a great start to a wonderful series I am sure. I was on the edge of my seat during the entire book. I loved the plot and how it was forever changing. The character’s were wonderful and very interesting. The author does a wonderful job of writing this story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
The Key to Justice is a murder mystery and the 1st book of a series. A serial killer is on the loose in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. Things really heat up when the Governor’s daughter becomes a victim. The lead investigator is determined to find the killer quickly and when he realizes he knows who the killer is, he makes some very bad choices.
Marc Kadella is assigned as the defense attorney in the case and begins to believe his client is actually innocent even with the mountain of evidence against him. The ironclad case is eventually unraveled.
This book is very well done and does not leave a cliffhanger (I hate that!) However, you will be compelled to read the next one. I was fortunate to get the first 5 books in a box set; so glad I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s a legal thriller right up there with John Grisham! Marc Kadella is an attorney hired to defend a man accused of being a serial killer with the evidence stacked against him. I had a good time following the steps taken trying to build a defense against impossible odds and I especially liked the surprise ending! The Key to Justice is the first in a series of Marc Kadella novels. I can’t wait to read the next one!!!
Love this series, highly recommend it; author needs a better editor for punctuation, some word usage, but otherwise they are great reads!
Love there lawyer books. Characters are well defined and easy to either like or dislike. Always a surprise in the stories.
Great story line. Needs editing for grammar, syntax and punctuation.
Great writing! I work in the legal field and I loved its realism. Better than Grisham!
I really enjoyed this book. Lots of plot twists.
This book was truly a page turner and a superb legal thriller. The ending was a total surprise. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I will definitely check out his other books. A story in the finest John Grisham tradition.
Really enjoyed this one –
This is a white knuckle novel that has all the right stuff to keep you up till the wee hours of the morning reading this can’t put it down storyline.
I enjoyed plot which was well thought out and the development of characters which was entertaining and not excessive. I read about 10 books a year and rate this in top 2.
I have enjoyed all of his books
Sometimes the author descriptions of the characters fells like stage directions from a script. It interrupts the flow ands is repetitive. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book.
The inclusion of an IRS case bogged the book down. It had no place in a criminal thriller. While the book had a lot of twists and turns, I found every one of them totally predictable.
An excellent legal thriller with more twists & turns than one can count…
Rolando
I was very distracted by misspellings and punctuation errors. Otherwise, the read was great. I found myself really identifying with all of the characters. They developed so well over the story. I loved the two storylines/cases, how they were separate but had to coexist. Everything seemed so real. I think that’s what the author wanted. Good job!
Interesting book, but it took so long I finally went to the end to see what happened. It just moved too slow.
I thought I had it all figured out and…I was wrong! Fantastic book and I learned so much about the laws.