The Appeal by John Grisham

Wes and Mary Grace Payton were successful attorneys in southern Mississippi. They hocked everything to represent a widow and her claim for the wrongful deaths of her husband and son against a big chemical company that polluted the town’s water. They won in the lower court, and it went on to the state Supreme Court.

Billionaire Carl Trudeau, the owner of the chemical company, is not about to pay any settlement, so he hires a guy to buy him a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Ron Fisk is their man; they run his campaign, they mold him as anti-liberal. Yes, he wins, but also incurs a heavy personal loss which may or may not influence his decisions.

There’s a lot of filler in the book; the Payton’s are too goody-goody; not all loose ends are tied up. It’s an OK story, but won’t get your blood pumping wondering whodunit.

Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein

Alexandra Cooper, Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace are after the bad guy or guys again. Three young women are brutally tortured, murdered and left in deserted places to be found whenever. They get flimsy leads, think it’s guy A, then guy B. Then a call to the hotline brings them their big break in the case. Of course, Alex manages to get herself into a predicament she struggles to get out of.

This was another decent story, but these are getting to be all alike. The author needs to tweak each story a little bit so they aren’t all copycats.

Criminal Intent by William Bernhardt

This time Ben Kincaid is defending a radical Episcopalian priest, Father Daniel Beale, who’s on trial for killing a member of his church. Two other women had been murdered, but he was charged with just the one, and the whole church wanted him gone…to jail would be OK with the fine Christians. Surprises come out during the trial and the story doesn’t end with the verdict.

Ben has grown a tad as an attorney and is not quite as idealistic as in other stories, but he has a long way to go. I had my guesses about whodunit, but the surprises the author threw in were good ones.

Killer View by Ridley Pearson

Walt Fleming, the Sun Valley sheriff from the Killer Weekend, is back. His best friend is missing and his friend’s brother is dead. Employees from a bottling plant are deathly sick. A young woman is dropped off at the hospital badly beaten. Walt desperately wants to find his friend while figuring out why people are sick and animal carcasses are being burned. And he’s still trying figure out how to be a good parent to his twin girls. (Get the divorce, custody and move on, for Pete’s sake.)

The author paints beautiful pictures of Idaho in early winter. But his character Walt needs to be more assertive…personally and professionally…if he’s really a sheriff.

Phantom Prey by John Sandford

Mega rich Alyssa Austin comes home to find blood on the walls and her daughter missing. She eventually asks Lucas Davenport’s wife to have Lucas look into the matter of her missing daughter who ran around with some Goths. As more Goths are murdered, and Lucas is shot at, Lucas gets madder and more involved. Who’s the Fairy that very few see and who only shows up now and then? Who’s the total nutcase? The subplot of Lucas and Del’s surveillance adds an interesting touch.

This was a pretty quick read. The author throws in a few twists and turns to keep your interest. There's an eerie, wacko bent to this book.