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Liked It “Great read - page turner with humor and life issues for contemplation - extraordinarily well crafted.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“In the novel, there's suspense, surprise, sadness, humor, wisdom, and a plot that twists and turns until the satisfying and thought-provoking end. The scenes, characters and places seem absolutely real, and you dive right into the novel from the first pages.”
TERESA V wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Great read - page turner with humor and life issues for contemplation - extraordinarily well crafted.”
Scott J wrote this review Thursday, August 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Intricately plotted, intelligently conceived, and relentlessly entertaining, Martin Clark’s new novel ties together family loyalty and the legal system in one slippery knot.
The son of an abusive father and a loving mother, Mason Hunt managed to escape the small town of Stuart, Virginia, for college and law school. When he and his family move back he becomes the town’s commonwealth attorney. But, Mason has a horrible, dark secret: Years before, he and his brother, Gates, witnessed a murder on a back country road. Now the events of one night may prove his undoing.F CLARK”
Independence Public Library New Fiction Books wrote this review Tuesday, April 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I really liked the way the author told the story about the two brothers who chose different patts and the consequences they had to endure as a result of those decisions.”
Clare M wrote this review Friday, April 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I really liked this book despite all the crazy coincidences and ways it all came back together... almost too crazy to be fiction... but a nice, easy to read, interesting enough to keep reading, casual book for a cold weekend in upstate NY.”
Kim M wrote this review Thursday, January 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Mason and Gates Hunt are brothers. While Mason went to law school, married and went on to a successful law career, Gates drank too much, did drugs and was inevitably arrested and convicted for selling them. Instead of taking a plea, Gates insisted on going to trial, where he lied on the stand. Even after years in prison, he continues to cast blame, not on himself, but on his brother, who he insists could "pull strings" and shorten his sentence if he tried. Flash back to their youth, while Mason was in law school and long before Gates's conviction, when an event occurred that Mason thinks is long behind them. One night, during a confrontation with a rival over a woman, a drunken Gates killed a man. It was senseless and indefensible act of brutality. Mason helped his brother cover up the crime, and neither of them has mentioned it since that night. Now it comes back to threaten Mason. This is a top-notch legal thriller. I recommend it for readers of James Lee Burke.”
Suzanne F wrote this review Friday, January 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Written by an actual Virginia Circuit Court judge, this story is based on a real case. The setting is rural Virginia, the characters are two brothers. One is a Commonwealth's attorney for the county, the other is in prison on drug charges. A great read.”
Patty K wrote this review Friday, December 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Martin Clark is a circuit court judge in rural Virginia, and this story is based on an actual case that came through the courts. One brother makes good, becomes a lawyer, marries a pretty girl, etc.,and gets offered the position of the commonwealth's attorney in Stuart, Virginia. The other brother is in prison for dealing drugs and wants the good brother to pull strings. A secret in their past may just be the undoing of the good brother. This was a great, fast read. I highly recommend.
Goochland Branch Library wrote this review Wednesday, December 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If you like this, you should try William Hoffman's novels. "Tidewater Blood" and "Blood and Guile" are two mysteries dealing with family that take place in rural Virginia.”
“Martin Clark, The Legal Limit (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2008), 356 pages
Sagecoveredhills wrote this review Thursday, September 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Mason Hunt, the Commonwealth Attorney, has come a long ways from his horrific childhood with an abusive father. Respected in the community, he’s married to a devoted and sexy wife. They have a beautiful daughter and live on a gentleman’s farm. He also has a dark secret, one that can destroy him. And then, fate turns against him. His wife is killed in a tragic car accident and his convict brother, with whom he shared the secret, decides he’s going to use the secret to get himself out of jail. Life unravels.
Gates Hunt, Mason’s older brother, took the blunt of his father’s blows, often protecting his younger sibling. Gates was a promising football player, but couldn’t hold it together and as a young adult, slipped into the world of drugs and crime. Mason graduates from college and goes on to law school. Home one weekend, Mason and Gates are riding together when they have a run-in with Wayne Thompson, Gates’ girlfriend’s ex. They were on a remote road, no one was around. Threatened, Gates pulled out a pistol, shoots and kills Wayne. The two of them flee. Mason creates alibis, which they rehearse over and over. He also takes his brother’s pistol and disposes of it. The crime goes unsolved.
Twenty years later, Mason has come back to his hometown as the prosecutor. His brother, having shunned a plea bargain and demanded a jury trial for a drug bust, is serving a long sentence in the state penitentiary. As a single parent after his wife’s death, Mason finds himself struggling to raise a teenage daughter. He also finds himself being wooed into supporting a business opportunity for the country, an opportunity which promises short-term jobs and is funded with money from the state’s tobacco settlement. Then, in an attempt to get out of prison early, his brother fingers him in the unsolved murder of Wayne Thompson.
I won’t spoil the ending, but it suffices to say that Mason’s troubles are never truly over. The book shows how secrets can come back and haunt us, how some people are nearly unredeemable, and how we get caught in our lies. With the exception of his youthful mistake, helping his brother beat a murder rap, Mason is a good man. In fact, his honesty and integrity (in all but this one area of his life) causes his downfall (he wasn’t about to let an innocent man take the fall for his brother’s crime). This book raises many questions for the reader to ponder. What role does fate play? Why was Gates the older brother? Why does one’s wife die in an accident? It also raises questions about the evil intentions of some people (Gates, prosecutors and those in law enforcement, and those involved in schemes to spend tobacco money on a questionable development which only promise that they’ll be financially rewarded). Another question is about loyalty to family (Mason to Gates, Mason’s mother relationship to Gates, Mason to Curtis, his colleague who also has some secrets to hide, and Mason to his daughter). And finally, as the reader I’m left pondering the question of justice. Was justice done in the case? Not really, for we’re reminded of the Thompson family and their questions. Maybe a better question would be, "Could justice be done in this case?"
I enjoyed this book. The Legal Limit is not as funny as Clark’s other two novels, but in many ways, this is a more serious and tightly constructed work. I’m still pondering the ending of the book. Although I think I get what Clark is driving at, I also feel that the ending is the weakest link in Clark’s cleverly told story.”
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