Member Reviews

This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

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Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

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Fantastic lawyer story, great characters and plot. Highly recommend to others. Can't wait to read more in this series.

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Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book for an honest review.
I am afraid this book was not for me. I am sure it will appeal to some people but I found it too slow going.
I like more of a thriller or Psychological thriller

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This one look me a lot longer to get through. This wasn't my favorite. It started off great but I got a little bored in the middle. The twists kept me reading until the end. I really wanted to like this much more but it just wasn't for me.

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I'm a big fan of the Beach Lawyer series and really enjoyed Boardwalk Trust, book 2. This first book had me hooked. Robert Worth, a struggling lawyer, breaks his two cardinal rules' never get involved with a client and never cross his mentor, Jack Pierce. Highly recommend, a great read!

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Beach lawyer by avery duff.
After five grueling years, Robert Worth is just days away from making partner at a powerful Santa Monica law firm. When a client confides in him that senior partner Jack Pierce sexually assaulted her, Robert breaks two of his mentor’s cardinal rules: Never let yourself get emotional about clients. And never make an enemy of Jack Pierce.
A good read. Little slow in places. 4*.

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I found this a little hard going at the start, it took me a while to get in to it. I am glad I persevered though, it was worth it in the end.

Overall a good book, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

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"...practicing law isn't about right and wrong. Never let yourself get emotional about clients."

Robert Worth, an associate at Fanelli & Pierce, has been working 5 long years trying to make partner. He's working on the corporate side of the firm in an office without a view of the Santa Monica pier, but he's hopeful that things will change soon even though he's never tried a lawsuit. And then they do in a most dramatic fashion when he is called to the conference room to draw up a settlement agreement for a woman who had previously engaged Jack Pierce, one of the partners, to sue Consolidated Construction Co. on her dead brother's behalf. She is told that the firm won't try the case. Later that evening, the woman -- Alison Maxwell -- calls Robert to her place insisting that she was assaulted by Jack Pierce. The story spirals off from that point becoming a complicated and twisty tale of greed, manipulation, lies, and betrayal.

Despite that the reader is probably meant to like the main character, Robert Worth is not easy to admire. I imagine, however, he's supposed to be the good guy. He's as ruthless and calculating as the other male and female characters in this legal thriller and not until the end do we fully understand what made him the way he is. The women are stereotypical to a degree, fairly flat, and not quite believable. One wonders, all these nasty people live in the same city? In the end, is it really just about money? There's a lot of legal detail in here, probably a lot of it fairly uninteresting to anyone not interested in the tediousness of drafting documents and considering at length small matters of law. I actually enjoyed that part. After all, there's a lot about practicing law that's not real exciting. The pace was fairly uneven and there was a lot of action and some point of view changes in the narration. I found the romantic elements in the book to be mostly unbelievable as written.

I liked it well enough that I would probably consider the second in the series, but I'm not sure that I like Robert Worth enough to care about what is next for him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-book ARC to read and review.

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I think the title is somewhat misleading. To my way of thinking it gives the impression of a laid-back, easygoing, surfer dude kind of lawyer who is either just barely getting by or does the bare minimum required to get through life (maybe that's just me?). Nothing could be further from the truth as the main character of Beach Lawyer, Robert Logan Worth, is actually VERY career focused and sort of an overachiever... at least in the beginning of things.

For the last few years thirty-one-year-old Robert L. Worth has been keeping his head down, working long hours to get ahead in the prominent law firm of Fanelli & Pierce, PC, Attorneys At Law.

Worth is something of a protege of Lawyer Fanelli and his future is looking very bright until a personal clash with the powerful Jack Pierce (the other prominent partner who lends his name to the company letterhead) results in his being "let go" almost immediately.

Blackballed in the legal community and unsure what to do Worth eventually takes on a disgruntled former client of Pierce's and begins proceedings to sue his former firm on her behalf. That's where everything starts getting out of hand in a big, big way and Worth begins to find out just how ruthless and powerful his former boss can be.

The story takes its time getting set up. Once it gets going it can be a tad difficult to follow at first because there are several different characters popping in and out whose purpose or place in the story is not immediately clear. If you can stick with it though it ends up being a pretty good legal thriller with more twists and turns than a cart full of pretzels.

Seriously, there are so many surprise revelations, ulterior motives and secret double dealings that by the end of the book you begin to wonder if you are even who you claim to be. It's not the best you'll ever read but it's well written and, for the most part, an entertaining read.

In some ways Beach Lawyer reminded me of some of John Grisham's work, especially The Firm. I think anyone who enjoys a good legal mystery will find this to be a fairly enjoyable read.

***Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

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This is a debut novel by the author. I am a fan of legal thrillers and legal drama so I enjoyed this entertaining book.
This is the story of a up and coming young partner in a law firm who crosses the senior partner by taking on a sexual assault lawsuit against him. , He soon learns it can end his career. As he fights for the rights of his client and his own career he finds out he may not be able to save both, The writing is very much focused on the legal aspect of the case which I enjoyed. It is entertaining and more fiction then then thriller. Great for all fans of legal drama.

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After five gruelling years, Robert Worth is just days away from making partner at a powerful Santa Monica law firm. When a client confides in him that senior partner Jack Pierce sexually assaulted her, Robert breaks two of his mentor’s cardinal rules: Never let yourself get emotional about clients. And never make an enemy of Jack Pierce.
Robert crosses Pierce and is fired on the spot, losing not only his job but also his reputation. Advised to go quietly, Robert vows revenge against the ruthless man who betrayed him. But his investigation uncovers a twisted shadow world of sex, infidelity, and deception, where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. Only one thing is clear: Pierce will go the limit to keep his secrets.
This straight shooter will need to use every angle if he hopes to win. But could victory come at too high a price?

I had problems remembering who was who in this story.

Lots of double crossing in this well written book. Unfortunately I didn’t connect with any of the characters, nor was I intrigued by what was going on. This book was definitely not for me. 2.5*

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I was really looking forward to reading this book but I had a hard time getting into the story. It was a little too slow paced and I had a hard time connecting to the characters.

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I hate when I have to write a negative review. I never want to bash an author's hard work. But here we go...

I didn't like this book. At all.

To begin with, the pace is incredibly slow. This was touted as a legal thriller. . This book is more of a legal quagmire. We spend an endless amount of time learning the proper legal procedures for filing a claim we've never heard of (or care to). We see the day-to-day machinations of a lawyer within a high-profile law firm. I felt like I was there in the office doing paperwork with Robert all day. These details overpowered the story, particularly throughout the first half.

Then there's the plot, which feels choppy, with long lulls of tedium centered around a convoluted story. The supposedly intelligent characters make some of the most foolish choices imaginable, giving the story an implausible feel. And I have to say I was offended by the treatment of the sexual assault. Several times it was stressed by Robert and other characters that it wasn't a full "rape", and therefore wasn't as big of a deal. Even worse, the victim has this attitude. I don't know many women who could so easily argue that being sexually assaulted is more forgivable if there is no penetration.

The story is told mostly from Robert's point of view, but we also have random POV switches that don't transition well.

The male characters are developed and I mostly believed them, though they are also shallow and unlikable. Even Robert, the would-be hero, is difficult to like as the story goes on. The female characters are simply odd. For one thing, the author seems preoccupied with female-on-female sex, as if this is a common occurrence in every woman's life. I understood it with the two female characters involved in a bisexual relationship, though the details were still over-the-top, but it got to be too much when a random waitress made a pass at Robert's girlfriend. None of this added any value to the story. The women often felt more like a man's fantasy perception than real-life females.

By midway through the story, I was skimming ahead out of irritation and boredom. Unfortunately, the plot continued to spiral into a complex, tangled mess.

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My book rating jury in my head flitted between 3, 4 and 5 stars and I ended settling for 4 stars. The Book has many twists and turns. Sometimes you got lost and sometimes some holes were filled in. The book is mainly about money and how to get it regardless of anythging else.


I will admit none of the characters were very likable with the exception of maybe Robert and Gia. But even they ended up on my dislike list by the end of the book. I am not sure if that was Duff's idea to be honest. The idea that Los Angeles is full of cheats and liars is kind of disturbing.


The story its self is very good. It did however get very confusing with all the sub plots regarding the additional characters. At times it was hard to keep up. He does rap it up at the end but it takes a while getting there. The story is in no way rushed. At times I would have liked it to go faster and at times it was like whoa! slow down. The 4 stars may be generous but to be honest I did enjoy the story. The book is well written and difficult to put down. I will look for this author in the future.


Yes I would recommend it but more as a holiday read.



*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3PACNS4P0TGCX/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2016932575

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Beach Lawyer kept me guessing right to the very end. The characters are complex and interesting, and the plot filled with twists and turns. I can't wait to read the next book with Robert Logan Worth.

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I found this book a little too masculine for me- sorry!

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This is a fast paced legal thriller with well developed characters and unpredictable twists.

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Didn't love this one largely because of the plot, not the language (which others have objected to.) Legal thrillers walk a fine line between too much info and not enough. This one just didn't gel for me. Jack Pierce is a complete creep but Robert, despite his quest, is not the best guy either. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

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If you find adult language disturbing, this is not the book for you.

Slow to start, the story does pick up some as the story evolves. I enjoyed the story and the setting. The author paints a picture so well, at times you feel you are actually in the scene .

I generally enjoy legal thrillers, but, at times in this story I felt I needed a law degree. It was fast paced and exciting at times but I also found large pockets of tediousness .

Over all, it held my attention enough that I will read this author again.

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