This was just a little on the "okay" side for me. It had a promising opening and it was a quick, weekend read, but it isn't one I would gush to my bookish friends about.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoy this series and I become find of Robin Lockwood. This book was an homage to Agatha’s Christie’s And Then There Were None, I believe. I enjoyed the book but I did not really like the creepy haunting setting. There were a few weed herrings that kind of threw things off for me. My least favorite of this series

Fun mystery with splashes of Ellery Queen and John McDinald! Easy to jump into and keeps you guessing.

Prosecutor Frank Melville had never lost a case and when he won the trial where Jose Alvarez was convicted and ultimately sentenced to death for the aggravated assault and murder of his college girlfriend, he was at peace with the jury and judge’s decisions. That is until a former college acquaintance of Alvarez hired Melville as his attorney, then protected by lawyer-client privilege, bragged that he was the true killer of the co-ed.

This revelation broke Melville’s spirit. Immediately, Melville’s happiness with his job and life evaporated—blaming himself for an innocent man being incarcerated on death row.

From that time onward, Melville became obsessed with freeing Alvarez. But life would take many twists and turns over the years before Melville’s plan could be implemented.

Harrowing obstacles in Melville’s life; deadly consequences for many in his sphere; and numerous people that perhaps were not trustworthy influenced the outcome of the dedicated attorney’s remorseful road to redemption.

With an atmospheric backdrop of a recreated haunted Gothic English mansion on an isolated hillside in the rain-soaked Pacific NW near an insane asylum, Phillip Margolin’s, “Murder at Black Oaks,” has something for everyone in this spooky, psychological murder mystery.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Phillip Margolin, and Publisher Minotaur Books for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

This book is giving "clue,' but in the best way possible. A locked door murder, a dark and mysterious manor, attorneys and a recently released former convict. What could go wrong?

A lot.
Someone dies.
Someone lives.
Who deserves which.....

First and foremost, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Murder at Black Oaks. The opinions expressed are my own.

I loved the first half of this murder mystery! It was intriguing!
However, the storyline veered off the main course. Too many elements and too many suspects entered and the main storyline lost focus. Of a truth, I am not a fan of the eerie setting: haunted house, curses, werewolves. That’s just me.

The locked room murder mystery was fun and the twist at the end was really surprising!
Character development is superb as always and the pacing was fast! Good light legal mystery!

i get what the author was going for; modern agatha christie/sir arthur conan doyle but i do not think it was especially successful.

the setting felt absurd, many characters do things that are nonsensical and the legal conceit that creates the conflict is a bit infuriating.

this was a mindless bit of fluff that makes me think of airport book stores.

Being very familiar with this author, I had an idea what to expect. I did end up enjoying this one. Murder at Black Oaks is the 6th book in the series about Robin Lockwood, a MMA competitor turned lawyer. Going through some pretty awful tragedies in previous books, Ms. Lockwood is a strong, smart woman who always seems to find herself solving crimes. Mr. Margolin is a great writer. He's descriptive and the plot moves along quickly. Being a fan of the locked room mysteries was another reason I liked this one. Black Oaks is a mansion in a secluded area in the Oregon mountains. Throw in a storm and the house occupants are stranded among a killer. Who done it? That is the ultimate question. If you like locked room mysteries, I would recommend this one.

3.5 stars

I liked that this was a legal thriller but then the book took a big turn halfway through and completely shifted tones. I then got really confused and it felt like too much was happening at one time. I will say that this was the 6th book in the series but I didn't feel confused by it at all which I appreciated.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

#MurderatBlackOaks #PhillipMargolin #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley
This is a thrilling novel with an intriguing premise. The story follows Attorney Robin Lockwood, whose storied past involves being an MMA fighter. Tough, smart, and tenacious, she is a formidable proponent of her clients' defense. Retired District Attorney Francis Melville approaches her to right a wrong and exonerate Jose Alvarez, a young man who had been wrongfully convicted by him. When Lockwood succeeds in her mission, Melville invites her, along with an embittered Alvarez, to Black Oaks, his isolated, brooding retreat in the mountains of Oregon, which has a tragic past and a curse.

When Melville is found murdered, Lockwood is the one who must find out the truth. She must determine which among the odd list of guests had the motive and means to commit the crime. This well-written and fast-paced novel is engaging and captivating. Fans of murder mysteries will enjoy reading or listening to it.

When attorney Robin Lockwood’s services are requested at Black Oaks Manor, she doesn’t know what to expect. She arrives with tales of werewolves and curses in her head. She quickly learns that former attorney Francis Hardy has called her to Black Oaks to release a prisoner wrongly accused and waiting on death row, but it quickly becomes apparent that that will not be the end of her connection to Black Oaks.

I have to admit, I requested this book before realizing that it was part of a series. I love a haunted house/isolation trope which is what drew me into this book. Even without reading the five previous books in this series, I think the author did a good job of providing enough context for Robin’s past for me to still follow everything that happened in the story. Beyond this, there were things I liked, but unfortunately, more things I didn’t like.

At first, I liked the pace of the book. Things happened very quickly, but the thing I was waiting for, the murder at Black Oaks, happened much further in the book than I would have liked with the title giving it away. Past the halfway point of the book, there were certain things included that I don’t personally love in mystery thrillers. There were a lot of characters added with not a lot of context or necessity, multiple off-shoot plots, Robin suddenly remembered things at the end to “solve” the mystery, and I felt like there were some points left without a conclusion (which may be because this is a series).

I don’t think these things will bother other readers, this just wasn’t a me book.

Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood is summoned by retired District Attorney Francis Melville to meet with him at Black Oaks, the isolated and spooky manor he owns up in the Oregon mountains. Melville has been plagued with guilt for years because of his part in sentencing a young, innocent man to life in prison. No longer as hampered by attorney client privilege as he once was, Melville wants Lockwood's help in procuring the release of Jose Alvarez. Before even being able to get to the matter at hand, a storm, a warning, and a murder change the trajectory of the visit. Will Robin be able to figure out what is happening before the danger becomes personal?

I liked the complex legal issues involved in this novel, but really did not care for the rest of it. Murder at Black Oaks read more like an old-time mystery novel, which I did not enjoy. The book was very short and wrapped up way too quickly. This was the weakest of the Robin Lockwood novels thus far and I probably will question reading more in the future. For these reasons, I would hesitate recommending Murder at Black Oaks to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this novel was entirely my own.

Not really his best novel in this series. I guess this was an homage to Agatha Christie books and those black and white mystery movies with spooky, haunted mansions. Just an ok book.

Unfortunately, this book did not hit the mark for me. I’ve never read any of Phillip Margolin’s books before, but I am a big fan of mysteries and thrillers. This book read like it was a middle school novel. Everything was written so simplistically, more-so seeming like constant summaries, and there was no character development whatsoever throughout the book. It’s like the author didn’t take any time to make you love or even like the characters.

This book is filled with monotone descriptions leaving the novel to have an insanely flat persona. The split up of the part made it even worse, because not only was that completely unnecessary, but it sped the timeline up which did a disservice to how the author could’ve kept the story flowing at a good pace and gave us insight to what was happening in between the gaps. The repetition throughout wanted to make me stop reading all together-there’s only so many times I can read “attorney-client privilege” and the name of the law firm before I go crazy.

The dialogue is so abrupt and blunt, it’s not natural. It was painful to read. And why was the theme of a werewolf even introduced? It provided nothing extra to the plot and was simply a waste of words. I had high hopes for this considering my love for this type of literature, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for a copy of this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is my first time reading this author. This is a really interesting story, a bit convoluted but a great story. Interesting ploy and mystery. I liked the characters. 4 stars

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

Murder at Black Oaks is the 6th Robin Lockwood legal mystery by Phillip Margolin. Released 8th Nov 2022 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats. Mass market paperback format due out in 4th quarter 2023.

The author is unquestionably adept at his craft. The characters, well established, feel realistic and believable. There are series-long interpersonal and collegial relationships which add a lot of depth to the narrative. As it's the 6th book in the series, readers starting with this volume might struggle a bit establishing a rapport with Robin and co. The background info provided in passing is necessary to relate to the characters, but not superfluous. Although they can be read in any order, there are spoilers for earlier books, so they're probably best read in chronological order.

This volume is action driven, as are the previous installments in the series. It's pure escapist reading and that's not a bad thing. The dialogue is choppy in places and I found myself yanked out of my suspension of disbelief sometimes by seemingly out-of-character and unrealistic plot developments. Margolin does manage to resolve the disparate plot threads into a satisfyingly cohesive climax, denouement, and resolution.

With 6 books extant in the series, and a 7th anticipated out in late 4th quarter 2023, this would be a good choice for a binge or buddy series read. Recommended for fans of legal/courtroom thrillers.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thanks # netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. Excellent plot twists. Highly recommend

This is book 6 in the Robin Lockwood series and it can stand alone. I loved this book and have not read any previous books by Phillip Margolin. I will be looking for the previous 5 books in this great who done it series. Robin is a lawyer hired by a previous prosecutor to free a man from prison who is innocent. When she accomplishes this, Francis Hardy invites her and Jose( the victim) to visit him at his home called Black Oaks. When Francis and another guest are murdered, it becomes a who done it with lots of great suspects. All the characters were fantastic and I look forward to more books in the series. Well done Mr. Margolin.

i thoroughly enjoyed this story. i thought the characters were believable and relevant. dialog was smart and on-point.