I was excited for Murder at Black Oaks because the description sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the synopsis was misleading. It sets up the story as a country manor mystery, which it isn't. We spend most of the time in the courtroom or learning about various trials. The murder at the manor seems superfluous as Robin Lockwood solves not just one, but four murders. Three of which have only loose connections to the manor and the primary murder. Add in a werewolf-death curse that is described in great detail but has almost nothing to do with plot except to add atmosphere, and we're left with a book that is confused and disjointed. Each of these threads could have been a book on their own. If the author had spent more time flushing out one of these storylines instead of jamming as many as they could into one book, the story would have been much more interesting and cohesive.

Additionally, I found most of the book's premise and the characters far too unbelievable to care much for any of them. My least favorite part of this book is the case that backbones the novel. Francis Melville, a lawyer, has a client who confesses to another crime, the murder of a young woman. The trial for that murder, which happened some years ago, ended with a young Latinx man, Jose Alvarez, being sent to death row. Due to confidentiality, Melville does not say anything until his client dies, then brings the case to Robin in the hope of freeing Jose, who we now know, has been wrongly imprisoned for 30 years. Margolin has set up Melville as a charitable character, one who is wracked with guilt, and has done everything in his life to atone for his silence. However, attorney-client confidentiality is not as sacrosanct as Margolin would have the reader believe. And any reader remotely familiar with law or who loves crime fiction, will know this. The ethical dilemma that is supposedly so “legally binding” is not really a dilemma at all. And the only reason for this character to stay silent are for incredibly self-serving reasons which Margolin has assured us is not in character. The whole plot is perplexing and convoluted.

When Jose Alvarez is freed, he is justifiably angry but repeatedly told by Robin, his lawyer, and our hero, that he should be grateful to Melville, that Melville’s hands were tied, that Melville is trying to atone, and that Jose will regret his anger later. The reader is urged again and again throughout the novel to sympathize with Robin and Melville, two white characters, and to view Jose’s rage as valid but only up to a point. At the end of the novel, Jose tells Robin she was right and he regrets his anger towards Melville. If Margolin was attempting a form of social commentary about the justice system with this story, it fails horribly. Jose’s emotional journey isn’t given the weight it deserves, instead, its undermined by the white guilt, white savior complex, and condescension of the main characters.

I will say that Phillip Margolin's writing is engaging - that's why I stuck with the novel despite my incredulity and growing frustration as a reader. The audiobook narrator was fine but didn't lend anything particularly exciting to the voice of the novel. If I had to listen to her read another audiobook, I would, but I won't actively look for anything else she's narrated.

In 1990, Deputy district attorney, Frank Melville represented Jose Alvarez in an aggravated murder case. Jose was found guilty and sentenced to death. Frank is sick about the case as his instincts tell him Jose is innocent, but he’s done all he can for him. When he finds out his instincts were right, his hands are tied as the confession of guilt comes from another client. Frank must abide by the attorney client privilege or be disbarred. Years later, Frank, no longer an attorney, decides to set things right and hires Robin Lockwood to make a case for Jose’s innocence and set him free. At a celebration weekend held at the creepy mansion of Black Oaks, owned by Melville, Melville is found dead in the homes elevator. The guest list has more than one person that had reason to kill Melville, but in the end the culprit just might surprise you. Margolin gives us a fun read/listen with this locked room mystery. Entertaining at the time, but not one that will stay with you for long. Thank you to Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

Murder at Black Oaks is a fun and fast murder mystery. I couldn’t help thinking of the classic “And Then There Were None” By Agatha Christie while listening to this and then the characters even mentioned they felt like they were in an Agatha Christie novel. It was clear what Phillip Margolin was going for and I think he was mostly successful.

This is the sixth book in the Robin Lockwood series, I came to this with no knowledge of the series and enjoyed this as a standalone. At no point did I feel lost for not knowing the rest of the series.

This is a locked room mystery and those tend to be on the clever side but I felt Murder at Black Oaks was lacking anything new or different. It's written well and told well but just didn’t bring anything new to the genre.

Murder at Black Oaks was also very predictable, from the identity of certain characters to the killer. It was easy to see where the details were leading us long before it was explained.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I love the main character Robin and she is surrounded by great supporting characters in this story. I wish it had more surprises but I would still recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this latest Margolin offering. I had not read him in a while. A good tale, told well, and the narration is excellent. And now that I have finished, I must add that I found the ending a twist and this was a great listen.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of Murder at Black Oaks. This is the sixth book in the Robin Lockwood series, however this is the first I have read and it was ok as a standalone. The book was a little lite on substance, but was a fun, easy mystery. One of my hand ups is the fact there were like a million different mysteries on one book needing to be solved. The audio version was done well. If you are looking for an easy to read mystery series the Robin Lockwood series is for you.

I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’d be interested in them.

It starts off with a guy who has been sentenced to death row, wrongfully. A former DA, who has since gone into private practice, was hired by a guy who after the case admits his was the murderer. Because of client-lawyer privilege, Frank cannot go to the police. This is where his nightmare begins when he realizes he sent an innocent man to prison.

They take the case to court and are able to get Jose released thanks to Robin, who Frank has hired to help.

Frank wants to meet Jose and do anything he can to get him on his feet and back into society. Robin and Jose head to Frank's manor to meet with him, and the story takes an unexpected twist.

There is a rainstorm with mud slides which make it impossible to leave the manor. Frank is killed in the elevator, but who did it?! It wasn’t who I expected it to be, that's for sure. This is a great legal thriller to mystery read, I didn’t stop listening until the end!

A special thank you to NetGalley for the read in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book! It gave me The Guest House combined with Shiver vibes — if you enjoyed those mystery/thrillers, you’ll enjoy this too! I also loved how it almost seemed that a podcast or series of different events and trials throughout the book. It came together so well! All the details I thought were a bit strange in the beginning, had a reason behind them in the end. It was a great listen!

Murder at Black Oaks was a good book for me to escape from reality for a short bit. This author and series are new to me, and I look forward to starting the series from the beginning.

Instead of the usual one mystery plot, this book came with a few mini mysteries that all tied in together at the end. There were enough suspects, as tangents that you could follow, to misdirect from the real killer.

Many times in mysteries, when there are multiple characters, the story gets too bogged down in characters and sub stories that the storyline is hard to follow. There were just enough descriptions of each character, to make the story easy to follow as well as to help keep the characters straight in my mind.
For me, the story moved at a quick pace, and I finished it very quickly.

I appreciate NetGalley for the advanced listener copy, and look forward to reading more of this series about Robin Lockwood by Phillip Margolin.

I highly recommend Murder at Black Oaks. Just when I thought I’d figured it out there was another twist.
I didn’t realize that this was #6 of a series. It easily stands on its own. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
The narration by Thérèse Plummer is well paced and very easy to follow.
Thank You to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley and Phillip Margolin for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook

This book was incredible. I hung on the narrator’s every word and was surprised at the end. I will look for more books from this author.

I really liked the audio narration for this one.

I know I say this all the time but I just love the Robin Lockwood series so much. She’s smart feisty and she can throw down if need be.

The last book we left off with Robin grieving a terrible loss. She doesn’t have many tender moments. So this gets addressed in the beginning but not much after that, which surprised me.

She beats the crap out of some bad guy in this book some HUUUUGE bad guy.

This book had lots of plots intertwined. It made it a little harder than usual to keep the stories straight.

The guy who was wrongfully convicted broke my heart….but y’all know Robin Lockwood fights for justice no matter what.

This book was good and kept me interested the whole time. The beginning was my favorite part. While this wasn’t my very fav in the series I still enjoyed it and can’t wait to see what Rockin Robin does in the next book.

I highly recommend this series as a whole.

Thank you Net Galley For this advanced copy and audio listen of this book. I was not reimbursed or influenced to write this honest review.

Robin Lockwood, a defense attorney, finds herself once again at the center of a murder investigation (this always makes me laugh, like the lady in Murder She Wrote, I mean I would run for the hills if I saw her coming my way!) Anyway, I know its just fiction, but makes me chuckle a bit.

Robin is summoned to the Melville home to help Frank relieve himself of the torture he has been living under the past 20 years after he discovers he sent an innocent man to prison and to be put on death row. With mounding guilt he calls upon Robin to help set the man free, which involves Robin visiting him at his secluded (haunted? mansion) As with any good mystery, a storm ensues and Robin and the other guest are stuck in the mansion and people start dying.....is it the newly free death row inmate? The caterers? The Police Officer? Or the escaped patients from the prison?

This is my second Robin Lockwood book in the series (#6 so far) and from what I can gather from the first one (# 5) and this one. Margolin is very good at creating suspense and throwing a great "Gotcha sucked into the plot" type book. He offers his readers very short, fast paced books with NO fluff.
By no fluff I mean, absolutely no character development, which is not bad if you are in for a quick wham bam thank you mam read. It does make it difficult to keep the numerous characters straight however.
I felt like this book there were too many plot lines, murders, and characters to fully comprehend all that was going on. I was entertained the whole time, but felt confused by all the "sameness" of the characters.
I believe if he could have added about 30-50 pages of more detail or slowed down the pace a bit I could have enjoyed it more.

Either way, I am loving Robin and can't wait for #7

To begin, this was my first dive into audio books and I was very excited to explore a new way to discover new books.

Book Plot: “In Phillip Margolin's Murder at Black Oaks, Attorney Robin Lockwood finds herself at an isolated retreat in the Oregon mountains, one with a tragic past and a legendary curse, and surrounded by many suspects and confronted with an impossible crime.

Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood is summoned by retired District Attorney Francis Melville to meet with him at Black Oaks, the manor he owns up in the Oregon mountains. The manor has an interesting history - originally built in 1628 in England, there's a murderous legend and curse attached to the mansion. Melville, however, wants Lockwood's help in a legal matter - righting a wrongful conviction from his days as a DA. A young man, Jose Alvarez, was convicted of murdering his girlfriend only for Melville, years later when in private practice, to have a client of his admit to the murder and to framing the man Melville convicted. Unable to reveal what he knew due to attorney client confidence, Melville now wants Lockwood's help in getting that conviction overturned.

Successful in their efforts, Melville invites Lockwood up to Black Oaks for a celebration. Lockwood finds herself among an odd group of invitees - including the bitter, newly released, Alvarez. When Melville is found murdered, with a knife connected to the original curse, Lockwood finds herself faced with a conundrum - who is the murder among them and how to stop them before there's another victim.” - NetGalley

My Opinion: I appreciated what a quick listen this was, only about 5 hours long and it was a great thing to listen to while driving to and from work. The story hooks you from the beginning which I appreciated. Characters are briefly developed, the author provides enough information for you to be able to relate but not so much that it overwhelms you.

The story is VERY fast paced and filled with many twists and turns. This was intriguing but at times made it difficult to follow along. As the story developed more characters become involved which adds to the plot of the story but again makes it a bit confusing to keep track of at times. I found myself disregarding some of those characters and only focusing when the main characters were involved. The ending was a bit unexpected but at the same time a bit cliche when it comes to mystery novels.

Overall, a short read with many twists and turns but a bit dizzy making.

Murder at Black Oaks by Phillip Margolin

This is book 6 of the Robin Lockwood series but this is the first that I have read from the series. I was able to read this as a stand alone. First off I will say that I plan on going back and reading the other five books I enjoyed this one so much.

The book starts off in a murder trial of a young girl who was murdered at Randolph college her name was Margo Prescott. Her boyfriend at the time was Jose Alvarez who gets accused of the murder and is promptly sent to death row for the murder. Frank Melville was the prosecuting attorney who tried the case. The book fast forwards with Frank leaving the DA's office and goes into private practice. He handles mostly injury but will take on a criminal case as well. The star witness in the Alvarez case his name is Archie Stallings comes to see him for a rape charge that he is dealing with. Frank takes the case and gets Archie off on the charges of rape at the end of the case Archie confesses to the murder of Margo Prescott. Melville is bound by attorney client privilege.

Melville retires and heads abruptly and starts to work towards getting innocent people out of jail. He decides to pursue to help Alvarez by hiring Robin Lockwood to get him out of jail and death row.
Melville is living in a curse house called the Black Oaks with its own history of werewolves tales. Melville loses his wife in an automobile accident that leaves him wheelchair bond.

This is a really good story with lots of twists and turns happening some more deaths occur and it is up to Robin Lockwood to solve the case. Does robin succeed in getting Alvarez out of jail? Will the curse at the Black Oaks house finally play its last curse on the Melville family. To find out you must read this fast paced story it is a good legal thriller.

I was so entertained by this story and I was really invested in the outcome of the characters. I really liked Jose Alvarez character. He come from a poor immigrant family and was making something of his life before he was charged with capital murder and sent to death row. This is a five star read for me and I will be returning to read the other books in the series.

The audio book was narrated by Thérèse Plummer who did a great job giving life to each character in the book. Each character had their own voice and it was easy to follow along.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for a free audio copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Fun and fast legal mystery for fans of a locked door trope! The tone reminds me of a cozy mystery, but with a few sharp edges.

I didn’t realize this was a series, so I started on book 6, and I’ll probably read future books in the series. Even so, I don’t feel like I was missing a lot of context. Margolin does a great job at dropping us into a lawyer’s life without overwhelming the lay,an with legal jargon. Fans of legal TV should be familiar with the phrases used.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. It wasn’t the most expressive, but that fit the character of this no nonsense lawyer.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Phillip Margolin for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I didn't realize that Murder at Black Oaks was part of a series but this fact did not hamper my enjoyment! It is a classic who done it with a real Agatha Christie vibe.....haunted mansion, dinner guests mysteriously disappearing, escapees from the asylum and a Miss Marple character who is both a lawyer and an ex MMA fighter... what fun! I I love a good mystery and have never read a Phillip Margolin title....I will be looking for more. The narrator did an excellent job...characters were easy to distinguish without any theatrics or gimmicks.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is #6 in the fast-paced Robin Lockwood legal thriller series. These legal thrillers are all quick reads (or audiobooks) and the reader can't help but like Rockin Robin. The narrator does a great job with the audiobook. Fans of legal thrillers will enjoy this series. I would start at the beginning even though this is a stand alone.

In The latest installment of the Robin Lockwood series, Robin must help save an innocent man from death row and survive a stay in a cursed mansion. This book follows Robin as she investigates several cases all of which lead to a shocking conclusion! I was interested in this book from the start! I wish I had read the rest of the series first but I was able to follow the story even without background knowledge of the earlier novels. I enjoyed the cast of quirky and endearing characters. I found myself so happy, sad, and shocked with the outcome for several of the characters. I also enjoyed the narration.
However, I did feel that there was a little bit too much going on in this novel. Robin solves several cases throughout the story and it almost felt like reading short stories with common characters. I also had a serious case of deja vu as one of the cases is so similar to The Lincoln Lawyer by Micheal Connelly.

The mystery was interesting and eerie, but I felt like everything could have been built on a bit more if the book were to be lengthened. It was a fun read, but felt that it wrapped up too quickly with so many more elements and possibilities that could have been explored more. This suspense/thriller/mystery was on the shorter side at less than 6 hours, making it a great option for those looking for a quicker listen. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

Narrated by Therese Plummer and she does a fantastic job.

As a stand alone novel this did not work for me. There are multiple, too many, plot points and the switches between each are too abrupt. It seriously reads like several short novellas as opposed to a single concise story.

With each iteration of the plot new characters are introduced and it becomes difficult to keep track of who is who and what role they play. (I read this as a stand alone novel so perhaps these are reoccurring characters and a reader familiar with this series would not have this same issue.)

In the end, this book left me very confused. It is trying to be too many vastly different things e.g. legal procedural drama, fantasy, murder mystery. Each plot brought up and abandoned too abruptly. Each one treated with too much lightheartedness. Filled with platitudes, clichés, and real life concepts simplified to borderline with too much naivete, it was difficult for me to take it all seriously.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to the audio version of the ARC.