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The Ex isn’t great but it is a good read
Book Review
By Derryll White
Burke, Alafair (2016). The Ex.
Olivia Randall is a 43-year-old lawyer in partnership with Don Ellison, her mentor and honorary dad. Burke is very meticulous in building Olivia’s character. The reader accepts her as a real being, with a clever sense of how the court works and just what the defense counsel’s role is in this sometimes elaborate charade of justice.
Alafair Burke uses her years as a criminal prosecutor and background as a professor of criminal law to good advantage. It has been a long time since I have read such a clear presentation of how a criminal case comes together. It is actually a little scary and brings to mind some advice a retired RCMP staff sergeant gave me – “Never talk to the police!”
‘The Ex’ is a tight story that works hard at character development – psychological, physical, sensory – Burke uses it all. Then she throws a surprising twist into the end that I certainly didn’t see coming. This isn’t a great book but it is a good read.
****
Excerpts from the novel:
RBF – At forty-three, I knew by now that my natural expression when I was thinking – intense, brow furrowed, lips pursed – could be intimidating to most people. The Internet called it RBF: Rest Bitching Face. And, no question, I had it.
JUSTICE – “Unfortunately for my client, the victim-was-an-asshole isn’t a defense.”
“Maybe not officially, but when juries like the so-called bad guy more than the victim, they don’t put anyone in jail. You see it all the time on the news. From that chick who cut her man’s pecker off to the racists who get away with killing kids in hoodies. It’s a popularity contest.”
PARENTS – He loved his parents, but they did a fucking number on him, because that’s what all parents do. His dad was always angry – resentful that he didn’t have more to give his family. And his mom was always trying to keep the peace. It made Jack learn how to be passive.”
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
