Book Review: Special Circumstances

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Special Circumstances     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Sheldon Siegel
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Legal Setting   Thriller
Series: Michael Daley # 1
Bantam, Feb 2000, $24.95, 448 pp.

The partners at San Francisco’s prestigious Simpson and Gates law firm force Mike Daley into resigning. Mike failed to deliver enough business in his five years in the white-collar criminal division. At the same time that Mike is fired, another Simpson and Gates attorney Prentice “Skipper” Gates III leaves to begin his political career as the district attorney.

While Mike quietly packs and Skipper celebrates, someone kills two other attorneys (partner Bob Holmes and associate Donna Williams) who failed to close a deal. The police accuse another person working the lost deal, Joel Friedman, of murder. Skipper petitions the court to invoke SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES as Friedman deserves nothing short of the death penalty for the cold-blooded killings. Joel hires Mike to represent him even as Skipper sees this case as the media ticket to his higher ambitions.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES is a special legal thriller that, if justice exists, will make debut author Sheldon Siegel a household name. The story line is well written as Mr. Siegel establishes the identities and personalities of his characters and their interrelationships early in the novel. The court room drama, which takes up much of the latter half of the book, is filled with detail that slows down the fast-paced plot yet adds judicial depth rarely seen in a tale. The lead protagonist is a wonderful character who hopefully will return to provide sub-genre fans with more courtroom excitement.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner