The Burning Man

By Phillip Margolin

Book Overview

From bestselling author Phillip Margolin, a fast-paced legal thriller packed with page-turning suspense.

Peter Hale is a young attorney struggling to make his own mark in his father's venerable law firm when he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. During the trial of a multimillion-dollar case, Peter's father, the lead counsel, suffers a heart attack and asks Peter to move for a mistrial until he's feeling better. Peter decides this is his only chance to prove to his father that he is the terrific lawyer he knows himself to be, and he chooses to carry on with the case against his father's wishes. In his zeal to prove himself, Peter neglects his client and ends up losing everything--the case, his job, and his father.

Unemployed and disinherited, Peter takes the only job he is offered--that of a public defender in a small Oregon town. He hopes that if he can make good there, he can reinstate himself in his father's good graces. But his ambition again gets the best of him when he takes on a death-penalty case, representing a mentally retarded man accused of the brutal hatchet murder of a college coed. He's in way over his head, and it's only when Peter realizes that his greed and his ego may end up killing his client that he begins to understand what it really takes to be a good lawyer--and to become a man.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553574957
• ISBN13: 9780553574951
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Twists & turns & surprise ending

I enjoyed the story & the characters. This author has many good books out there & I've read a few. Will definitely look for more. This book had me guessing up till the surprise ending.

A Most Outstanding Read !

I had never read a Phillip Margolin novel before. I found this book on my bookshelf realizing that my Mom had lent it to me several years ago and I had not read it. Long story short, I am so glad I came across it and decided to read it after it being on loan to me for several years. This title was an easy read and the story presents us with an interesting plot. A young lawyer, Peter, who works for his father's law firm is given direction to call for a mistrial on a case that he and his father are working on together, when his father suffers a heart attack. Instead, looking to be in the spotlight, Peter continues to conduct the court case unbeknownst to his father who is lying in the hospital recovering from his misfortune. Long story short, Peter is totally unprepared to conduct a case of this magnitude and winds up losing everything for his client. When his father comes out of the hospital and becomes aware of what Peter has done, he fires him from the firm and also disinherits him. Peter is sent away from the big city, Portland, to a small outlying area of Oregon called Whitaker. It is here that Peter tries to earn back his father's trust and respect, working as a lawyer in this "country" locale. It is also here where the story gets really good. The author gives us some terrific characters and some very interesting situations. You won't be able to put this one down! It reminded me so much of "The Firm," and truly it was every bit as good. Since this author is new to me, I have already purchased another one of his titles, "Heartstone" and I can't wait to get to it. Margolin, I can promise you is one of my new faves. I encourage you to read "The Burning Man" you will totally enjoy it.

Fantastic ! Great audiobook !!!!!!!!!!

This is one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. It had characters that kept my interest. The storyline was fast paced and never boring. The reader was superb. I highly recommend. I will listen to this more than once. This book is a keeper in my book.

HOT STUFF

One has to admire Margolin's ability to take standard characters and situations and mold them into engrossing, suspenseful thrillers. "The Burning Man" is a good example. We meet a spoiled, egocentric, self-centered lawyer named Peter Hale who botches a case for his stricken father, who is so upset with him he fires him from his law firm, disinherits him and ships him off to the boonies of Oregon (guess every state has their own boonies)to work as a public defender. His new boss, Amos Geary, immediately dislikes him, and Peter ends up handling the defense of a mentally retarded man accused of the horrible slaying of a college co-ed. Mixed in with this are a couple of druggies, Christopher Mammon and Kevin Booth. Add a career-minded, unethical female prosecutor, Becky O'Shay, and things heat up. Not to mention Peter's friend, Steve Mancini, and his new wife, Donna, who happens to be the accused's sister. Whew!At any rate, the plot moves along well, and there are several surprising revelations in the book. And yes, Peter, does become a better man after going through this mess!Highly enjoyable entertainment.And I think the title is pretty obvious once the book is ended.RECOMMENDED.

AN AWESOME COURT ROOM THRILLER!!!

This was definitely one of the most complex Phillip Margolin novels, but it was one of the best. A poor retarded man is on trial for the murder of a college coed. Peter Hale is the lawyer who is employed to defend the retarded man. But did this poor retarded man really kill the college student? Or his he just a spider entwined in a web of drugs and murder that may include the attorney, the DA, and even the judge? Can Peter Hale protect his client before he falls to the jaws of a death sentence or life in prison?

Fast Paced Legal Thriller

This is one of those books that makes the rest of the world disappear when you start reading. The outcome seemed fairly predictable early on but there were some surprising twists in the end. I loved this book. It's much better than anything I've read from John Grisham recently