Acts of Malice
by
Perri O'Shaughnessy

Read by

Laurel Merlington

Brilliance Audio, 1999, 3 hours, 2 cassettes
ISBN: 1-56740-978-4

Genre: Mystery
Reviewed: 12/21/2001

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Read Part of the Book

At the prelim of Jim Strong...

When the prelim started, it began as Nina expected with Collier putting Doc Clausen on the stand first.

His testimony so far had more holes in it than a Moscow theater curtain. He had showed up at the courthouse visibly nervous. Collier was questioning him trying to explain away that first report that called Alex's death an accident. After that, they moved onto the boots and the marks left on the victim's torso.

To the left of the witness box, Judge Flairity took notes, pinched his pouchy cheeks thoughtfully, and stared out into space. He would decide in the next day or two if the charges against Jim would stand.

The lunch hour had arrived and with it, Clausen's big moment.

Collier read his question from his notes, which legalize aside was, "Based on your experience, based on the autopsy findings, based on the fibers, the skin marks, the state of the clothing...what was the amended finding of the Office of the Coroner?"

"Homicide," Clausen said. Turned over to the police for further investigation.

Review

In South Lake Tahoe, Nina Riley is paid a visit by Jim Strong, a professional skier. He works a Paradise Ski Resort, and he is worried that he is going to be charged with his brother's death. He and his brother, Alex, had been skiing, when his brother had slipped on some ice and plunged off a small cliff onto the rocks below.  It also seems that Jim's wife, Heidi disappeared three days after Alex's death and sent a letter to the police stating that Jim had made comments about killing his brother a few days before Alex had died. Nina decides to take the case and becomes Jim's lawyer. He wanted her to find Heidi and defend him in court, if it comes down to that. Collier Hallowell, who works at the District Attorney's office, is the prosecuting attorney. Nina had comforted him when his wife died, but then Collier had disappeared. Now fully healed mentally, Collier was back and the attraction was instantaneous. They fall into a steamy relationship that neither of them can stop. Jim blows a fuse when he learns of the relationship and shocks Nina with his tone. Nina realized that Jim may not be the person that she thought he was and starts to doubt her client's innocence.

This is an audio version of the book Acts of Malice by Perri O'Shaughnessy. The story is read by Laurel Merlington. This audio book is in cassette format, consisting of 2 cassettes, each about 1½ hours, and plays for 3 hours. This is an abridged version of the novel. Acts of Malice is an investigative murder mystery where a lawyer gets caught up in the lies revolving around the death of Alex Strong.

Not being a huge Mystery fan, but liking Lake Tahoe, I popped in the first cassette of Acts of Malice and sat down to enjoy 3 hours of murder and intrigue. I was pleasantly please with Laurel Merlington, the narrator. She uses many different accents and depths of voice to tell the story. I found myself constantly changing my mind as to whether Jim strong was guilty or not. The only thing that really bothered me was the the prosecuting and defending attorneys became romantically involved. This did not strike me a professional thing to do in the middle of a case. Other than that one small factor, I quite enjoyed the storytelling and the pace of the audio book. It is a great way to polish off three hours of listening entertainment in the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains of South Lake Tahoe.