Reviewed by annieb123 on
A Matter of Life and Death is the fourth Robin Lockwood legal mystery by Phillip Margolin. Due out 9th March 2021 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written action filled plot driven legal mystery with an insider's view to much of the legal process, including high stakes cases (capital murder, in this case). Robin Lockwood and co. are back and they're as committed to justice as in the previous books. The story contains several subplots which intertwine more and more closely as the book progresses toward the final satisfying climax and denouement.
The protagonist is intelligent and tenacious (she's a former MMA martial artist - so something of a badass in addition to being a lawyer). The author includes some legal procedural content and background notes which I found fascinating (he's a former trial lawyer also, so seems to know what he's talking about).
The language is R rated for cursing, mild on-page sex, and descriptions of murder. Nothing that is egregiously graphic or NSFW. Nothing here which will scandalize other commuters or co-workers.
Four stars. Well written and an enjoyable read. I would recommend it to readers of legal procedurals and modern murder mysteries.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 March, 2021: Finished reading
- 9 March, 2021: Reviewed