Suspicion of Innocence

Fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable, with a more than palatable romantic side. An empathetic third-person narrative allows the reader to deeply relate to the main character's issues and personalities. No one is perfect here, which really makes the book a cut above your run of the mill fem-thrillers.

This is my second Barbara Parker novel. The first one was very slow and it was hard to stay focused on it. That novel was called Suspicion of Guilt. Now this novel, is just as slow. A lot of romance and a lot of flirting games that takes up a lot of the story. Barbara Parker also describes each person in too much detail. Don't mistake me, I think it is great that an author can describe their characters good, but I don't need to know about his sparkling jewelry and wear he bought his loafers, and about his Gucci, neatly pressed suit in EACH CHAPTER! The suspense was slow until the end. Then you got to hear about the main characters daughter's problems. Very slow moving plot for about the first 430 pages. Then the last 15 were good. The book talked about totally different trial cases that had nothing to do with the main plot of the story! By the way, Gail and Anthony are such sappy characters. I won't be reading much more Barbara Parker. If you like lawyers and suspense try Phillip Margolin.

I seem to be reading this series backward. Excellent read, suspenseful, interesting romance, human characters. I think women will intuit the killer sooner; I know I did. This is a legal procedural and the main characters are very interesting.
This is a cannot-put-down book. I will read forward from here.

I picked up this book at a tag sale not knowing Barbara Parker's work and was quickly enamored with it. Her characters are believable and the story line is engaging. No mushy stuff here.

I quickly went online to look for the next in the series.

Definately worth reading.

... The basic plot is a "whodunnit" legal thrilled where the heroine, Gail Connor, falls under suspicion for the murder of her sister Renée. There are subplots of jealousy, her marriage falling apart, her daughter being ignored, Renée's history, her work, an Indian clay mask, a dodgy older relative, but these are all secondary to the (for me, anyway) highlight of the book which is the relationship between Gail and a criminal lawyer Anthony Quintana. This man is described in much details, and it's all good! He is also a very interesting character (a Cuban man) and a strong character, as is Gail. Their relationship is a strong foundation for this book, and of the (currently) six follow up books. Certainly as a man he doesn't disappoint!

The plot is OK, the whodunnit is guessable, but it's the local Miami colour, the interesting conversations and dealings between the characters, which make it a great read. Barbara Parker writes with good humour and intelligence and I really care about what happens to these characters, although in subsequent books I occasionally want to shoot Gail for being very dim! But it's an excellent start to the series and well worth a read. And if you like tall, dark and handsome male leads then you can't get any better than Anthony Quintana. He's rich too!

I must admit I had a hard time staying with this one. I can only hope the rest of the series is more exciting. I did like the characters but hope that they get built up more in the coming books. The ending did pick up and the book finally got exciting, but to read through all of those pages to get to it was hard for me.

The story begins with Gail Connor, an attorney on the verge of a great partnership at a highly successful law firm. Early on in the story though, her sister Renee's body is found in the water, and from there all the trouble begins.

Gail is the first one suspected of her murder since the two of them never did get along with each other. And Britton, the detective is right on Gail's heels the whole time asking questions, until she is finally arrested for the murder.

Of course, there is a deep mystery to the whole thing. Gail is lucky enough to be released on bail until trial, and during this time she digs deeply to find out clues as to who killed her sister. And as she digs for clues, the answer is closer than she ever thought possible and has a surprise ending.

Along with everything else in the story, Gail's marriage is falling apart rapidly, and Anthony Quintana, the criminal attorney at the firm, not only tries to help her out of this whole mess, but the two begin to fall in love with each other.

I only read this book since it was so highly recommended by a friend, who shares the same taste in books as I do. As it would turn out - the recommendation was right on the money. I was hooked from the first chapter, and couldn't set the book down until I had finished. It was captivating. The characters were believable and the plot intriguing. Fantastic! I'm a new fan of Ms. parker's, and intend to read everything she's ever written and will write in the future!

So my friend gave me this book after she read it (sorry amazon) and this was my first time reading this author. She writes well and kept my interest throughout. I look forward to reading the next in the series (which I will probably have to order through amazon).

Good book excellent service