Charlie a former petty criminal, who escaped to Africa to avoid a murder rap, returns to the United States to turn himself in and face the murder with which he is charged. Amanda Jaffe agrees to defend him, just as her father Frank Jaffe, defended Charlie's former lover, Sally Pope of killing her husband years ago. Now, Charlie is accused of killing Sally Pope's husband. Meanwhile, Frank must confront Sally regarding Charlie's case for Amanda. ( )

One is challenged to like anybody where a story has so few simply good people. Technically, this is a very complex and intricate story. At any rate, Amanda Jaffe is a very different person than Mr. Margolin's other principal character. I think I like Peter Lovesey better. ( )

The Fugitive is filled with believable characters,tension, and enough plot twists to keep you turning pages. ( )

The first author's name that comes to mind when someone asks me for my favorite legal thriller author is Phillip Margolin. The title Fugitive, is the 5th book of the Amanda Jaffe series and I've thoroughly enjoyed each novel. There are twists and turns that I didn't see coming (and I do try to predict) but they are clearly written and paced so that the details are still intriguing to follow without getting 'lost' and the characters stay true to the characterizations that are developed for each. All I can say is "Don't miss it!" The only thing to miss is sleep if you read at bedtime as I do as you won't want to put it down and turn off the light. :) ( )

In Fugitive, the central character is a rather despicable person, a con-man and a fraud whose celebrity and fortune are all based on lies. When a congress man and son of a wealthy and powerful man is murdered, he flees the country, fearing that he will take the fall for the murder. He winds up in a rogue African country, the guest of a warlord. Things take a serious turn for the worse for Charlie Marsh when he has an affair with the warlord’s wife and must flee Africa for his life. He returns to the United States, facing the same murder charge that made him leave, and is in the capable hands of Amanda Jaffe, as she tries to get him off on the murder charges.

This was a fun, legal thriller. There were many twists and turns in the novel. It was also a novel that worked at many levels. There was the whole mystery element of who killed the congress man. When Charlie returns, there are multiple people who are trying to kill him. He has to deal with his slimy, old agent who is trying to return to work for him. And there is also the matter of the diamonds he stole from the warlord. One of the things I enjoyed about the novel is that there was so much going on. If it was simply a matter of the legal case, it probably wouldn’t have been so interesting, but these other elements thickened the plot and made it all the more enjoyable.

Carl Alves – author of Conjesero ( )