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The Third Victim by Phillip Margolin is the first in a new series.
Margolin is back with his expertise of legal suspense crime
novels. What makes his books interesting is the ability to
intertwine facts about the justice system within a riveting
plot.
The book begins with a horrific scene of a girl stumbling
out of the woods and collapsing on the highway. She has been
badly burned, beaten, and tortured. The investigation would
later show that this woman was the ‘third victim’
of a sadistic killer. Luckily she was able to escape before
he finished the job. Persons of interest pile up Alex Mason,
a prominent defense attorney who owns the cabin where the
torture takes place; Arnold Prater, a rogue police officer,
and a drug-dealing pimp, Jackson Wright. Readers enter the
courtroom with the defense attorneys, Regina Barrister and
Robin Lockwood, as they try to figure out who the real tormentor
is.
Margolin noted, “I pioneered the battered woman defense
back in Oregon in 1979. No one understood the dynamics of
wife beating and why they stayed with their abuser. That year
I represented a woman who murdered her husband with a hammer
after he passed out drunk. During the course of my investigation
I found out she was beaten by him for fourteen years and he
also pushed her down a flight of stairs. She got probation.
After that, I lectured and wrote articles on how to use it
as a defense.”
As with all of his novels, Margolin explores societal issues,
with this book being no different. Alzheimer’s is dealt
with in a very understanding manner. Regina, a high-powered
defense attorney, in the midst of a very serious case of murder
and torture is starting to forget important information and
is not able to hide it from the rest of the team that includes
her newly hired associate Robin Lockwood. Since Regina is
known for her quick wit, sharp mind, and immaculate research,
Robin thought this would be her dream job, having a great
mentor. Yet, she now must decide what to do, weighing her
desire to continue working with Regina against her moral compass.
Does she approach her or some of the trusted friends, and
if so how to avoid confrontation since Regina is obviously
in denial?
Using this disease as an inspiration for the story, “I
read this article in the Oregon State Bar Journal that examines
what should be done when a senior partner in a big law firm,
a rainmaker, starts showing signs of dementia. This made me
think about a young lawyer who starts working with her idol
on a death penalty case and realizes something is wrong. It
is also personal since my grandmother, mother-in-law, and
my aunt had Alzheimer’s. I think it is worse for people
who are around them. I remember when I went back to New York
and called my aunt to get together for lunch. After lunch,
we were sitting in the park and she did not know where was
her apartment. Five minutes later she asked the question again.
My father and brother flew out and we took her back to Oregon.”
Margolin never disappoints readers with his legal thrillers.
He chooses an issue relevant to today and encases it in a
story involving some crime. This book is really two plots
in one, a murder mystery and an examination of the impact
of Alzheimer’s.
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