"Theodore Boone: The Accused" by John Grisham / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

A young wannabe lawyer finds himself on the wrong side of the law in “Theodore Boone: The Accused” by John Grisham. Read my review.

I grew up reading John Grisham books.  Now my son has the same opportunity.  We read this one together.

Theodore Boone is the son of two attorneys.  He wants to be an attorney when he grows up.  And, though he is still a kid, he is already practicing law amongst his friends and even representing llamas in court.  In this third installment of this Young Adult series, John Grisham trumps Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.  My son and I have read the first three books and we can’t wait to read the fourth.  My son can’t get enough of it and neither can the other kids at his school.  The library can’t keep the several copies there in stock.

In “Theodore Boone: The Accused,” young Boone finds himself on the wrong side of the law.  He gets to feel what it is like to be suspected by the police and, since they are convinced that he has committed the crime, it is up to him and his disbarred Bob Dylan-humming uncle to clear Theodore’s name before it is too late.

What I love first about the series is that you can’t put it down.  Secondarily, it teaches legal process to kids in a truthful and fair way.  By fair, in this installment, the police who are normally the good guys are characterized as two jerks, my son’s opinion.  It’s a good lesson that just because the newspapers say someone is arrested does not mean that they are guilty and sometimes detectives want credit for wrapping up a case greater than they want delayed justice.  Just because someone is in uniform doesn’t make them the good guy.  (My son and I kept waiting for the detectives to officially apologize for falsely maligning Theodore, but it never came.  That’s when my son decided they were jerks.)

John Grisham has made a career out of the legal mystery.  In fact, some say he created the genre.  I believe, when we are long gone, that what Grisham will be remembered for is Theodore Boone and creating a whole new generation of avid readers.  I’ve seen it in my son.  I’ve seen it in the other kids at my son’s school.  I’ve seen it in myself.  These books are hot and, like a Disney film, they transcend numerous generations.  My opinion?  Theodore Boone is Grisham’s best.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is a husband, father, author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com), business owner (www.AmericanBlackguard.com), and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com) with over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). Publishers Weekly has named Stafford one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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“Imitation of Death” by Cheryl Crane / Monday, December 10, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Imitation of Death by Cheryl Crane.

Pruning sheers right in the chest.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

What could be finer on a cold winter day than a cozy from sunny California?

“Imitation of Death” by Cheryl Crane is the second mystery featuring Nicolette “Nikki” Harper, a Hollywood celebrity realtor who is also the daughter of fictional Hollywood star Victoria Bordeaux (just as author Cheryl Crane is the actual daughter of film legend Lana Turner).

The present-day murder mystery begins with a pair of pruning sheers. Nikki is not a detective by trade, but she can’t help but get involved to defend the gardener she knows in her heart is innocent. Using her influence as the child of a famous Hollywood actress to gain access to her mother’s rolodex, the investigative techniques of the mother / daughter partnership falls somewhere between “Murder She Wrote” and Nancy Drew. I appreciated the purposeful plotting and excellent end revelation, along with the long list of certainly flawed suspects on all echelons of Hollywood social strata.

Just by growing up in that bubble, children of celebrities know many skeletons in the Hollywood closet and Cheryl Crane fictionalizes them delightfully here. A most-enjoyable couple of hours of amateur sleuthing through Beverly Hills.

From the publisher:

“Cheryl Crane, daughter of movie icon Lana Turner, brings her Hollywood insider expertise to the second book in a star-studded mystery series featuring celebrity realtor-turned-sleuth Nikki Harper and her screen goddess mother, Victoria Bordeaux…Nikki Harper is a superstar among Hollywood realtors. Among private investigators however, she’s strictly amateur, and her first case was a Waterworld-sized disaster. But when a body turns up in a dumpster behind Victoria Bordeaux’s mansion, Nikki feels duty-bound to get involved. Before his demise, Eddie Bernard was the uber-privileged son of one of the biggest TV producers of all time, and a spoiled, violent, party-boy loser. The list of people glad to see him gone could stretch from one end of Bel Air to the other. In fact, about the only person Nikki’s sure is innocent is the prime suspect: Jorge Delgado, her childhood friend and the son of Victoria’s housekeeper. With the D.A. and the media throwing the words “death penalty” around, Nikki has to help. Victoria, of course, can’t wait to delve into another Tinseltown scandal, and soon Nikki is submerged in a secret world of celebrity drug-dealing, dangerous cults, conniving stars, illegal aliens and, of all things, the Food Network. With the aid of a voyeuristic neighbour and some good old-fashioned bribery, Nikki starts to close in on the truth. But can she keep Jorge from facing the final curtain…while keeping herself out of a killer’s spotlight?”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville