Solomon vs. Lord.

• Author: Winegardner, Jennifer
• Position: Book Review

Solomon vs. Lord By Paul Levine

Reading Paul Levine's Solomon vs. Lord is like watching a hot new TV show. It's a fast book. You can pick it up and read a few chapters at a time, or block out an entire rainy Saturday to read.

Levine introduces Victoria Lord, a newish tightly wound attorney destined for a brilliant career, and the devil-with-a-heart-of-gold Steve Solomon, a little older, and a little wiser. Solomon and Lord first meet as opposing counsel in a criminal case. They hate each other, and end up in jail together for contempt after they erupt in front of the judge. Solomon gets an acquittal and Lord gets fired. They are both broke and in need of a big case when Lord's country-club acquaintance, Katrina Barksdale, is accused of murdering her much older, much richer husband in a sexually scandalous circumstance. Lord gets the case, but there's a hitch: she must co-counsel with Solomon.

It turns out, Solomon is not the rogue that Lord has him pegged for. He has taken in his formerly abused autistic savant nephew and is fighting the state for custody. Turns out, also, that Lord is not the high-society marry-for-money type Solomon has her pegged for; she barely makes ends meet and happily shops consignment. Despite what sounds convoluted, their relationship rings true. The courtroom scenes and legal plot ring true as well. It's obvious to me, a former staff attorney at the Florida Supreme Court, that Levine has done his homework. I bought it: the testimony, sidebars, and backroom dealings.

The story stumbles a bit on cliche and predictability when it comes to the minor characters. Lord is about to marry Bruce Bigsby, a "total dweeb" vegan avocado...