A big thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the exciting ARC of Full Disclosure by Beverley McLachlin.

This is the first novel by Beverley MacLachlin. Ms. MacLachlin is the former Chief Justice of Canada and the first woman to hold that position. I was excited to read this book by a Canadian author and it did not disappoint. Full Disclosure is the story of Jilly Truitt a young defense attorney who takes on a highly publicised murder case which will change her life. Vincent Trussardi is accused of the murder of his wife Laura. Vincent claims his innocence but is hiding something. Jilly must dig deep to get to the truth and soon her life is threatened because she is getting too close to it. Jilly starts questioning everything and realizes that she is too personally involved in this case. But who is Laura Trussardi's killer and why did he or she kill her? This book is an awesome read with many surprises. It will be available at your favorite bookstore on May 1st, 2018.

Action packed who done it! This is the first book I have read by Beverly McLachlin but it won't be the last. Ms McLachlins legal background shows in the depth that she portrays not only her characters but the type of lives they lead.

Ms McLachlin’s first novel follows up-and-coming defence lawyer Jilly Truitt as she and her team tackle its most challenging case to date. Vincent Trussardi has been accused of the horrendous murder of his wife and wants Jilly as his lawyer. Opposite her in the courtroom will be her former mentor, prosecutor Cy Kenge, who will use every dirty trick in the book to win his case. It’s a case that demands all of her attention, and yet Jilly finds her thoughts and her time pulled in other directions. She is warned often not to take this case. She and her team question her actions as she reaches out to a young man she has just successfully defended. And whilst all of this is happening, her troubled past comes back to haunt her.
I’m always delighted to see books written by Canadians and set in Canada, this one in Vancouver. I was intrigued by the sometimes down-and-dirty behind-the-scenes machinations as lawyers and police worked to make a case against Mr. Trussardi. The court room scenes were nothing less than brilliant. I found myself talking back to the characters...always a good sign! I was less enthralled by the interweaving story that centred on Jilly’s background. In fact, there were few surprises for me as that storyline twisted and turned its way to a conclusion. This did not stop me thoroughly enjoying an exceptionally well written novel.
Ms. McLachlin is a Former Chief Justice of Canada and her in-depth knowledge of how all arms of the legal and justice system work is obvious in Full Disclosure. I hope to see more of Jilly.
I received an ARC of Full Disclosure from Netgalley and Simon Schuster in return for an honest review.

The author, a former Chief Justice of Canada, and I think the first female to hold the position, did a great job capturing my hometown. Her writing was smooth and incredibly evocative and it heavily contributed to why it's a five-star read for me.

Jilly Truitt was an interesting main character. I enjoyed all aspects of her life from the personal to the professional and I feel like there is a lot of interesting territory to mine in future books. The mystery aspect of whether Vincent murdered his wife or not was, perhaps, the weakest part.

Not the procedure of it: all of that was handled with great attention to detail, yet presented in a way that didn't slow the momentum. My issues had to do with the mystery itself.

I feel like there were three plot twists/reveals and I saw all three coming. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and maybe that's why. One of them was a smaller scale twist and it was dealt with fairly early on, which I liked. This made it a complication instead of just "here's this big reveal." I wish the other two had been handled the same way. I understand that perhaps one of them could not be, however, I feel like had one of the major reveals been introduced as a complication, it would have really amped everything up.

That said, I still really enjoyed Full Disclosure, and read most over it over the course of a day so it kept me turning pages. I will be checking out the next book in the series to see where it goes.

NOTE: I will be featuring this book on my Curl up with a good book Sunday blog on March 25. I will post to Goodreads at that time.

A gripping story and narrative that doesn't meander too much into flashbacks or details. The courtroom scenes were neatly explained though a little more drama would have been welcome. The author definitely has a flair for writing and all characters have been sketched well. One of the best books in recent times.

this book is just amazing and its a page turner. I couldn't put this book down and cant wait till the next book comes out.......

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Jilly Truitt is a Vancouver defence lawyer, who represents on charges of murder, first a drug dealer called Damon and then a successful businessman called Vincent Trussardi. This was well-written and rooted firmly in its Vancouver setting, and I had initially planned to rate it 4*, but then the ending let it down. After the trial verdict, the reveal of actually what happened followed on so swiftly that it seemed absurd that things hadn't come to light earlier.

SPOILERS

Certain plot details - Jilly's parentage and the mystery of whose cocaine it was - were pretty obvious to the reader from early on, which was disappointing. As for the very ending - how many second chances does one man deserve?

Canadian mystery with a strong female character. Story develops at nice pace and comes to a conclusion that feels like there may be anther book to follow.

The author, Beverley McLachlin, was the 17th Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold this position, and the longest serving Chief Justice of Canada in history. Pretty impressive on itself.

Attorney Jilly Truitt, just off a case that she had no business winning, is handed another one, a bit more problematic than the last. In fact it looks like a slam-dunk for the prosecution, Cy Kenge, her mentor.

The case consists of the dead wife, Laura, loved by all, a cold fish husband, Vincent Trussardi and lots of talk, by everyone and no other suspect in sight. If there had been anyone suspicious, that guy disappeared and showed up dead.

The DA warned Jilly that it's a loser, her social worker warned her, the deceased's sister-in-law warned her, the DA's wife warned her. But did Jill listen? Of course not. In fact she hired the defendant that she'd just got released, a former street kid to work in her law firm. What's going on with her judgement? Jilly puts all her resources into the investigation and she knows she's missing something important but it's just out of reach.

The courtroom drama is absolutely worth the read.

As this all unwinds, Jilly learns a truth about herself that she had never, in her wildest dreams expected.

A quick and satisfying read. Just when you're sure you've got it figured out, you haven't.

To be published on 1 May 2018

When NetGalley offered me the opportunity to read a pre-release version of this book I jumped at the opportunity. There are some people in public life that you begin to feel you know - or at least admire. The 17th Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold this position, and the longest serving Chief Justice of Canada in history is one such person. A bit like Sheila Fraser - the former Auditor General - whose reports I would read approvingly, and wish there were more like her.

It is probably unsurprising that a former judge would try her hand at a novel, and that it would be based on a murder mystery, and have all sorts of procedural and legal stuff in it. Moreover this story is set in Vancouver and the city plays a significant role in how the story plays out. There are real places and real events embedded into the tale. It is an easy read, and a real page turner. Some of the chapters are very short indeed, and the plot is properly divided into three acts. I would not be at all surprised to see this turned into a mini-series on Netflix. There are certainly good plot twists and an interesting cast of characters. I do like the legal novel - Scott Turow would be the standard by which I judge such things. I have to confess to getting a bit jaded with John Grisham. And this is Canadian Content, so I suppose that I started out with a favourable bias.

One thing I did like is the acknowledgement that there are miscarriages of justice, and that these arise due to the failings of human beings. Judges are not always as impartial as they ought to be. Police far too often follow tunnel vision and look for reasons to bolster their preconceptions rather than weigh all the possible options, let alone some of the more improbable things that are thrown into the mix by creative writers.


It also seems inevitable that if you decide to write a crime novel that the setting is with the extremely wealthy - the sort of people who might own a chunk of waterfront property in West Van, and would hire an architect to build them a house to meet the peculiar needs of their family. The suspect's alibi is that he was out on one of his boats all day - and that relies on someone at the Vancouver Yacht Club remembering that he saw him. Equally inevitably many of the characters are going to be attractive and have interesting sex lives. Chuck in some name dropping here and there and the thing starts to write itself. On the other hand it is entertainment - and this is indeed entertaining. I was not reading this out of some sense of obligation, and I did deliberately put it down, now and again, just to make it last longer. And I do have no objection at all to recommending it wholeheartedly, because it is well worth your time. I think if it wasn't time limited and unquotable (part of the deal you have to make to get it free from NetGalley) I might have spent more time checking out some of the references. Yes indeed, champagne is made from Chardonnay grapes - one of the few that I did bother to check.

And one nice detail is that the female lawyer who is the central character has a portrait of the Chief Justice on her wall.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of Full Disclosure in return for an honest review.. Written by someone who knows the intricacies of our Justice system and how lawyers operate, Beverley McLachlin, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, deserves much praise for her debut novel.

This is a gripping court room drama with much intrigue outside the courts related to the case. I found the character development to be compelling, and the plot suspenseful. There were twists and turns with several unexpected surprises.

I thought the beginning was rather slow, but it quickly picked up its pace, making it an enthralling read which I couldn't put down. Towards the end I thought the case had ended, and wasn't pleased with what I thought was its conclusion, but with the few final chapters loved the way the story ended.

Jilly Truitt has risen from a rebellious and troubled childhood. She was in and out of a series of foster homes until finally she was placed with a loving and supportive foster family. She is now making a name for herself, on her way to becoming a successful defense attorney..She is defending a wealthy man, Vincent Trussardi, who is accused of shooting his beautiful wife, Laura, with his gun he kept locked in his safe. Laura was an unfaithful wife, but beloved by many due to her empathy and her involvement in charitable causes. Jilly is wondering why people are warning her not to get involved in the case.

I thought the book jacket was eye -catching. A quick search showed more than two dozen books with the same title. I hope this is only the first book featuring Jilly Truitt as the main character, and there will be more in the future.

An excellent well written mystery.
I was pleased to be asked to review this book and even more pleased once I started it. The book is well written, easily read and captures your attention quickly and never lets up. It is clearly laid out in terms of the details and facts and the development of the characters. It never allows your attention to flag, keeps your interest and if you are like me, you are sorry to see it end.
This is an amazing accomplishment for a first time author. I liked not only the story and what she wrote, but how she wrote it. It was a pleasure to read.
There are lots of twists, turns and surprises but you never have to suspend disbelief. Everything is plausible and believable. I found her story to be somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie in that you cannot figure out the ending or foresee what is likely to happen next. You are engaged from the beginning and long for clarification, the solution to who did what, why and how it will be proven.
The author’s knowledge of law and the criminal justice system is authoritative and useful but never too complex or arcane.
I liked this book, enjoyed reading it and will look forward to more from this author.

Unable to read in Calibre or Kindle for PC. My review is based on the cover only. Support did not help me access your book. I prefer PDF version if available.