Well, as a reader, I have to tell you nothing is as it seems in this book! Just when you think a mystery has been solved, there is a twist and the story takes off again. While there is no heart pounding action, this book will definitely keep your attention as you try to keep up with "Rockin" Robin Lockwood and her cast of friends and co-workers. The book jacket description definitely caught my attention but the mystery was as old as the con artist's craft. But, it ultimately leads to another mystery. Try and put this book down before the end...I dare you.

Thank you Netgalley for an early copy for an fair honest review.
I love the character of Robin Lockwood, I hope there will be many more novels with Robin as a main character.

Robin Lockwood is a lawyer in Portland, Oregon. She is representing Randi Stark, a rape victim who is bringing a lawsuit against her rapist, Blaine Hastings. Blaine maintains he is innocent but DNA evidence leads to his conviction. He threatens a number of people when his guilty verdict is announced. Things get muddled when Blaine’s DNA is also found in another woman raped while he is in jail and when his attorney, Doug Armstrong, disappears and his law partner is murdered. Are all these events connected?

The plot can best be described as cluttered. At least 8 lawyers and 2 district attorneys make an appearance, and there are at least 5 cases and multiple crimes (murders, rapes, physical and verbal threats, corruption, prosecutorial misconduct, obstruction of justice). And then there are the infidelity and everyday deceptions.

Robin is the strong female protagonist. She is intelligent, confident and tough. Her mixed martial arts experience is an asset since she does put herself in potentially dangerous situations. She is a principled person who gives careful consideration to ethical dilemmas and tries to see that justice is done. The problem is that she is often absent in the narrative because some of the many short chapters focus on the viewpoints of secondary characters.

And these secondary characters are not fully developed. Because of the numerous characters, it is not surprising that most of them lack depth. There are also stereotypes such as the arrogant rich family and the unscrupulous prosecutor who will do anything to win a case. The inevitable physical descriptions that accompany the introduction of each character become annoying. Mark Berman, Robin’s law partner, is described even though he plays no role whatsoever in the novel: “Mark was thirty-two with long brown hair, brown eyes, and the rock-hard body he had developed while competing on the University of Washington’s nationally ranked crew.” One inconsistency stands out: two different people describe a man as an “unspectacular litigator” and “second-rate” yet his work helps his firm “gain recognition as one of the best small firms in the state”?

The book is described as a legal thriller but there are few thrills. It is more of a legal procedural. There is not a great deal of suspense, certainly none of the “gripping the edge of your seat” suspense. Any scenes in which Robin might be in danger are quickly resolved because there is always a knight conveniently nearby to rescue her. Because multiple points of view are given, there is a lack of cohesion which also contributes to the lack of suspense.

I understand that this is the second book featuring Robin Lockwood; the first is entitled The Third Victim. It might be best to read this latter book first because the relationship between Robin and Jeff Hodges, the firm’s in-house investigator, lacks background which I assume is explained in the first novel in the series. Out of nowhere, one of them admits to being in love with the other.

It is occasionally difficult to keep track of the many characters and the various plot threads but, otherwise, this is an easy read. It often feels scattered and disjointed but is fast-paced with a few twists. It is sufficiently interesting but certainly not memorable.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Robin Lockwood is lawyer with two major cases on her desk. One was a rape case. Blaine Hastings is a rich collage football player. Randi Stark is a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Randi is accusing Blaine of rape. Once he is convicted of rape she is going after his money. The other case Robin has is a murder case which should be dismissed because it was self defense. Robin is the type of lawyer you want if you get into major trouble. Blaine is the type of guy your mother warned you about. I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for a honest opinion. Loved the book. Would recommend to friends that like a good mystery.

This book was enjoyable, but the characters were a bit complicated to keep track of, and to keep each storyline going. Its definitely worth the read, but you should only read when you have a lot of time to focus on the book.

What an excellent book! I really got wrapped up in it, and had a hard time putting it down. I will admit there were spots I had to go back and reread because I got confused but this was a great standalone novel (I never read the first in the series) and I did really like the character, Robin.

Phillip Margolin can always be counted on for exciting, entertaining reads with complex characters and The Perfect Alibi is his latest example of that.

Robin Lockwood is a partner in the law firm Barrister, Berman & Lockwood in Portland, Oregon. Her latest cases are representing the defendant in a capital murder case and prosecuting a college athlete for rape. She proves herself as a force to be reckoned with in both.

After the rapist is convicted and imprisoned, another rape occurs with DNA tests proving it to be a match of the man just convicted. Say what?!? How is that possible? Add to that the murder of the partner of the lawyer who defended the athlete, and the disappearance of the lawyer who represented him in the case whom he had threatened upon his conviction. There is even more is going on, murder upon murder upon murder, and Robin wants to understand all the connections. Not only Robin, but this reader as well. I couldn't get to the end of this book fast enough!

Despite my enthusiasm for this book, I'm rating it 3.5 stars. There are so many story lines at play here and so many characters, that it is difficult to keep them all straight. After looking back several times to remind myself who a character was, what story line he/she was a part of, I actually started keeping notes to save myself time. I'm sorry, but in my humble opinion that shouldn't be necessary.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC in return for an unbiased review.

The Perfect Alibi has a great protagonist in Robin Lockwood. She's interesting, tough, and doesn't settle for the easy answer. We start with a rape case that seems pretty cut and dried, but things aren't always exactly as they seem, and given the length of the book, I did expect things to go off the rails. What I didn't expect was for this story to take so many different paths. We have conspiracies, murders, rape, and misconduct all happening in rapid-fire succession and with the number of characters introduced, it all becomes convoluted. Some things do tie in together, but a lot of it is closer to degrees of separation than anything tied together - A guy goes to prison for rape, his lawyer may or may not be tied to a murder, the DA isn't the most ethical and might have reasons to want the lawyer out of the picture, then we have a mysterious bad guy lurking around for completely unrelated reasons. That's just the tip of the iceberg in this one, and the only thing that everything seems to have in common is that Robin is involved with most of it in one way or another. The author does tie everything up in the end, but the middle goes down so many avenues that it's all just more distracting than anything else. The book had the potential to be a great story with the twist in the rape case and a less than likable guy behind bars for the crime, one who may or may not be guilty. As it stands, there is just too much going on and much of it is way over the top. This one could certainly have done with a bit of the less is more adage. The saving grace of the story for me is Robin. I did enjoy reading how she figured things out, and I liked her self-assurance and willingness to go the extra mile.

This book kept me up all night. Lol. It grabs from the first page and does not let go. Great characters and just flawlessly written. The story flows and you will not want to stop reading until the last plague. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

I was curious after the first 20% of the book, but the story kept weaving into a bigger web that I truly enjoyed. Nothing was over sold and the mystery of it all wasn’t long awaited. I appreciated the pace the author set for the book and how he didn’t linger on this or that to distract readers from the story.

This is the second book in Margolin’s new Robin Lockwood legal thriller series. The first one saw Lockwood, move from clerking for one of the Oregon Supreme Court Justices to become a partner at a legal defense practice. Now, her former boss has left the practice and Lockwood is a fully fledged practicing counsel. In this story, she has two cases to work. One is a criminal case defending a ex-con accused of killing an off-duty cop. The other is a civil case where she is representing a young rape victim suing her attacker. Both cases are interesting, together the plot line becomes somewhat confusing.

The multitude of characters and plot convolutions require a lot of focus as the book is quite complex, especially as Margolin introduces a twist on DNA evidence. I enjoyed the story but had to stay on my toes. Lockwood is developing into a great new legal character and this story is as good as the first. I particularly like the fact that it is set in Portland, my hometown. I would recommend this book. Margolin is as good as Grisham or Turow, and is at the height of his game. Bring on Lockwood #3!

My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's and to NetGalley for giving me a pre-publication copy in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't read all of Phillip Margolin's books but the ones I have read, I really enjoyed. This one is a winner, as well. Somehow i missed the previous, first in the series but that only made me add that one to my TBR list. This works fine as a stand alone. After a couple of chapters I did start making notes as it became more complicated,, more threads and more characters were added That's not a negative, it's just a warning that you may want to find a large chunk of time and a comfy chair - this is a book you won't want to put down and walk away from unless it's for a bathroom break. I even carried my e-reader with me into the kitchen when I needed to raid the fridge and make more tea. It's that good.
Robin Lockwood is a great character, a lawyer with smarts - a Yale law school graduate and a MMA fighter (known as Rockin Robin). Right from the start, she has two cases on her calendar. The first is a young woman seeking to sue her rapist. The second is one assigned to her by the court. Then the twists start to form with DNA test results leading to a retrial of the rapist, and a murder of a lawyer. There were lots of characters to keep straight but the pace of the writing and the depth of the mysteries kept me engrossed and my occasional notes filled in the blanks.
While I wait for the next in the series I'm glad that I have the previous entry, The Third Victim. My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.5 Hearts I enjoyed the suspense of this story but I was very confused in a number of parts of it. There are a bunch of characters and I kept having to reference back to who was who.

Margolin is a great writer who knows how to put it all into his books. But sometimes putting it all in the book might end up meaning too much stuff was put in. That is what it felt like reading this book. I kept asking “What more can he put in here?” and then he put more in and it seemed like a lot.

That all being said the suspense keeps you on your toes.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

THE PERFECT ALIBI is the second book in the Robin Lockwood suspenseful legal fiction series. This was a binge-worthy read if I have ever picked one up. I started it one afternoon and finished it that night, not being able to sleep until I was done. This was my first experience with Phillip Margolin, but it will definitely not be my last. Sometimes you just need a "Popcorn - Read" as Abby at Crime By The Book would say, and this one saved me from a mess of a book that took me weeks to get through. So THANK you Mr. Margolin!

Although this is the second book in the series, as stated above, I read this without reading the first installment. This was fine to read as a stand alone. In fact when I requested this advanced reading copy from NetGalley, many thanks BTW, I didn't even realize it had a counterpart. I intend to read the first, and the third, as a matter of fact; I think I have been missing out!
In this story we follow Robin Lockwood, a young attorney and ex MMA fighter, through some pretty tough cases. Right here is where I was first pulled in. A "high class" college athlete set on the path for the NFL and medical school is accused of rape by a young woman. Obviously the rape is denied by the athlete, although there is "undisputable DNA evidence". So while I am reading, I obviously want to believe the victim, but I don't want to discount the claims of innocence by the defendant either. Margolin does an utterly fantastic job of making you, the reader, question your self over and over again about who's "side" you would chose.

I found nearly everything about this read extremely compelling, and I could not put it down. I enjoyed the legality, writing style, the pace, the prose, everything. I consider myself a very fast reader; still it usually takes me at least two days to complete a book with a toddler, work, life etc. I tore through this one, and I loved it. The ability for a book to catch me and pull me in this way is one of the most important things I look for in a good read. "Reading slumps" are real for avid readers - and this is a buster if you are looking for one!

Of course there were some things that I thought could have been done a little better in this story. The romance that was building between Jeff and Robin, for one. However, while I was reading I did not realize that this book was part of a series, so I have newfound hope that this will be a slow, intense, burn that continues over the course of the series.

I am going to be reading more Phillip Margolin in the near future, so I will update you guys on all the other goodies I come across! Happy Reading!

2.5 Stars

Lots of murder, lies, and misdirection takes place in The Perfect Alibi and it will keep readers guessing as to who did what. There are multiple cases and crimes committed throughout this book and there are times I felt it was a bit too much, but it does come together at the end.

Our main players, Rex Kellerman, Doug Anderson, and Robin Lockwood connect these cases and seemingly random tangential subplots. While the rape case may be the catalyst for bringing these three attorneys together, it takes a backseat to the other events happening.

For as much as I didn’t like the writing (or execution), the plot kept pulling me along and I needed to know how it would all end. I cringed or rolled my eyes at lot of the dialogue and inner thoughts of our characters. They at times appeared to be slight caricatures of the parts they were playing.

For me it read almost like a cozy mystery but maybe a tad darker as the rapes and murders aren’t really detailed but do have some specifics. I thought the two rape cases would be the focal point and so was thrown a little when that wasn’t the case. While I found the plot compelling, I felt the execution needed some work.

I tried so hard to really like this book! The blurb sounded great, but the more I read the more frustrated I got. The storylines were way too complicated to keep up with. I kept wondering if they were somehow going to be connected and I just got frustrated going back and forth waiting to see how it played out. Normally I’m okay the alternating cases, but this style of writing didn’t work for me.

Aside from that, I did enjoy Robin Lockwood’s character and thought the ideas of the cases she was working were fantastic. I had trouble staying focused, but with the cases she was working on it kept me intrigued enough to finish.

This was my first book by Phillip Margolin. I’m willing to give him another shot even though I wasn’t crazy about this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect Alibi by Phillip Margolin is the second book of the Robin Lockwood series. I was not aware of that when l received an advanced copy by the publisher. When a college student accuses football player Blaine of rape and his DNA was found he’s put in prison. Robin Lockwood is hired to represent the young woman in the civil suit against Blaine. When another woman is raped and the DNA matches Blaine things become confusing since Blaine is imprisoned and he doesn’t have an identical brother and he can’t be in two places at once so what exactly is going on. The other case in in this book is several attorneys are being murdered and how does this related to Blaine’s case? Robin takes it upon herself to investigate on her own. The perfect alibi has so many twists and turns and constantly has you feeling like you need to check behind you! I loved that Robin was once an MMA fighter and is now a Yale graduated lawyer! She is the perfect strong woman who isn’t afraid to defend her self and stick up for herself! There were lots of characters and a great crime mystery, it holds your attention and flows perfectly! I am looking forward to reading more from
this author! This book will be available March 5th 2019!

Phillip Margolin does a good job making the lawyers in his novel squirm. As a retired trial lawyer myself, I was a bit amused at the dilemmas he created. It made for interesting reading. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

An interesting, if somewhat unfocused, read.

This is my first Phillip Margolin novel, and for about the first 25%, I was pleasantly surprised. The story was interesting and really kept my attention. After that, things became a little disjointed. There were just so many story lines. It felt like an octopus, with Robin Lockwood, the main protagonist, being the brain...and 8 separate tentacles (or plot lines) radiating outward. It was a lot. I will say everything was tied up nicely at the conclusion, and all the stories played well off the others, but it just felt a little too convoluted.

I didn't realize, at first, that this was the sophomore offering in a series, but this could very much be a standalone effort.

The only other thing I can say about this book, and part of the reason it didn't get a better ranking...the dialogue isn't great. It's terribly stilted and awkward. Some authors excel at dialogue, others don't. This is clearly an area upon which Mr. Margolin could improve. Having said that, I'd likely pick up another of his novels. I feel he has great crime writing potential, but I do hope he realizes that often times, less is more.

2.5 stars

**As always, thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. It's greatly appreciated.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second installment of the Robin Lockwood series and it doesn't disappoint but I do have to say that I enjoyed this one more than The Third Victim.
Robin Lockwood is hired by a young woman, named Randi Stark, who wants to sue a school jock, Blaine Hastings, for damage and pain caused by his rape of her.
Blaine Hastings has hired attorney Douglas Armstrong to defend him against this charge of rape.
This all seems like a very straight forward case but each new character brings new connections that seem unrelated but are very cleverly woven together.
In truth, nothing is as it seems.
Randi Starks's accusations aren't as truthful as she would have you believe and Blaine Hastings has a father that is willing to do anything to protect his son's future and the lawyers involved in the cases have just as many secrets to hide. Although there is a lot going on in this story it all works together to give one thrill of a ride.