The fourth installment in the Robin Lockwood series! I am not usually a fan of series books, but Phillip Margolin has to be the best courtroom drama author around!

Robin takes a death penalty case of Joseph Lattimore, for killing a judge’s wife. It should be open and shut, defendant seen at the scene of the crime, fingerprints and DNA found....he’s the killer right? But Robin once again doesn’t give up.

This book is sex and lies and secrets and of course murder. A juicy tale that I couldn’t put down. Another home run for me!

Thank you so much to the publisher for reaching out to me and asking to review this book! I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review - -
What a book this was - I have loved every Phillip Margolin book! A courtroom thriller -
Joe, a man needing money takes on an illegal fight which leads to a man's death- - and with it comes blackmail- He is told to rob a home - but in so doing - finds a murdered women - Joe runs for his life - but of course someone sees him and the case looks like a perfect wrap up --
But - Robin takes the case believing in Joe's innocence and that he has been set up - illegal fight, murder, a crooked judge, a murdered judges wife, a mistress. What a tangled but remarkable story that keep me reading through the night!!!

This was an excellent courtroom thriller/whodunit, focusing on questions of social justice as well as the quest for the real killer.

Margolin's latest book brings Portland Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood one of her most difficult trials. When a homeless man is arrested for killing a prominent judge's wife, the case against him seems hopeless for him. His DNA and prints are all over the scene and he is seen fleeing the property by the husband who has an airtight alibi. Yet, Lockwood senses the man is innocent and the case is too pat.

This is the fourth in the Robin Lockwood series and it reunites her with Amanda Joffe, another defense attorney and the star of another one of Margolin's series. Sadly, Joffe gets too little time here, but it is still great to have them back in a murder trial. I love the setting in Portland, Oregon, as it is my adoptive hometown and I can picture the locations described.

I almost gave this 4 stars, but Margolin tacks on a related murder trial in the last part of the book. And this one, too, seems open and shut but ends with a wallop, a sudden courtroom twist. Three murders, all related, with Lockwood and Joffe. What's not to love about this one. It is likely to hit my best of books read list for 2020, I liked it that much.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an advance review copy for free;  I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

A Matter of Life and Death is the effort by author Philip Margolin, a favorite of mine, to portray an innocent man facing a murder charge. We hear a lot these days of people being released from prison after years of confinement when it is finally proven that they are in fact not guilty. I enjoyed Mr. Margolin's novel. As a retired trial lawyer myself I understood the pressures that the attorneys were facing. I do think that most cases where someone is innocent are much more complex than the one featured here. Margolin's lawyers do not face those more difficult barriers. Many of those charged wrongfully have a host of problems, and are often antisocial, unlike the affable defendant here. It can take a leap of faith to comprehend that the person might in fact be innocent, and proving it is a matter of great difficulty. That's one reason that innocent people go to prison for crimes they did not commit. It's a tragedy. As I said, I like this novel, but as a pursuit of innocence, it is the Pollyanna version. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

“A Matter of Life and Death” is Phillip Margolis latest to his Robin Lockwood series based in Portland Oregon. When a local judge’s wife is murdered Robin Lockwood is drawn into the case to defend a local homeless man who had been working to give his wife and child a better life. The more Robin digs into the murder, she finds herself knee-deep in the quagmire of corruption and illegal fighting matches that cater to the higher echelons of Portland’s society. Robin, with the help of her team, works diligently to peel back the layers of the crime with the hopes of exonerating her innocent client. I was given an advanced copy of this book, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was very excited to read the 4th instalment of the Robin Lockwood series before its publication, thanks St Martin Press for providing me an ARC.

Phillip Margolin is one of my favourite thriller writer because his stories are always written in a straightforward, and crisp manner with very tight sentences without being too overly descriptive, that simply just drives the reading forward at breakneck pace, and involves plenty of courtroom suspense and plot twists. His writing reminded me of Sidney Sheldon and Mary Higgins Clark whom both authors I absolutely adore.

This instalment is about Joe Lattimore, who was a homeless fighter trying to provide for his family. When he agreed to fight in a no-holds-barred illegal bout, things started to go awry, and when he got blackmailed into burglarizing the home of a circuit court judge and discovered his murdered wife laying in a pool of blood, he realised he was being set up. Robin Lockwood was requested to represent him. This is the most challenging case for Robin as it involved the death penalty with the life of Joe hanging on a thin thread.

I would give the first 3 books in the series 4.5 to 5 stars as the suspense was so well done that it had me at the edge of my seat. 'The Third victim' and 'A Reasonable Doubt' were the best in the series so far because of its plot twists. I love it very much but I could not say the same for this book. This one was rather predictable and lacked the brilliance lustre of his first 3 books. There wasn't much of a whodunnit element to the story. Everything was rather straightforward so it was just a matter of reading how it all played out in the end. But because the story was so fast paced, it was still considered a page turner for me which was the good thing about it. The court room scenes were still very well done and it showed clearly that Margolin has done his research well especially on the parts of the fingerprint technology and the no-holds-barred illegal bout.

Robin Lockwood was a loveable character. she was just so brave, courageous and smart. Her love interest, Jeff Hodges was very endearing. Amanda Jaffe, one of my favourite characters in Mr Margolin's books made an appearance in this series as a cocounsel to Robin Lockwood for the case she was handling.

This was still an enjoyable book to read and I would give it 3.5 stars but I hope that Mr Margolin next book would bring back the shine to the series as I would still keep on reading his books.

A must read. If you have never read a Phillip Margolin book, the Robin Lockwood series is a good place to begin.
A Yale grad lawyer and an ex MMA fighter she is one of a kind. You get to know the characters in the book and you definitely fee a kinship to them. Humor along with a mystery to solve. A quick read always as you get caught up with not only the characters but the mystery itself.

This is a well written legal thriller that takes you on a journey through the court system on a trial that the death penalty is the ending result if a guilty verdict is rendered. It is the fourth in the series yet in no way do you need to read the others first. A man is killed in a fighting match in the ring and Joe Lattimore is desperate to not be charged for murder. It was an illegal no holds barred fight and he needed Money to provide for his family. After the fight the people who put the fight together decide that they will blackmail Joe and force him to rob a house. When he arrives however to the home, there is a woman who is on the floor dead. Joe races back to the hotel he is staying at only to find the police looking for him. After he is arrested he contacts the one and only attorney he told about what happened. Robin agrees to take his case and realizes pretty quickly that Joe is innocent but can she prove it? This is a very fast paced legal novel that takes you into the bowels of the legal system. Fingerprints and DNA are everywhere as the evidence mounts against Joe. Hopefully, Robin is a quick thinker and can find a way to free an innocent man.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Joe Lattimore had his wife are homeless with a young child and he is desperate to protect them. Joe was a former boxer who quit but begins training in hopes of earning the money to get his family off the streets. He is approached by a man who runs an illegal no holds barred fight but during his match he kills his opponent and is blackmailed and demand he rob a house. When he enters the house there is a dead woman on the floor and when he arrives back to the motel where he has been staying the police are waiting after he was identified through an anonymous phone call. Robin Lockwood knew Joe from the gym where they both trained and he had met with her about the death that happened during his fight so when he needs a defense attorney he calls her. After meeting him she becomes convinced he is innocent and she will have to pull out all the stops to safe him as this is a death penalty case. This is the fourth Robin Lockwood installment and is a quick read with non stop action. The book is dedicated to groups such as the Innocence Project that help free wrongfully convicted. While this was not my favorite book by this author it is well done, my only issue was how quickly the cases were tried in this book, the author was explaining how a case is tried and if convicted the penalty phase without touching on the fact that these type of cases can take months if not years to go to trial. It was walking a line between informing and entertaining. This is an enjoyable series but you could read this as a standalone and not feel as though you are missing something. This is due for release on March 9. Thank you to #netgalley and St. Martin's /Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Thank you St. Martins Press, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest opinion. This is the fourth installment of the Robin Lockwood series. I have read most of them and enjoy them. I like a fast paced legal thriller. Although they are in a series, they are also stand alone and you don’t have to read the others to understand the characters. In this installment, Robin represents a man who is being tried for murder and eligible for the death penalty. We learn pretty quick who is responsible for the murder and how Robin is going to prove it. Just when you think the story is about to end, there is another murder and Robin finds herself back in the courtroom to save her client. I enjoyed this read and will definitely keep reading this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is one of those books that has an interesting plot, is a very quick read, and therefore hard to put down but no character development nor do you care too much about the characters.
Like a Columbo tv show, you know who done it right from the get-go. But it lacks the fun and the wit of Columbo. It is a courtroom drama and the dialogue in the courtroom is quite good, probably the best writing of the book.
There is too much explanation for my tastes including a page at the front of the book written by the author telling of cases he has had that were inspirations for the ones in the book. There are also so many repetitions of what happened that one feels compelled to flip through all that.
I'm sure I've read other of Margolin's books. The cover says it is a Robin Lockwood novel implying there are more. Some reviewers said it is the fourth in the series. I guess, although I enjoy a fast paced thriller, these books are forgettable. But I'll still read the next one. So go figure.

Solid Margolin. Like all of his stories, Margolin combines rich characterizaton, realistic dialogue and an interesting plot to produce ai good whodunit. The story moves along nicely, with no confusion as to who is who. The conclusion is somewhat standard (I guessed the outcome), but the story itself ---- and the continued development of defense attorney Robin Lockwood--- make it well worth reading.

a decent story but in my opinion far to much info dumping and retelling of the story. The plot takes 13 chapters to declare itself and I thought the first few chapters where unnecessary and added nothing to the story of an innocent homeless man being framed for a murder

This author has become my #1 go to for legal thrillers. The Robin Lockwood series is a favorite. Excellent writing and superb characters, the series is unputdownable. While the legal aspect is explained in detail it is never dull or boring. There are many players in this book and it’s a race to the finish to find out who is guilty and who will be set free. Highly recommend.

I’ve often questioned why at some books are an attractive read for me and others fall short. It’s fairly simple actually. If all the elements are there, a simple and interesting storyline, characters that are well thought out and appealing, dialogue that is intriguing, clever, and realistic, and prose that is fresh, appealing, and grammatically correct, then I’m going to read the book with pleasure. When I survey my favorite authors, those elements are always featured in their writing. Erik Larson, Daniel Silva, Nathaniel Philbrick, John Steinbeck, Michael Crichton, are just a few writers that never seem to disappoint me with mundane books. And so it goes with Philip Margolin, a Portland author for whom I’ve developed a great liking.

A Matter of Life and Death is typical Margolin. Clearly written, with characters of clear conviction and careful dialogue, Margolin again demonstrates an ease of clearly depicting courtroom drama, not a simple task, given the complexities and oddities that exist within the courtroom. But he does it right over and over, making reading his books a real pleasure for me.
He doesn’t attempt to inject great philosophy in musings of the main characters. He keeps it simple and uncomplicated, a great balm for a humble reader. His story of good police work among cooperative agencies is easy to follow and promotes rapt attention to the story line instead of endless confusion and untangling of knotted storylines. In this book, he provides some interesting insight into the gender confusion issue that seems to be stewing around these days.

Looking for an easy read with interesting background and realistic life experiences? Then I can highly recommend Margolin’s latest effort.

A Matter of Life and Death is the fourth installment in Phillip Margolin’s Robin Lockwood series. I really enjoyed the first three books and I liked this one as well. What made this book especially interesting was all of the different subplots going on. It was like working a puzzle. I would start to figure out one piece, and then two more would appear. It was a lot to keep up with, but it was fun. It was all wrapped up in a tidy bow at the end. I also enjoyed the progression of Robin’s relationship with her boyfriend, Jeff, who is also her firm’s investigator. The ending was definitely fun for both of them. This was a good read, and I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Phillip Margolin for an ARC of A Matter of Life and Death for review.
3* This is a quick paced legal drama following the character of Robin Lockwood as she navigates to find the truth for her presumed guilty clients. This latest instalment of the series has Robin defending a homeless man accused of killing a Judge’s wife. Many possible guilty characters made for fun trying to guess the outcome.

A Matter of Life and Death by Phillip Margolin -- 5 Stars
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9781250258427

The note at the start of the book from the author, Phillip Margolin, lets one know he understands what it means to an attorney to be responsible for defending an innocent person, holding one’s future and very life in his hands. Through his main character Robin Lockwood, a strong woman and passionate attorney, we learn the toll it takes to defend the innocent. She gets it right. I do admire her.
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The plot is intelligently complex. However, the author keeps it flowing well so it never gets confusing. The easy answers can be wrong and everything may not be as it seems. There are some pages of trial proceedings, but, rather than slowing the action, are informative and add to it. I absolutely enjoyed this novel.

Reviewer: Nancy

Margolin always weaves a tangled and twisted web and doesn’t unravel it until the very end! Well done! This book is a real page turner without a single wasted word