I loved the idea of an 80 year old attorney who has his son chauffeur him around while he is garnering information on a case. While the book was well written, I did not find it to be an easy read. This was not as good as Snow Falling on Cedars although it did hold my interest to the end. I rated it 3 stars because of the pace. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled through the first third of book debating whether to continue. The narrative is long, the sentences are long. And often I wondered when the story would get started. The second part " the trial" had me glue to my seat. As horrible as the treatment of Abeba was, I couldn't look away. Then we get to the final part of the book and I'm still optimistic, with descriptions of the narrator's father and the lives he touched. Unfortunately for me the rest of the book was as it started, meandering towards a destination I didn't see. This just wasn't for me.

I enjoyed parts of this book, but not the majority of it.
The trial and story of the girl who was killed were difficult to read because it was so sad and infuriating. That's good writing. That's why I chose this book. Difficult as it was to read about that poor kid and her horrible adoptive parents, it was an engrossing story. Had the book been primarily about this, it would have been at least a 4 star book.
Unfortunately, the 80-something lawyer had a story. His author son (the narrator) also had a story. Neither of these were engaging. The last 25% of the book seemed to be completely disconnected from the focus of the book (the trial). The son was going through his father's files, they were at another relative's teahouse, and whatever else. It left me saying "what is this and why is it here?" I skimmed it. Somewhere buried in this mess was the judge's verdict. That was good.
This book would benefit from being completely reworked. If the author wrote a book about the adopted girl, her situation, the trial, the verdict, and whatever other supporting story of direct relevance; this would be a great read. As written, it is a missed opportunity.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Guterson tells the story of an elderly lawyer, who goes to work every day, but longs for one final case to fill his rather empty days. Then he gets a phone call that a woman needs a lawyer to defend her on a homicide by abuse charge. His son, a journalist/writer, is tasked with driving him. He is haunted by what he hears. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time!

Sadly, I found David Guterson’s The Final Case too harsh and gritty for my taste. Guterson’s descriptions of the small towns he visited were cleverly presented as tossed off thoughts of the main character. The aging lawyer with his quirks and short-comings saved the narrative with his humanity. For my taste, Guterson buried his story in too much stupidity and unkindness. He made trying to read the story not worth the effort.

I'd hand courtroom drama to Grisham fans with the caveat that the beginning is quite a bit slower - more focused on character development than plot - but that it's worth the wait!

This is a story about the cruel death of a young girl and the trial of her adoptive parents who have mistreated her horribly. One of the attorneys is the narrator’s father who is in his 80s and this is his final case. It is about their lives and relationship as well.

I used to reread Snow Falling on Cedars over and over and was so excited to be able to read this Arc. Royal, an older lawyer takes on a harrowing case of parents accused of murdering their adoptive daughter from Ethiopia. During this tense,well-writtwn novel, Royal makes considerable advances in his relationship with his son. I loved it and am glad the author has written another novel.

Having loved Snow Falling on Cedars many years ago, I was so looking forward to this read. To me it actually read like three different stories, two of which did seem to connect. The thoughts were disjointed frequently and I did struggle to read the last third of the book. Abeba’s story was heartbreakingly told and that third of the novel was easily read and understood. Another third focuses on the lives of Abeba’s adoptive mother’s lawyer and his adult son which was less engaging. The last third of the novel totally rambled on, seemingly based on tea, which never seemed to connect to the story. I am unsure why this section was included as to me it quite detracted from the rest of the story.
“My lamp had gone out, and my tea had gone cold. I felt creaky and mired, suddenly, sitting there.” This is exactly how I felt reading the last section. I do think the rest of the book had purpose where I found no purpose here. The redeeming few paragraphs were Abeba’s letter about the hyena people…absolutely chilling to read.
Thank you to David Guterson, Knopf, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this just published book. 3 stars based on the trial portion of the book.

Based on the description, I expected a courtroom drama instead I got a very slow, meandering family drama. Royal is a great character but he is buried beneath long rambling sentences of distracting narrative that doesn't move the story along. This book never grabbed or held my interest. Not recommended

I know I read 'Snow" back when it was published but I don't remember if it was as meandering as this book is. The descriptions are beautiful - but endless. It was hard to keep track of what was happening when the sentences seemed to be pages long. I have to admit, I'm disappointed I didn't like this book more.

Ethiopian orphan, Abeda, arrived in America, dreaming of a better life, is placed in a foster home of religious fundamentalists, who believe in corporal punishment to train children. Abeda resists their beliefs, horrendous punishments, and comes to a violent end. Foster parents, Delvin and Betsy Harvey, are arrested for their actions.
Our narrator, ex-fiction writer, utilizes his spare time from writing driving his father, Royal, 80 year old lawyer, to court. The Final Case will be a life changer!
There is no mystery; the foster parents caused Abeda’s death. There are no clear cut answers; you have to decide for yourself what should be the trial’s outcome. The judge has the case of her life. Father and son strengthen their bond during the course of this trial, reminiscing about their family, their struggles, and accomplishments.
This is a story that makes you realize the world is good, but also full of so much evil. Despite these challenges, we can strive to live our lives and do our best to care for others.
This is an unforgettable story!





Thank you to NetGalley, David Guterson, and Knopf Publishing Group for allowing me to read the ARC of The Final Case in return for an honest review.

This might have been a good story, but for the writing style. Too many sentences went on for ages so I picked one at random. 99 words in one sentence and that wasn't even the longest one I found!
Storyline of lawyers representing people inspite of appearing obviously guilty never got off the ground in the first 17% of the book which is too bad.
Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

It has been a long time since David Guterson's last novel and thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read The Final Case in exchange for an honest review.
The Final Case is a compelling courtroom drama (with a really horrific case) and a father/son relationship story. Royal is 84 and still a practicing attorney. He takes on a truly heartbreaking case as a public defender to represent Betsy Harvey on charges of homicide by abuse. Her daughter, Abigail/Abeba, came to the US from Ethiopia, where she had already experienced tremendous loss and hardship. America was not a land of freedom for her.
But, the book is also about family relationships, aging, as well as the clashes about race, religion and justice that we see today. The book is narrated by Royal's son, a published novelist who's decided to not write any more novels, so has plenty of time to drive his father to his trial, hang out at his sister's teahouse, coach authors and would-be authors, and to deal with the detritus of aging (both himself and his parents).
I was immersed in the sections about Abigail/Abeba, her adoptive family and the trial. Outside of this, the book is very detailed and goes down a wide variety of rabbit holes, some more interesting and seemingly relevant than others. It was wonderful to have an opportunity to once again experience Mr. Guterson's beautiful writing.

DNF @ 15%. I was hoping the local connection to this story would give me the will to continue on, but the often overwhelming word salad was incredibly boring. Not sure if it was my state of mind or the writing style. I may pick it up again at a later date, but for now - back on the Kindle shelf.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was amazing. Read it in 2 days and highly recommend.

Both interesting and frustrating. Although ostensibly about the trial of Betsy and Devlin, a fundamentalist couple who adopted and then abused an Ethiopian orphan until she died, it's more about the unnamed narrator and his father Royal. Royal, an octogenarian who is defending Betsy, is the most well rounded character; Betsy and Devlin are seen only through commentary by others. Abede's life in Ethiopia is detailed but not her life in the US. There were seven other children in the house but they remain ciphers. There are long paragraphs of ranting by various characters (Betsy's mother) and musings by the narrator about his wife. The style is distinctive and I can understand thantsome might find it pretentious. In fact it sometimes feels as though the narrator has disdain for any number of people, including his readers. There are some wonderful images here but don't expect a courtroom novel. Royal is, however, the heart of the novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A worthy read.

I really enjoyed Guterson’s writing, but was left a little dissatisfied with this book as a whole. If the blurb hadn’t led me to expect a courtroom drama, I might have enjoyed it more. For although a compelling court case forms a significant portion of the story, a courtroom drama this is not. It is more a story about a son, his relationship with his father and various encounters with others.
A couple is accused of ‘homicide-by-abuse’ when their adopted daughter dies. This is a horrendous story, and luckily we learn about it mainly via a court case, which helps to keep the reader slightly removed from the horror. An elderly lawyer acts for the mother, chauffeured by his son.
What I loved: Guterson’s incredible mastery of the English language (I made full use of my Kindle’s ability to look up words).
What I didn’t enjoy: I was confused when the author left the trial behind, and the book segued into a kind of anthology of short stories, or character studies. Wonderful as these were, they seemed out of place, and I kept on wanting to get back to what was for me the main story.
Loads of literary references, wonderful vocabulary and excellent writing all combined to make this an erudite piece of writing, worth reading.

This is an interesting although quite disturbing plot, wrapped in a never ending stream of words. I think it was meant to be a tale told in a folksy, country lawyer-ish style, but unfortunately the experience of reading it is sometimes akin to drowning. It felt like there was an overwhelming amount of detail, which didn't often lead anywhere and detracted from the main story.

The main characters are a retired writer and his older mostly-retired lawyer father. These are good and decent people, and they stand in contrast to the legal case the book chronicles, which is a horrifying and sad story of child abuse.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The new book by David Guterson (Snow Falling On Cedars) is a legal thriller dealing with the death of an Ethiopian child adopted by a religious couple.

Not an easy read, but the writing is beautiful. The story follows a fiction writer who is helping his elderly father prepare a defense for the mother of the adopted child, who along with her husband, has been charged with the crime.

Parts of the book were very interesting, including the relationships between the son and his elderly parents. Also the family dynamics of the accused couple is also fascinating.

I am not sure that some readers will like this book as it is difficult to read in parts.