I’ve been reading Philip Margolin for almost twenty years, and although there were one or two that were sort of “meh” for me, I usually REALLY like his books, so I was happy to get a copy of The Perfect Alibi from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

First off, I read it a couple of weeks ago, and the fact that I don’t remember EVERYTHING suggests it isn’t among his top tier for me. But did I enjoy it? Yes! Do I recommend it? Yes! (TBH my life got turned upside down last month, so it perhaps isn’t fair to judge right now, but it isn’t like I am NOT recommending it or anything, so…)

I HATE spoilers, so I’ll must give the basic outline. Robin Lockwood, the young attorney we met in Margolin’s The Third Victim is back, with an interesting case, as she is hired by a young woman who is accusing a prominent (as in wealthy family, famous star on a big deal team) local college athlete of rape. There is DNA evidence, the athlete is convicted, and he swears he didn’t do it, and threatens both his lawyer and his accuser as he’s sent off to prison. Then, there’s another rape and (hold on here!) the DNA in this case matches the DNA that convicted the athlete.  Since he was in prison at the time of the second rape, he gets a new lawyer,  a new trial, and bail. Right after that, his first lawyer (who he blamed for his conviction in the first trial)  disappears and the first lawyer’s  law partner is murdered.

There’s another story going on, and Robin is busy both professionally and personally (which I often don’t like, when protagonist get involved with their co-workers, but this time it works). 

Margolin’s many years of legal experience shine once again, as he makes the investigation, courtroom, and legal wrangling both interesting and entertaining. I’m going with 4 stars on this one, but he is still one of my very favorites in the legal thriller genre.