No Physical Evidence

De: Gus Lee

Narrado por: Dick Hill

Joshua Jin is an assistant district attorney whose life is in crisis after the death of his teenage daughter and the breakup of his marriage. Now he has been handed an impossible case involving the savage rape of a 13-year-old girl who refuses to talk. The ex-con charged with the crime was arrested on a hunch. The problem? There is no physical evidence. Jin's orders are simple: pitch a sound bite, dump the case, and save his boss the Chinatown vote during a politically charged election year. But Jin refuses to drop the case; even after he discovers that the opposing attorney is a brilliant, high-priced lawyer - and his one-time lover - who wants nothing more than to crush Jin in the courtroom.

First, however, he must win the confidence of Rachel Farr, his stone-silent client, a distant, troubled teenager who trusts no one. But when Rachel recounts her brutal attack, Jin is spurred into action, throwing his heart and soul into a case that is far more explosive than he had ever imagined.

©2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 2000 Gus Lee

Written like literature

Mr. Lee spins a well-constructed story and uses words like an artist uses brushes. I found the story a bit slow to start, but the experience was worth the wait. The story concentrates on the legal system in Sacramento. I know Sacramento very well and found Mr. Lee to use fictional license more than I would like. He went to school in Davis, so should know what highway goes where (Interstate 80 will not take you to Kyburz, which is on U.S. Highway 50) and not take such liberty with geography and place names. However had I not known the area so well, I wouldn't have noticed.

The biggest entertainment was the reader. Dick Hill reads this book with magic in his voice and conveys emotion and makes each character unique. He is an incredible master.

Very nicely written book

Joshua Jin is a Chinese-American prosecutor whose brilliant career is in jeopardy, largely because his personal life is in tatters. After the death of his young daughter, his marriage has disintegrated, and now he's coasting on autopilot.

Then he's assigned a dog of a case, that of deciding whether a rape can be prosecuted, or whether it even occurred. The victim; a 13 year old girl who fits the description of "at risk" to a T, and who isn't talking.

This book is a great listen, and I highly recommend it. This is the only Gus Lee title offered by Audible, which is kind of a shame.

Better then average

I know it's not a catchy headline, but I think it's pretty acurate. I went in with lower expectations, and enjoyed a nice story. It had me wondering and guessing a few times. A couple of nice twists at the end. Sit back - Relax - And let the old man tell you a story. It's a little graphic at times - But not tasteless. It won't knock Grisham off from a top spot (When Grisham was writing great books) But it's a pretty good courtroom drama. Easliy worth a credit - Or the 12.95 price I just saw on here.

For what it's worth... J

Could have been excellent.

I'm not sure if the author felt rushed or what but the end felt forced and wound up sounding contrived and confusing.

Great Intrigue -- Politics and Judicial Process

This is a great legal procedural mystery -- carrying listeners into very difficult areas of the law and our American culture. The story centers on a Asian-American district attorney who is faced with prosecuting a man for rape and torture of a 13 year old girl -- shortly after his own daughter died from chronic heart disease. The victim's story is the only "physical evidence" the DA can provide the jury and he must battle a judge facing re-election and a rising star criminal defense attorney. Nevertheless, a verdict is reached and then, he discovers new evidence that leads the investigation into the underground world of child sex trafficking. This is where politics really gets involved as those in the judicial system are party to this underworld crime. The story includes a good bit about Chinese cultural customs and a lot of legal wrangling in the courts. If you like Dick Hill, you like him; if you don't, then skip this one -- because it is quintessential Hill -- young girl's voices may make you shudder. I generally like Dick Hill, so this one was good by my view.

15 Stars! Twizzler-Twisty and Moving

Okay, we expect Character 1 in these things to start in a hole that gets deeper than a teenager's yawn in chemistry class. But... but... there are limits, huh? Not to Gus Lee. There are Jurassic fossils in shallower pits. And he tosses fat boulders faster than Michael Connelly pops out novels.

"OH NO! HOW WILL CHIN EVER GET OUT?!"

I mean you know he will right? So this thing becomes a puzzle wound tighter than a Dollar Store watch.. Which leads me to a few tips about NPE...

• First, Lee is maniacally addicted to metaphors or similes. When you start noticing the scenery, the play's in trouble... Ditto when you notice a writer's narrative tics.

• Second: The plot's intricately and richly spattered with clues. You've got to pay attention from page one.

• Thirdly: There's a big cast here which Dick Hill does a fine job of differentiating vocally, yet so many can distract a listener who cannot easily look back, and needs to instead drill into memories often made before the last break(s) the listener took.

• Fourth: There are abrupt scene changes that skip along the storyline. Some of the most noticeable are the results of a fly-like calendar leaps in the story.

Look my book grading's tougher than a three buck blue-plate dinner steak but if you like trial-fiction that's twistier than Twizzlers well, 'No Physical Evidence' deserves all 15 stars just for revealing, HOW CHIN WILL EVER GET OUT?!

Well Written

I had not read anything by this author before and am now truly sad there is nothing else on Audible by this author. I found this book to be extremely well written and some of the things difficult to listen to but incredibly done by Dick Hill. Parts of this book were truly gut wrenching and found myself tearing up at times. Only Dick Hill could pull this off so well as a narrator. I want more by this author. The subject matter was wrenching and difficult but truly a great listen. Much better listening than reading the printed version. Dick Hill brought the characters to life as he always does.

Couldn't finish it.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I'm about half way through and I have no desire to find out what happens next. With that in mind there are far too many books out there.

What about Dick Hill’s performance did you like?

As usual Dick Hill was great, really all this book had going for it.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from No Physical Evidence?

This guy has WAY too many issues.

Any additional comments?

Move on.

Couldn't make it through

First of all, I follow Ted's reviews. He and I have similar tastes and I appreciate his two cents about books. He gave this rave reviews so when I saw it on a daily deal or some special, I ordered it. Sorry Ted, we have to part company on this one. It was just too disjointed and for some reason, difficult for me to follow. There were too many lose ends waiting to be connected, too many stories within stories and I gave up.

This one is going back

I have made it through about 3+ hours of this book perhaps a little further. It is going to get returned to audible. The concept here is the story about prosecuting a bad guy for the astonishing rape of a child. That part I can live with. But the interminable description in graphic detail of the several days while the rapist destroys this young lady is just too much for me. It is disgusting. Oddly I must say that the book is quite written and the narrator quite excellent. I just can't take it anymore and I really don't want to know anymore . I wish I could unread the part about the rape. This may just be me but it's my opinion. Obviously it has great ratings so maybe just this squeamish old man cannot feel with it. Your call. The great thing about Audible is if you make a mistake you can always return it. I seldom do this but this book is deserving of it.