In Defense of Judges

Bino Phillips, Book 2

By: A. W. Gray

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Bino Phillips is one of the best defenders in all Dallas. He is known for defending disreputable characters and fighting for justice - even against high political interests if necessary. For the honest but politically unpopular federal judge Emmett Burns, Bino Phillips is the last hope. Burns is about to be indicted on trumped-up charges, and his gorgeous but reckless daughter, Ann, has gotten into some trouble of her own.

©2013 A. W. Gray (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Do not pass this one up. It's way smart and too funny.

Bino's second adventure was even better than the first. It features quick witted dialogue, a remarkable cast of characters and a great legal mystery. This story revolves around a federal judge who finds himself under indictment. His beautiful adult daughter has a gambling addiction that only complicates the judge's position. He hires Bino to represent him, but neither he or Bino fully understands how much trouble is at hand.

There's a band of misfits Bino surrounds himself with, none bigger than himself. His ex wife is married to the mob, his Investigator is a bookie, his secretary a reformed junkie. He has real enemies as a defense attorney, primarily the US Attorney and FBI. The upper crust attorneys snub him socially. But underestimateing Bino Phillips is a big mistake.

Once again Joe Bennett is superb. This is an easy 5 star listen!

Can someone tell me what this is all about?

What did you like best about In Defense of Judges? What did you like least?

I like Joe Barrett's voice. It is soft and gravelly and comfy. He can make any number of books, say, for instance, this one, sound better than they are, just because you enjoy listening to him. But that is subterfuge, because the book underneath Joe's narration is trivial and uninteresting.

Has In Defense of Judges turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'm not sure what the word "genre" means any more. Thrillers? Legal-trial-lawyers books? I think almost any attempt to break down literature into categories is doomed to failure, because there are so many authors (and so little time!) with imaginations and creative skills that can't really be categorized in such an easy way. I will continue to read books about the law and how it is practiced, because the subject is intrinsically interesting to me. It's just unfortunate when I see a book that seemed to have potential fizzle down into a gossipy, syrupy, soap opera-ish toy. Not worth the money or the time, in my view.

What three words best describe Joe Barrett’s performance?

I like "gravelly," although I have already used it. I think "folksy" is good, and something like "sympatico" works as well.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Heavens no. The plot is literally all over the place. There are so many characters that you can't possibly hold onto the identity of each one. A good movie would simply concentrate on Bino (what kind of name is that? Is he actually an albino?), the judge that he represents, and the judge's daughter, who has toxic addictions to gambling and losing. The rest of the characters are forgettable at the very best, unnecessary, thin, one-dimensional, predictable (someone please stop me!), etc. The book wanders all over the map without going anywhere at all.

Any additional comments?

No. There are so many other writers of legal thrillers, like Turow and Lescroarts, and Lehane and many others: why bore yourself with this one? Time is too precious.

Goosebumps the size of spider eggs

This author is not for me even though a great reviewer said this was humorous but I do not find it funny at all. Very dated outlandish dialogue.
If you are an Elmore Leonard fan then this book or series maybe for you.
I like Narrator Joe Barrett and his Brian Haig books. Those are LOL and not to be missed if you too are a fan of Mr Barrett. He does a great job on this book. I am just not nuts about this story even though l like Phillip Marlowe books.