The Confession (Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Legal Thriller Book 5)

All of his stories remind me of growing up in San Fran. Maybe one day he'll lose a case, but not likely.

Good legal murder thriller. Unconventional characters not sure likable but unique. Slower paced methodically written. Nice evening reading toRelax..

4 stars for an entertaining easy read. This is book 5 in the Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez series and it can be read as a stand alone, but I have been reading them in order and recommend doing the same. I have converted my wife into a fan of this series. She has almost finished book 1 Special Circumstances and plans to continue reading this series.This book starts off with Mike, who is an ex-priest, in confession with his priest friend Ramon Aguirre. Mike left the priesthood, while Ramon stayed on and is now his parish priest. Ramon is trying to persuade Mike to remarry his ex wife and current law partner, Rosie Fernandez. They have 2 children, Grace, 12, and Tommy, 11 months old. Grace was born while they were still married, and Tommy was born years after the divorce. While Mike and Rosie still see each other, they also still live apart. They share parenting responsibilities.Later that night, Ramon calls Mike. Ramon has been arrested for murder. He wants Mike to be his lawyer. Mike arrives at the police station, only to find 2 lawyers for the archdiocese of San Francisco determined to take over the case. Mike is able to stay on the case because Ramon insists on him being part of his legal team.Mike and his team do solve the case without much help from the RC church. They also do it for free, since the church refuses to pay his fees. This is an intricate legal mystery, with an ending that I did not see coming until toward the end of the book.I like the author's sense of humor. Some quotes:Ramon to Mike: "I'm in the business of saving souls and yours is at the top of my list. You're a test case for the greatest challenge of my career."Mike: "Which is?"Ramon: "I'm trying to get my first lawyer into heaven."Mike, thinking "Sometimes I miss the good old days when priests were stern taskmasters instead of aspiring stand up comics. 'What are my odds?"Ramon: "Not good. I have to hold you to a higher standard because you used to be one of us."Mike: "There's a sliding scale for sin?"Ramon: "Yes."Rosita Fernandez article in law journal: "Criminal defense work is like putting together a puzzle. You study each piece of evidence and try to find ways to cast doubt on the prosecution's case. If you overlook something important, your client is in serious trouble."This was a kindle purchase.

I’m reading the series and this one is the best so far. Without completely trashing the Church, Siegel gets seriously critical. His sense of humor adds a perfect balance.

Sheldon Siegel does it again, in his fifth and newest outing for San Francisco attorney and ex-priest Mike Daley. The book opens with Daley's confession to one of his best friends, priest Ramon Aguirre. Before it closes, Daley, Aguirre, and the normal cast of characters in a Siegel novel (Mike's ex-wife and law partner Rosie, their various relatives, "McNasty", the lead prosecutor in the DA's office, Banks and Johnson, a crack SFPD homicide team and the Catholic diocese of San Francisco) will come and go, but the bond between Mike and Ramon will grow due to Daley's defense of Father Aguirre in a murder trial.In his investigation of what really happened to the victim, Siegel shares with us a slice of her life, in flashbacks - she's a close friend and former teenage fling of Aguirre's, and another fixture in the neighborhood, crusading attorney Maria Concepcion. In a pace too fast for many readers, Siegel introduces us to everyone of relevance in Maria's life, and one by one, eliminates them from the crime. The book, as in many of Siegel's former novels, climaxes in the courtroom, this time in a preliminary hearing. Of little help is the fact that Father Aguirre feeds the defense team information little by little, confirming the damning information about his relationship with the victim only after they have learned about it from the police. Although this fact is grating on the reader, Siegel's fans will be more than satisfied with a couple of characteristics of his writing, which have become his signature.The first is Daley's mental corrections of nearly everything he says that is politically correct. When queried by the higher ups in the church's in-house legal counsel, "I trust you will provide full disclosure of all relevant information?"...Daley's response of "Of course." Is prefaced by his real answer, which is never enunciated..."We'll see". Throughout the book, the dichotomy of Daley's out-loud answers and his mental gymnastics is an entertaining Siegel tradition. One of the other Siegel signatures is his prefacing of each chapter with a brief blurb or quote from a publication (such as the San Francisco Chronicle) about the case he's working on. This technique pulls the reader into the context of the story within the boundaries of SF, and makes it come alive. Some examples?When Daley's offices are destroyed by a fire that is apparently arson, and when the church withdraws its support as co-counsel, chapter 43 begins with "Mr. Daley and Ms. Fernandez should ask for a continuance...Legal Commentator Mort Goldberg, Channel 4 News, Monday, December 15, 8:30 a.m." After having this priest charged with the murder of an attorney that was suing another priest for sexual misconduct, after learning that Father Aguirre donated sperm to help the victim become pregnant, and after the dirty tricks played by the SF Diocese's legal team against the victim come out in court, Chapter 51 begins with a quote from its chief in-house counsel, Francis X. Quinn, "We have to avoid any appearance of impropriety."....an understatement if there ever was one.I hope the broader reading community that enjoys thrillers, both legal and mystery, doesn't ever discover Siegel's books in a big way, because that will put more pressure on him to produce the commercially acceptable; in the meantime, he can just continue with his penchant for a great yarn, with a cast of memorable characters, and a sweeping humor that doesn't undermine the thriller aspects of his writing. One of my very favorite authors....read Siegel's 5 Daley books in order, so you don't miss a single drop!

When you buy a book in this series of legal thrillers you know that you are in for a good read. The author has created interesting and likeable characters in Mike Daley and ex-wife Rosie Fernandez. His knowledge of the US legal system shines through and you get a good lesson as you read.Written in the first person, the style of writing is easy to follow and often amusing, with Daley’s true thoughts preceding his spoken word. Great. The drawback of first-person writing, however, is that the plotline is always stuck with the main character. There can be no dodging from place to place, player to player. All we can know is Daley and his thoughts and actions. That’s OK – it is actually quite nice to get a break from the genre of novel that flies all over the place in location, time and character – but it makes the experience of reading just a bit one-dimensional.The plot is good but not perfect. In order to perpetuate the mystery the rigour of the pathology department is somewhat lacking. Fine for the Agatha Christie era, but a bit hard to believe in this age of meticulous and high-tech medical science.Nevertheless, four stars because this book is very enjoyable and easy to read, with a satisfying denouement. I look forward to catching up with Mike and Rosie again.

... Resulted in me disengaging for the plot.A likeable, but not too conventional priest. A lawyer and his partner (both office and in life) and a caste of cynical lawyers and clergymen.BUT, if you've read previous books in the series you will see similar themes revisited and decisions that are not immediately obvious.SPOILER ALERT: Why ever would a respected and experienced pathologist conclude that a very faint mark on a shoulder plus a finger (thumb) print at the rear of a neck mean that the subject had been knocked unconscious? Far from an inevitable conclusion. Great tracts where objections are recounted where none was likely to be found...yet equally as long tracts from investigating officers reaching not-inevitable conclusions permitted unchallenged.The first time one tends to write it off...but repeatedly, novel to novel, one tends to start answering back : Come on Sheldon. The same story, more accurately scripted would have been more exciting. There is a 'sameness' from story to story that, given the different plots should be avoidable.Maybe in the US one rarely calls the defendant? Not so in the UK (altho' in prelim hearings one would not normally do so...they only rarely occur). All sorts of evidential weaknesses (inc conflict issues and chain of evidence) that one writes off as 'licence' to start with are now becoming annoying.

Mike Daley is a former, unsuccessful, priest turned lawyer. His relationship with his business partner and ex wife, Rosie, is complicated and he remains a devoted father to his two children, 12 year old Grace and 18 month old Tommy. When his good friend and priest Ramon is arrested on a charge of murder, Mike and Rosie will do everything possible to mount a credible defence, taking on the church and its influential legal team in the process and putting their own lives in danger. This is one of those books that you not only can't put down but are positively irritated when interruptions get in the way of your reading. Mike is a great character and all the other characters in the book are well drawn and instantly recognisable from their descriptions. The humour is subtle, the setting atmospheric and the attention to legal and religious detail, meticulous. The story is intriguing and for most of the book, you are convinced that Ramon's case is hopeless. Despite everything being stacked against them, Mike and Rosie refuse to abandon their friend and the nail biting ending is well worth the wait. Loved it from start to finish

I have used the word glacial, to mean cold and travelling very slowly, in a review before and hoped never to have to use it again, and then I bought this book, silly me. It is jammed full of meaningless twaddle that seems to make up America's odd legal system, together with caustic asides and a running commentary between the lead character and his readership that suggests he only means what he says about a third of the time.It has stock apple pie American characters, hearts of gold lawyers who not only work frantically 18 - 20 hours a day for free, but also supply a complete backroom staff of private eyes, bodyguards et al all for free. All it needed was for them to live on cabbage soup to make them totally unbelievable.Obviously the police have got the wrong man and it appears to be the defence lawyer's job to track down the real killer, which is where the glacier comes in. I all but lost the will to read to the end. Every time I put the book down, which was every time my concentration wandered, it was an effort to pick up again, something to do only as the last resort. In the end I just read the last few chapter headings and then skipped to the chapter headed "the final confession" to confirm who (dunnit) no surprises there

When I first discovered Sheldon Siegel's novels featuring Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez, I loved the legal aspects of the stories. Even though this, the fifth book in the series, is more of a whodunnit (and how- and when-dunnit) than a legal thriller, it still shines with Siegel's style, humour and cleverness.Mike Daley is an ex-priest turned defense attorney who works in partnership with his ex-wife Rosie. Their small law firm, the staff of which has changed a little since the last book, also includes (albeit it a fairly minor role) a rather unconventional character who acts as assistant, bodyguard or receptionist as required. This book also features other recurring characters from the series including Mike's brother, ex-cop P.I. Pete, the ever-popular octogenarian P.I. Nick "the Dick" Hanson, Inspector Roosevelt Johnson, ADA Bill "McNasty" McNulty, and others.Mike's friend and former seminary classmate, Catholic priest Father Ramon Aguirre, is arrested for the murder of Maria Concepcion, a lawyer who frequently acted for clients suing local priests and/or the San Francisco Archdiocese. Ramon calls Mike to defend him, but also has the backing of the archdiocese's legal team until a conflict of interest arises (I love how that one is dealt with!), leaving Mike and Rosie to deal with the mounting evidence.Mike is desperate to have the charges dismissed at the preliminary hearing as any trial will ruin his friend's career. It seems, however, that the priest has been less than upfront about his relationship with Maria, and as each new piece of evidence comes to light Ramon's responses seem weaker and more excuse-like. Mike and Rosie find themselves fighting the damaging revelations on the back foot and also fighting niggling doubts about Ramon's innocence. In desperation Mike resorts to some slightly unethical tactics in the hope that Ramon can be cleared and his life and career saved.I ordered a hardcover copy of this book from the US and I would do so again as it is a book I will keep safely and re-read. I am pleased to see it is now available on Kindle for UK readers and I recommend it wholeheartedly, although preferably if the preceding books in the series are read first. It can be read as a standalone novel but part of the pleasure of the story is appreciating the characters' behaviour and development. According to the author information on Amazon, Siegel is now working on his eighth Fernandez & Daley novel. I can't wait!