Book Review – Full Disclosure – Beverley McLachlin

Facts:

Book: Full Disclosure
Author: Beverley McLachlin
Genre: Mystery / Crime / Thriller
Year of Release: 2018
Read 395-page paperback edition in March 2020

Book Description:

Defense attorney Jilly Truitt is building a successful law practice, and life, after a troubled childhood in a series of foster homes. Although she has built up an array of friends and networks, and has achieved victory in the courtroom, she is still burdened by not knowing who her parents were, and by some horrible situations when she was in the system.

She takes on the case of a rich and somewhat mysterious man named Vincent Trussardi, accused of murdering his wife Laura, who was known for charitable and philanthropic causes. The case is circumstantial, but what evidence is there, looks bad on Vincent. For his part, Vincent maintains his innocence.

When Jilly has friends telling her not to take the case on, something in her decides she needs to anyways. Determined to win at all costs, Jilly leaves no stone unturned as she investigates all aspects of the case. But what she uncovers will shock her not only as it relates to the murder, but also the implications on her personal life.

Book Review:

This mystery thriller is the premiere novel of retired Chief Justice of Canada, Beverley McLachlin. Therefore, one gets the sense as a reader that, even if some of the courtroom procedures are dramatized for the benefit of a good story, if anyone is going to provide some accuracy as it relates to how things can play out, it is this author.

Overall, this does feel like a fun, page-turning thriller. McLachlin has done a good job by providing some strong courtroom scenes and office scenes where experts are discussing the case, but balancing it with action scenes and “field” scenes, to increase excitement and tension for readers.

The overall plot is exciting and interesting, and the writing is easy to get into and written in an engaging style. It should be said that at times, the various plot threads do feel a little bit disjointed and hard to follow. The swings between Jilly’s personal life and discussions with friends don’t always smoothly transition between all the action of the main plot, and feel a little out of place at times. It is interesting to read about Jilly’s backstory, but the transition from chapter to chapter isn’t always smooth.

That being said, the characters that are developed here are interesting, and McLachlin does a good job trying to flesh some of them out so they aren’t one dimensional. More detail would be nice for some of these secondary characters, particularly if any kind of sequel is going to come out of this book.

As a whole, this is a light-hearted crime thriller, one that is easy to get absorbed in, and read through quite quickly.

Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars