Book Review of "The Burning Man" by Phillip Margolin
Book Review of "The Burning Man" by Phillip Margolin
Peter Hale, the son of Richard Hale, a four-year associate at Hale,
Greaves, Strobridg, Marquand, and Bartlett, has lived his life under the shadow of his father. Despite having a high five-figure salary and fire-engine-red
Porsche, Peter was constantly trying to overcome the expectations of his high- class lawyer of a father, who was former president of the Oregon State Bar.
Handling only small-time cases did not present Peter with the opportunity to outshine his father, who was also a second-team All-American football player and
National Champion wrestler, but when his father had a heart attack and could no longer handle a million dollar case in which Peter had been helping him, Peter could not let the opportunity pass. As Richard Hale lied helpless in a hospital bed, he demanded Peter ask for a mistrial, but it seemed only to go in one ear of Peter's and out the other. Peter's boldness would be costly though, as he would lose the case and lose his father. Richard did not die, but when he heard of his son's error he could not forgive him and couldn't bare to see him anymore.
Only a fatherly instinct would force Richard to find a meager job for his helpless son in a small town with an old friend who was looking for someone trying to regain status as Peter now was. Whitaker was not as exciting as
Portland was to Peter, but he began to be accustomed to the town when he began his handling small criminal cases and ran into an old friend who graduated with him from highschool, Steve Mancini. Steve, like Peter's father, was a football star, but at the Division II level for the Whitaker State football team. Hale became close with Mancini and met many other residents of Whitaker through Steve. One being Steve's beautiful and intelligent fiance, Donna Harmon and her slightly retarded brother Gary. Just as things began to become settled for
Peter in Whitaker, he ran into some problems with Gary Harmon.
Peter Hale, the son of Richard Hale, a four-year associate at Hale,
Greaves, Strobridg, Marquand, and Bartlett, has lived his life under the shadow of his father. Despite having a high five-figure salary and fire-engine-red
Porsche, Peter was constantly trying to overcome the expectations of his high- class lawyer of a father, who was former president of the Oregon State Bar.
Handling only small-time cases did not present Peter with the opportunity to outshine his father, who was also a second-team All-American football player and
National Champion wrestler, but when his father had a heart attack and could no longer handle a million dollar case in which Peter had been helping him, Peter could not let the opportunity pass. As Richard Hale lied helpless in a hospital bed, he demanded Peter ask for a mistrial, but it seemed only to go in one ear of Peter's and out the other. Peter's boldness would be costly though, as he would lose the case and lose his father. Richard did not die, but when he heard of his son's error he could not forgive him and couldn't bare to see him anymore.
Only a fatherly instinct would force Richard to find a meager job for his helpless son in a small town with an old friend who was looking for someone trying to regain status as Peter now was. Whitaker was not as exciting as
Portland was to Peter, but he began to be accustomed to the town when he began his handling small criminal cases and ran into an old friend who graduated with him from highschool, Steve Mancini. Steve, like Peter's father, was a football star, but at the Division II level for the Whitaker State football team. Hale became close with Mancini and met many other residents of Whitaker through Steve. One being Steve's beautiful and intelligent fiance, Donna Harmon and her slightly retarded brother Gary. Just as things began to become settled for
Peter in Whitaker, he ran into some problems with Gary Harmon.