Fall from Grace

Author:  Richard North Patterson

Publisher: Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: 2012
Pages: 278
ISBN No.: 978-1-4516-1705-4
Genre: Crime
Sub Genre: Legal Thriller
Reader’s Annotation:
The mysterious, violent death of a prominent New England patriarch exposes a nest of dark family secret.
Summary:
Adam Blaine arrives in Martha Vineyard's for the funeral of his estranged father, Ben Blaine, a famous and charismatic writer who has served as  patriarch of his clan.  The deceased has left behind a string of secret legal  and financial arrangements, not to mention an emotionally distraught widow and strangely aloof mistress, a beautiful television actress who once had a drug problem.  Ben had many mistresses during his 40 year marriage, however, at the time of his death, has left his 12 million dollar estate to his actress girlfriend. A one million dollar bequest was also given to Adam's old girlfriend, Jenny, an aspiring writer who lives on the Island. As soon as Adam arrives, he is thrust into the search for his father's killer. Using his training as a CIA operative, Blaine skillfully seeks to find the truth of his father's death, even if it means exposing one or more of his own family members as the killer and discovering secrets about himself that he was never supposed to know.  While there was no love between Adam and his father he finds himself sifting through the evidence to determine whether Ben Blaine's death was a fall from a cliff, an accident, suicide or murder. He must also find a way to help his disinherited mother and brother, while keeping one step ahead of the police, who are attempting to build a case against a family member. 
Evaluation:
In my opinion Richard North Patterson, a former trial lawyer, has written some terrific courtroom novels which I always enjoyed reading but then he veered away from the courtroom into war related genres which I did not care for and did not think were his forte.    His latter books became disappointing and unreadable. This book is an interesting psychological drama, however, it does not have any courtroom scenes, which is where Patterson as a writer stands out.
Why I Would Include It:
Any Richard North Patterson aficionado will enjoy this latest book and in general I think it would appeal to most mystery and crime readers and is not offensive to those who may want to avoid anything that is gory or bloody.
Rating: 5
Read Alikes:
Degree of Guilt by Richard North Patterson
Eyes of a Child by Richard North Patterson
In the Name of Honor by Richard North Paterson
The Litigators by John Grisham
The Firm by John Grisham