Ties That Bind by Phillip Margolin

I finished listening to the abridged audio version of Ties That Bind by Phillip Margolin and read by Margaret Whitton this evening. Ties That Bind is my first experience with something written by Phillip Margolin.

I enjoy reading or listening to thrillers. Overall, I enjoyed the plot for Ties That Bind, however I did not enjoy listening to the reader, Margaret Whitton, nor did I care for the abridgement for this novel. Margaret Whitton's voice/reading didn't enhance my listening experience and I felt that some of the voices she portrayed of certain men was really awful. As far as the abridgment goes, I felt that the abridgement of this novel wasn't very fluid. I felt that scenes changed quickly, essentially ruining the broke the flow of the storyline.

Additionally, there are a wide variety of characters in this novel, with different back stories that tie into together and with the abridgment, it was difficult to initially know who was who and how each character and their back story all fit together. This made it difficult to tune in and follow the storyline and of course, the reader for this novel didn't help ease matters, nor did the abridgment.

About halfway through my listening experience with the Ties That Bind, I had the characters squared away as to who was who and was able to follow and enjoy the storyline from there forward. Ties That Bind offers a lot of plot twists and turns that I found refreshing in away as I hadn't anticipated there would be that many in this novel. On the other hand, some of these plot twists weren't all that believable.

The following is a book description for the Ties That Bind from Amazon's website:

On the outside, Amanda Jaffe has healed from the traumatic events that concluded the sensational New York Times bestseller Wild Justice -- but inside, she's struggling to regain her self-assurance. When she is forced to represent a pimp accused of murder (a case no other lawyer will touch), her client threatens her, stirring up the trauma to such an extent that she must finally seek the help of a psychiatrist. Her opponent on the murder case, ADA Tom McCorkle, is a local hero -- he won the Heisman Trophy and secured for University Oregon its only victory in the Rose Bowl 15 years earlier -- who is embroiled in his own crisis of confidence, because his popularity is based on a lie. When two people involved in Amanda's case also wind up murdered, Amanda's investigation reveals strange links between a powerful group of men and a drug-related bloodbath many years before. They're called "The Courthouse Athletic Club" -- but who are they? -- why are they interested in a small-time pimp? -- and is it possible that their power and influence reaches all the way to the Presidency?

 I'm giving Ties That Bind a rating of 6 stars out of 10 stars. I think the reader, abridgment, and the rocky start of my listening experience is the reason for the low rating.
 
Until my next post, happy reading!!