Book Review - Conflicts with Interest by Michael Ruddy
Category Book Review Michael Ruddy Conflicts with Interest
I received an advance reader copy of Michael Ruddy's debut novel Conflicts with Interest. Ruddy centers his story around the injustice of the legal system when an aggressive law firm decides to focus their attention on a single industry for their own profit.
T. R. Morgan and his son Ryan own Morgan Homes, a family owned home construction company. They're doing relatively well until they get drawn into a legal battle with Steve Sanderson, a high-powered lawyer who has a history of winning huge settlements from construction companies. The particular home in question for this lawsuit should have been settled for a very small amount, but with Sanderson involved, the numbers quickly escalate to a point where hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake. T. R. is frustrated in that he wants to see justice done, while the various (and growing) legal teams of the insurance companies only want to minimize possible large payouts and settle. Even more unbelievable to Morgan is that his own insurance companies are doing everything possible to absolve themselves of any responsibilities to pay out by invoking obscure clauses or offering minimal amounts to the settlement pool. T. R. has to try and navigate between justice and risk in order to come up with a resolution that he can live with.
As with most debut novels, there's a mix of good and not-so-good here. If you're into novels with a strong legal bent, there's plenty of material here. It never ceases to amaze me how a system designed to redress wrongs can be used to attack innocent parties. The dialogue between the different characters is pretty good, too. Where I struggled was with the peripheral plots in the story. Sanderson's involvement in illegal alien trafficking for his various ranches seemed to be rather contrived, and only really came into play for the final plot twist. The drug problems in the firm also seemed to be glued onto the story until the very end. T. R.'s new girlfriend could have been left out without much impact, either. Not everything needs to fit perfectly, nor does everything *have* to be essential to the story. But as I was reading Conflicts, I kept wondering why certain things mattered, and why I cared. When I *did* find out why they mattered, I was left with the feeling that the author really had to manipulate things to get there.
Given this is Michael Ruddy's first novel, Conflicts with Interest is a decent first effort. I think with additional maturity and time, Ruddy could become an author that I'd look forward to reading on a regular basis
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free
I received an advance reader copy of Michael Ruddy's debut novel Conflicts with Interest. Ruddy centers his story around the injustice of the legal system when an aggressive law firm decides to focus their attention on a single industry for their own profit.
T. R. Morgan and his son Ryan own Morgan Homes, a family owned home construction company. They're doing relatively well until they get drawn into a legal battle with Steve Sanderson, a high-powered lawyer who has a history of winning huge settlements from construction companies. The particular home in question for this lawsuit should have been settled for a very small amount, but with Sanderson involved, the numbers quickly escalate to a point where hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake. T. R. is frustrated in that he wants to see justice done, while the various (and growing) legal teams of the insurance companies only want to minimize possible large payouts and settle. Even more unbelievable to Morgan is that his own insurance companies are doing everything possible to absolve themselves of any responsibilities to pay out by invoking obscure clauses or offering minimal amounts to the settlement pool. T. R. has to try and navigate between justice and risk in order to come up with a resolution that he can live with.
As with most debut novels, there's a mix of good and not-so-good here. If you're into novels with a strong legal bent, there's plenty of material here. It never ceases to amaze me how a system designed to redress wrongs can be used to attack innocent parties. The dialogue between the different characters is pretty good, too. Where I struggled was with the peripheral plots in the story. Sanderson's involvement in illegal alien trafficking for his various ranches seemed to be rather contrived, and only really came into play for the final plot twist. The drug problems in the firm also seemed to be glued onto the story until the very end. T. R.'s new girlfriend could have been left out without much impact, either. Not everything needs to fit perfectly, nor does everything *have* to be essential to the story. But as I was reading Conflicts, I kept wondering why certain things mattered, and why I cared. When I *did* find out why they mattered, I was left with the feeling that the author really had to manipulate things to get there.
Given this is Michael Ruddy's first novel, Conflicts with Interest is a decent first effort. I think with additional maturity and time, Ruddy could become an author that I'd look forward to reading on a regular basis
Disclosure:
Obtained From: Publisher
Payment: Free
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