Final Paradox: The Second in the Osgoode Trilogy

By Mary E. Martin

Can Love and forgiveness be found amid fraud and deceit? Harry Jenkins is an honest lawyer, seeking truth and love in a world darkened by fraud and deceit. Years back, Elixicorp, a company developing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595407609
• ISBN13: 9780595407606
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An excellent read, in no way a light read - by far!

Harry Jenkins believes his client, Norma Dinnick, an eight-seven-year-old widow, is balancing on a very thin line between reality and insanity. Norma calls Harry with the intention of rewriting her will, and is convinced that Archie Brinks, the executor of her estate, is trying to poison her by substituting her arthritis medication. He wants her money and the share that her deceased husband had hidden years before. She's determined to change her will, naming her goddaughter, Bronwyn (a friend's daughter), sole beneficiary and Harry as her executor. She firmly believes that George Pappas, Peter Saunderson (Bronwyn's gay husband), Archie Brinks and others are after the Elixicorp share she believes is rightfully hers. But the share isn't - nor does it belong to any of them, for years ago, fraud and deceit were commited against high-class Torontonians, having them believe that Elixicorp was developing medication to prevent memory loss. Millions were invested, and without that share, the money is out of reach for all. Before his death, Arthur had hidden the money. After being threatened by Robert Hawke and George Pappas, he commited suicide rather than face a horrific, torturous death by their hands, and left specific instructions for Norma. But Norma's mind is no longer what it used to be, as she 'sees' and `talks' with her husband and David, her lover, and believes there are bad tenants residing above her when, in fact, the apartment above her own is completely empty. And now Harry's stuck in the middle, while more and more, the men who are supposed to be finding the hidden share are turning up murdered. Meanwhile, Harry's love-life is at a crawl. Divorced from his wife, Harry has fallen in love with Natasha. One minute, she is warm and inviting, and the next, she's cool and withdrawan. And Harry doesn't understand why. Again, another great mystery. Ms. Martin knows how to create a complex plot(s). While I did find that there were too many characters and sometimes hard to keep track of them, each one plays a particular role, and all working for George Pappas, all after the same thing; the missing Elixicorp share. So complex a story, let this be a word of caution: while an excellent tale, this novel is by no means a light read. This is not a book you can pick up and finish in a few short hours, even if it is only a 268-page Trade Paperback. It needs and deserves your complete attention. Way to go, Ms. Martin! Can't wait to start A Trial of One, Book #3!

Can't wait for the third installment

The second in a trilogy, The Final Paradox continues the story of Harry Jenkins and the cast of characters surrounding his life and his quest to do good. Character development continues to be a strength of the author and you really care about what happens to everyone in the book.The book flows beautifully and Ms.Martin paints a perfect picture of old Toronto and it inhabitants as well as the high stakes world of medical research and fund raising. Issues of concern to all of us as we age are expertly woven through the story and are presented with the author's expertise and is must reading for everyone. Can't wait for the next installment..

Not fluff reading

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (2/07) Years ago a company called Elixicorp developed a pill that claimed to stave off memory loss and to restore damage all ready done. Harry Jenkins is an honest lawyer filled with integrity. George Pappas talked wealthy people in Toronto to invest in the company. Five million dollars was raised but the money was never seen again. The shares are much like buried treasure. Harry Jenkins' client calls him to change her will. When he arrives at her home he doesn't see the witty, intelligent eighty-seven year old Norma Dinnick that he's always admired. In her place is a woman that is on the brink of madness. She's delusional and paranoid. She thinks someone is trying to kill her. As the story continues it takes some bizarre twist and turns. Fraud is uncovered concerning the shares of Elixicorp. The shares are suddenly valuable to everyone, especially to George Pappas, who has mob ties. The plot continues with murder and suicide. There is a long list of characters to keep up with in this book. I finally made a list so that I could keep them straight - Arthur, Archie, Harry, Norma, David, George, Paul, Roger, and Bronwyn. I've probably missed a few. Mary E. Martin has interwoven the lives of these characters into an intricate plot. My only criticism was that it was too many characters. Ms. Martin is a talented author with great ability to spin a tale. This is not light reading. It's not a book you can sit down with and finish in one day. I found this book to need a lot of concentration time. That is not meant as a criticism but as a compliment. "Final Paradox" is not fluff reading. I recommend it to those that enjoy a good mystery.

Be aware of wacky sweet little old ladies!

Mary E. Martin's second Osgood Trilogy, Final Paradox revolves around Harry Jenkins, the honest and sincere family solicitor, who once more seems to attract some unusual clients. The novel begins when Jenkins pays a visit to an elderly client, Norma Dinnick to discuss her will. Norma seems to be very confused when Harry enters her apartment and she complains to him about imaginary tenants living above her who listen in on her phone conversations. Harry is quite perturbed, as he knows that Norma had only one remaining tenant in her apartment. Apparently, the previous year Norma did so well on her investments that she decided to close the other five suites of the apartment. Norma asks Harry if Archie Brinks, who we later learn was her late husband's business partner, is the cause of all her troubles. According to Norma, Archie is trying to drive her mad so she won't be able to change her will. Harry informs Norma that Archie called him to tell him not to come. Archie claimed that Norma didn't want a new will and that furthermore she didn't have the capacity to make a new one. Norma is infuriated and she spews out: "Of course! That greedy lout will suck me dry. He even wants the shares my Arthur left me." Harry is taken aback with Norma's mention of shares and he asks her which shares, as he doesn't recall listing in the inventory of Arthur's estate any share certificates. As the story unfolds, things start to get really bizarre. We learn that the lost shares are the Elixicorp Shares and there is a great deal of funny business going on pertaining to these shares. It seems everyone is after these shares, particularly an underworld figure, George Pappas, who will stop at nothing to track down the shares. We also discover that Arthur Dinnick, Archie Brinks, George Pappas and another person, David Parrish (who was Norma's lover) were involved in a fraudulent scheme where they duped some of Toronto's elite to invest in a phony wonder drug. As a result, they were successful in raising five million dollars that Arthur managed to abscond with and hide in an account in Europe under the code name of Elixicorp Holdings. To access the funds, it was necessary to produce the original share certificate that would indicate the account number on its reverse side. Martin's characters spend most of the novel being led around by the plot and are either murdered, commit suicide or wind up in a hospital for the mentally ill. As for Norma Dinnick, she may seem to be a trifle "whacky," however, as we discover there was a method in her madness. Martin is not lacking in imagination, however, one shortcoming of the novel is its lack of focus on the principal plot-the search for the missing shares. There is too much pumping in of side issues such as Harry's relationships with his father and girlfriend that considerably slows down the forward momentum of the story. Nonetheless, if Martin is trying to tell us that things are not always as they seem and that we sho