Given the Evidence

by Margaret Barrett and Charles Dennis

In Given the Crime, a wise-cracking, fast-paced thriller (Toronto Star), intrepid Manhattan Assistant D.A. Susan Given took on the Mob -- and wound up in a bloody gun battle. Now, in an electrifying... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067100154X
• ISBN13: 9780671001544
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

An Attention Grabber

I found this book buried among a bunch of unread books during a recent move and did not even recall buying it. The cover and title caught my attention so I started to read it and could not put it down. The main character, Susan Given, a DA, was interesting to say the least. She is on the edge of a breakdown, more than likely from being overworked, and decides to take a friend up on a vacation offer. She ends up on an island where she befriends a native named Ascension, only to bear witness to his killing weeks later. She returns home to NYC, only to have to end up dealing with the same people from the island in the long run. While I felt that a little too neat and convenient as far as storylines go, I did find it ingenious. Susan has to deal with an impending divorce, an overzealous boss, raging hormones in her two daughters, an oversexed niece, and an array of other problems all at once, including a serial killer aptly named Rice Krispies. I would definitely read another "Given" mystery and plan to order Given the Crime right now.

Terrific

Ten weeks have passed since Susan Given, head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Asset Forfeiture Division, barely survived a harrowing experience (see GIVEN THE CRIME) that would have broken a lesser person. Still, every evening Susan suffers from a recurring nightmare in which a hulk tries to kill her. Her former spouse, TV psychiatrist Dr. Hugh Carver, adds to her problems when he threatens her with a custody suit. Realizing that his star attorney is not quite the same. Manhattan DA Bill Archibald arranges for Susan to meet with psychiatrist, Dr. Imogen Blythe, who blithely tells Susan that she needs a vaation. Susan flies to the Caribbean island of St. Stephens. However, Susan's idyll vacation goes astray when she becomes lost while parasailing. However, worse yet is that she crash lands near where the local drug lord, Crimson, is taking care of business. Feeling that she is a witness to a murder, he plans to kill her, but she is rescued before he can carry out the deed. Susan leaves paradise for the safe environs of Manhattan, not knowing that Crimson plans to follow her in order to silence the only person he believes who can destroy his empire. GIVEN THE EVIDENCE, with the second appearance of Susan Given, is an exciting tale that blends elements from the legal procedural with that of a thriller. The story line is fast-paced on both islands and the support cast has fully developed characters. However, Susan is the show as her fears and motivations propel the novel forward in a jocular but dire manner. Margaret Barrett and Charles Dennis have the beginnings of what is hopefully a long running series.Harriet Klausner

Totally absorbing

Ten weeks have passed since Susan Given, head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Asset Forfeiture Division, barely survived a harrowing experience (see GIVEN THE CRIME) that would have broken a lesser person. Still, every evening Susan suffers from a recurring nightmare in which a hulk tries to kill her. Her former spouse, TV psychiatrist Dr. Hugh Carver, adds to her problems when he threatens her with a custody suit. Realizing that his star attorney is not quite the same. Manhattan DA Bill Archibald arranges for Susan to meet with psychiatrist, Dr. Imogen Blythe, who blithely tells Susan that she needs a vaation. Susan flies to the Caribbean island of St. Stephens. However, Susan's idyll vacation goes astray when she becomes lost while parasailing. However, worse yet is that she crash lands near where the local drug lord, Crimson, is taking care of business. Feeling that she is a witness to a murder, he plans to kill her, but she is rescued before he can carry out the deed. Susan leaves paradise for the safe environs of Manhattan, not knowing that Crimson plans to follow her in order to silence the only person he believes who can destroy his empire. GIVEN THE EVIDENCE, with the second appearance of Susan Given, is an exciting tale that blends elements from the legal procedural with that of a thriller. The story line is fast-paced on both islands and the support cast has fully developed characters. However, Susan is the show as her fears and motivations propel the novel forward in a jocular but dire manner. Margaret Barrett and Charles Dennis have the beginnings of what is hopefully a long running series.Harriet Klausner