| Marianne Wesson, author | (my friends call me Mimi) | |||||
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| Rocky Mountain News |
Grade: A
University of Colorado law professor Marianne Wesson turns legal wrangling over the First Amendment into a great read in her third novel featuring Boulder attorney Lucinda Hayes. In Chilling Effect, the reader is treated not only to a hotly paced plot and compelling characters, but to what seems to be a thorough examination of the legal and social quandaries surrounding the scourge of child pornography and the problem of censorship. The title refers, of course, to the feared result of efforts to end the darker forms of pornography - a chilling effect on other forms of free speech. When Cinda takes on the case of Peggy Grayling, they realize they are up against terrible odds. Grayling's fourth-grade daughter was kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered by a man who had been watching, over and over again, a video of a similar crime - illegal, but readily available. Grayling wants to find the makers of the video (no small task) and sue them (a legal marathon). Even if they find the source of the video, they'll have one heck of a time proving in court that the movie actually caused the crime - in a psychotic's mind, how will they tease out that singular thread of madness? And what about links between the pornography industry and the powerful legitimate film industry? In addition to this huge and fascinating task, Wesson takes on, in the course of her book, Kennedy's assassination, Buddhism and Christianity, race relations, homosexuality and the peculiar mentality of the city of Boulder. It's all in a day's work for Lucinda, a big-hearted heroine with the energy of three or four people. There are lots of reasons to read this lawyerly book, but the excellent and thoughtful story and the Colorado setting ought to be enough to send you straight to the bookstore. Back to top. |
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| New Mystery Reader |
In this intelligent and timely legal thriller Wesson pulls out all the stops to make a great case regarding the effects of unrestricted free speech. Boulder attorney Lucinda Hayes is hired to take on the case of Peggy Grayling, a woman whose daughter was raped and killed by a mentally disturbed man, and who also believes that a certain child pornographic snuff film was also directly responsible for the crime. So not only is Cinda taking on the distributor of the film but, incidentally, the whole entertainment industry as well, making what follows nothing short of spectacular. And as Cinda becomes more involved in the case, the disturbing aspects of it not only begin affect her work, but her personal relationships as well.
This thought-provoking novel is both highly entertaining and intensely suspenseful. Both sides of the coin are equally represented, but Cinda's position that the First Amendment should not automatically free one from responsibility of the effects of such an unrestricted law is put forth with such conviction, that it's difficult not to at least consider the argument. With superbly drawn characters, a story with grit and purpose, and a final denouement worthy of intense consideration, this latest mystery from Wesson comes highly recommended. Read the full review at NewMysteryReader.com! Back to top. |
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