Murder at Black Oaks, the sixth entry in the Robin Lockwood series, was supposed to be an homage to Agatha Christie's locked room mysteries, but definitely fell short in my opinion. While the actual material of the book was interesting, the execution was lacking and all over the place, from courtroom drama to Gothic elements that were not really convincing nor did they seem to fit the spirit of the story. And some of it was not believable, including the courtroom stuff.

First of all, while I don't have an issue with multiple plot lines in a story, I do have an issue when they are not cohesive. I actually felt like I was reading a series of short stories that the author decided at the last minute to tie together into one larger plot. As a result, the overall plot didn't flow very well and was jarring in quite a few places, but, I thought, maybe I could overlook all of that. Nope, as suddenly, there was mention of a curse, a legend, and suddenly, I was in the middle of a Gothic novel. Throw in a thunderstorm and no electricity, and yes, you can see where I am going with all of this. It wouldn't have surprised me if someone was actually bitten by a werewolf and turned. And trust me, I love Gothic and horror as it's my preferred genre to read, but not like this. Unfortunately, the plot was sort of painful to get through, and there were quite a few instances where I just rolled my eyes and thought about how short this book was and how easy it is to read, so I just powered through it.

If I had not read the previous novels, I would not have any knowledge of any of the main characters. The character development was not that great and if you changed the names of any of the people, it wouldn't have mattered as no one, not even Robin, had distinct personalities. I was really disappointed in Robin's character as she seemed so different compared to previous novels, this one almost making her seem silly and out of sync with what is happening.

Verdict
Murder at Black Oaks is definitely not one of my favourite novels by this author. Lack of plot and character development interfered in what could have been an intriguing locked room drama in a spooky mansion. The author did not make use of of his characters nor was there an intertwined plot that was intriguing or interesting. Unfortunately, this one failed on a multitude of levels. However, as the previous novels were half-decent, I'm not quite ready to give up on this series yet. I do recommend that if you haven't read anything by this author, you do not start with this novel, but start with the first one in the series. ( )

Murder at Black Oaks by Phillip Margolin was a good, entertaining, quick read. It stars Robin Lockwood as the legal heroine in a multi-storyline mystery.

I’m rating at three (would do 3.5 if I could) stars since I thought some of the storylines aren’t brought to conclusion, some storylines leap around a bit awkwardly and the characters aren’t deeply developed. The setting is well-described and contributes to the spooky entertainment factor. This book is part of an ongoing mystery series but can easily be read as a standalone.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me the opportunity to read this ARC. ( )

1990 - a twenty-four-year-old college student is sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend. The deputy district attorney’s victory would come back to haunt him. Actually, it would be the death of him.

This book delves into the very interesting concept of attorney/client privilege - not a new conundrum but sometimes a very difficult position to justify. When Frank Melville, former DA turned criminal defense attorney, has misgivings about his part in the man sitting on death row for almost thirty years he tries to rectify a very real miscarriage of justice. While this is going on and because of this action good people start committing horrible crimes. One of them is a locked-room murder scenario set in an elevator that is stuck between floors. The story fell apart in so many places for me and this was the the ultimate trip and fall.

Margolin has written, in his words, “a novel with an impossible murder, haunted mansion, secret passages, and a werewolf curse.” It should have been an amazing story - unfortunately it fell short. The writing was clunky, uninspired and kept missing the mark. Not a bad effort, just not great.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for a copy. ( )

Robin is a talented defense attorney. She has been summoned to a meeting by retired District Attorney Francis Melville at his home at Black Oaks. Black Oaks is a mansion with a strange past. But, Robin has been called for a legal matter. Francis knows he put the wrong man behind bars decades ago. He wants Robin to correct his mistake.

There are a lot of moving parts to this novel and I enjoyed every one. I loved the creepy setting of the house and the weird legend. Then there is the case. Jose was wrongly accused of killing his girlfriend. It derailed his whole life. But, Robin is successful and brings Jose back to Black Oaks. Then the real story begins…you will have to read this to find out!

Now, I did figure it out. However, I enjoyed the intensity and the quest to find the killer…was it a family member, the legend, or an outsider?!?! READ IT!

The narrator, Thérèse Plummer, is excellent. She is one I will be on the look out for!

Need a good mystery with a creepy feel… THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for an honest opinion. ( )

So I had no idea this was part of a series when I requested it. However, that really didn't affect my enjoyment at all. This is a short well-written crime thriller that is part legal thriller, part locked in mystery. It reminded me of classic mysteries without it being cliché. The story opens when Robin Lockwood, a defense attorney, is asked to meet with a retired DA who wants her to help set right a wrong - he knows that a man he prosecuted and put on death row is innocent, and he wants her help to get him out of prison. But the DA's home is the creepy Black Oaks, a manor that resembles a haunted house more than a home. And that is the setting of our mystery.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I plan to start from the beginning with the series. ( )