The mystery of writing mysteries.

• Author: Bryant, Marian
• Position: Law And literature

Summertime and the reading is easy--encouraging fantasies of penning a best seller and living the life all year round. Here are some recently successful books from which to study the art and craft of blockbuster writing.

John Grisham, a lawyer/writer some profess not to read, but a writer we all seem to want to emulate, has produced his latest thriller The King of torts (Doubleday). Clay Carter, a public defender facing burn-out and the loss of the woman he loves, accepts a Faustian deal from a mysterious man to represent tort clients, rapidly earning $15 million. The story is a parable about greed and the corrupting influence of great wealth. Be advised tort lawyers do not fare well within these pages. Mr. Grisham generally writes books which espouse a strong moral theme, and this book is no exception. The denouement is therefore somewhat predictable. However Mr. Grisham is the author who set the bar for lawyers aspiring to be writers.

Lisa Scottoline was practicing law in Philadelphia when she decided anything John Grisham and Scott Turow could do, she could do too. After taking three years off and living on her credit cards, Ms Scottoline's first book about Rosato and Associates was published. In what has become a series of books, each one features a different lawyer from the all-female law firm in Philadelphia. The latest is Dead Ringer (HarperCollins) where Bennie Rosato, the head of the firm discovers she is in trouble when a judge reams her out for public drunken behaviour--needless to say Ms Rosato had not been drinking on the night in question. Then her most lucrative client is murdered and the hunt is on to find the culprit. This is a passably entertaining read.

There are quite a few books now where female attorneys become more involved in investigating plots either against themselves or their clients, than with courtroom procedure. Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pseudonym of two writers who have developed such plots. Pamela O'Shaughnessy is a Harvard Law graduate who, together with her sister, Mary O'Shaughnessy, a graduate in English literature, decided to develop a series of books concerning Nina Reilly, a sole practitioner in Lake Tahoe. In Presumption of Death (Delacorte Press) Nina has developed a successful practice and narrowly escaped death on a number of occasions (although people she was close to were not so lucky). She is taking some time away from her office when, unluckily for her, the son of her secretary is accused of...