Bruce Garr

PRAISE FOR UNDER OATH
 

“Why does Norwell author Margaret McLean’s debut legal thriller, ‘UNDER OATH’ (Hot House, $24) connect so well and crackle with such realism?  Because McLean, who served for nearly a decade as Essex County Assistant District Attorney in Lawrence not only knows what it’s like to be in the heat of a courtroom battle first hand, she also writes with the eloquence and verve necessary to convey it to people who never have been…Capturing the passion of courtroom drama—the heated debates, the unbearable tension, the flaring tempers—is where she excels, not surprising considering it’s what she knows first hand.”
Chad Berndtson, The Patriot Ledger
“I have been yearning for a legal thriller that also is a courtroom thriller for quite some time now—of the like of Robert Traver’s Anatomy of a Murder, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird or of the like written by Scott Turow & Richard North Patterson.  So, when Under Oath arrived I felt I’d been blessed.  After a long, long drought—here is a legal thriller that is also a courtroom drama of the first order.  Margaret McLean, an erstwhile criminal prosecutor & Assistant District Attorney, puts to excellent use her trial experiences as background in this superb tale about a high profile murder trial.  Under Oath is a great read.  Looking forward to more from this lawyer-cum-author.  Greatly Recommended.”
Narayan Radhakrishnan, Sr.                                                                                          Associate Reviewer for Rebeccasreads.com
“I’m not big on detective stories, but I was pulled into this tale of fear and treachery as it played out in a court room where everybody was ‘under oath’ – and in the legal process designed to lead to a conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt, but where manipulation is the order of the day. Author Margaret McLean has practiced law as a trial attorney. She knows what she is writing about, and knows how to present it so we who are non-legals can understand what is going on and appreciate the fine – and not so fine – points. Her characters are also fully realized. Whether intended to or not, I found myself thinking of other Boston area crime figures. Billy Malone is smooth, can be personable and not unattractive, but he is ruthless. I yearned for him to be found guilty.”
Bob Hale, Books and Bob Hale, The Duxbury Clipper
"Under oath is an outstanding novel, and I don't mean just the clever, twisting plot and the deep, credible characterizations. Elmore Leonard develops the stories in his street thrillers through dialogue; Margaret McLean manages to do the same in this legal thriller through the testimony of witnesses at grand jury and trial. One of the finest courtroom dramas I've read in the last ten years."
Jeremiah Healy, author of The Only Good Lawyer and (as "Terry Devane") A Stain upon the Robe
“Some of the witnesses in ‘Under Oath’ don’t show up at court because they’re dead.  The book combines a detailed representation of courtroom technique with gripping scenes of gangland attempts to silence witnesses and police efforts to keep them safe…her courtroom experience is all over the narrative of the book.  Scenes are studded with details of procedure, law, and legal jargon.”
Robert Knox, The Boston Globe
“Margaret McLean grabbed my attention on the first page and never let go. Avoiding contrived and unrealistic twists in an effort at drama, McLean obviously relies on her experience as a prosecutor to craft a tightly wound and gripping novel. Characters are real people - multi-dimensional and layered. As a trial lawyer, I was impressed with how well McLean was able to weave a compelling drama around the hopelessly anacharistic legal system. Buddy, the criminal defense lawyer, is, perhaps, the most well-developed character - aggressive, charming and passionate. He never lets his feelings for his client cloud his judgment. For those Bostonians looking for a Boston based novel, you need look no further. From her descriptions of Charlestown, it is obvious that McLean is intimately familiar with the territory and lingo of Boston. McLean as a story teller is easily John Grisham's equal -- but her writing is much better.”
Kevin J. Mahoney, Attorney, Cambridge, MA
“Written by a former Assistant District Attorney with hundreds of criminal cases to her personal experience, Under Oath is a gripping and dramatic crime novel of the struggle to see justice done.  A legal thriller following a murder and conspiracy trial in which jurors are intimidated, witnesses are killed and FBI cover-ups obfuscate the truth, Under Oath is haunting in its eerie accuracy and solid grounding in real-life courtroom experience. Utterly compelling from cover to cover.”
Midwest Book Review, "Reviewer's Choice" for fiction
"Using Charlestown for context, Margaret McLean's 'Under Oath' is an engaging novel which perceptively examines two parallel systems of criminal justice: the formal involving victims, defendants, judges, juries, prosecutors, defense counsel, witnesses and the far less formal system of street justice. And overlapping the two is Charlestown's infamous Code of Silence. A former prosecutor herself, McLean offers realistic insight into the workings of our criminal courts and how its wheels, which turn as quickly as the pages of this book, are influenced as often by egos, desire for personal gain and malicious motives as by rules of law and evidence...Adding well-developed characters, realistic dialogue, some interesting plot twists and drama, McLean has come up with a book worth reading."
Bruce Garr, The Charlestown Bridge
"A gritty look at townie justice by a new author who really knows the law and its wayward ways. Anyone looking for a fresh look at local justice with all its twists and turns will enjoy Under Oath."
Perri O'Shaughnessy, author of Unlucky in Law and Motion to Suppress
"Under Oath gives us a rare glimpse inside the courtroom where Margaret McLean's experience as a prosecutor provides frightening realism not often found in fiction."
M. Diane Vogt, author of the judge Wilhelmina Carson legal suspense series

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