The Defendants (Thaddeus Murfee Thrillers) Paperback – January 15, 2014

The Defendant is a legal thriller by John Ellsworth that tells the story of Thaddeus Murfee, a young lawyer who is tasked with defending a group of defendants accused of a high-profile crime. The case is complex and the evidence is stacked against the defendants, but Thaddeus is determined to find a way to win their acquittal.The book is well-written and fast-paced, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Ellsworth does a great job of developing the characters, and the courtroom scenes are especially suspenseful. Overall, The Defendant is a satisfying read for fans of legal thrillers.Here are some of the pros and cons of the book:Pros:Well-written and fast-pacedInteresting charactersSuspenseful courtroom scenesThought-provoking exploration of the legal systemCons:Some of the plot twists are a bit predictableThe book can be a bit heavy on legal jargonOverall, I would recommend The Defendant to fans of legal thrillers. It is a well-written and suspenseful book with interesting characters and a thought-provoking exploration of the legal system. However, if you are not a fan of legal jargon, you may want to avoid this book.Here are some additional thoughts on the book:I thought Ellsworth did a great job of developing the characters. Thaddeus Murfee is a sympathetic and relatable protagonist, and I found myself rooting for him throughout the book. The other characters are also well-developed, and I found myself caring about them as well.The courtroom scenes were some of the best parts of the book. Ellsworth does a great job of creating suspense and tension, and I found myself on the edge of my seat during many of the scenes.The book does a good job of exploring the legal system. Ellsworth does not shy away from the complexities of the system, and he does a good job of explaining the legal concepts in a way that is easy to understand.Overall, I enjoyed The Defendant and would recommend it to fans of legal thrillers.

Great chAracters and great pacing. Plot wraps up nicely without being overly formulaic. Never a dull moment. I purchased the second in the series.

Please read everything Mr.John Ellsworth writes, beginning with this first book and you will not be able to stop until you catch up with him, LOL, which we hope is a long way off and many more books!! My husband and I started with Mr. Ellsworth with this first book and we have neither one been able to stop until we have read ALL of his books, which I believe are 37 !! His series are MUST READS! You fall in love with his characters, and the stories, and he has a very unique way of keeping his characters blended which makes you want to read the next and the next until you find yourself realizing that you too have read ALL of his books🤓 This🤗 for you Mr. Ellsworth, we cannot thank you enough for your brilliant writing and so many wonderful, awesome, hours, days,weeks of enjoyment❤

Thaddeus is a young attorney, eighteen months out of law school, practicing in small town southern Illinois. He has been hired to defend a local, a young single mother who has been charged with the murder of another local, a contractor with a shady background. She had, at his invitation, followed him back to his trailer office following her night shift as a cocktail waitress. The investigation and its consequences were surprisingly well written however I had some problems with logistics. The book, published in 2014, stated she was being tried with a potential death penalty which didn’t make sense (but did make good reading) since Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011. Still it was easy and sometimes amusing reading. Thanks to the author and publisher for an e-galley for an honest review.

When your competition in the writing of legal thrillers are John Grisham and so many others, it's not an easy genre to be successful. But John Ellsworth does an admirable job in this book - the first of a series featuring attorney Thaddeus Murfee.Set in downstate Illinois, the story that unfolds is one that has a real feel for the Iliinois "middle of the country" flavor, but with enough of the Chicago characters to fill in a really good cast of players that will appeal to everyone. With a long history of crooked politicians, Illinois is the perfect setting for a contemporary legal thriller in which Ellsworth does a really excellent melding of storyline and character crafting. The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really, really bad.This is a book which will capture the reader in the first chapter and will hold that interest all the way through to the very end where the one loose thread is finished off perfectly. The bad guys really get theirs in the end. The prospective readers need only to know that if a great story is what they're looking for, they've come to the right book.As for me, I have the two remaining Thaddeus Murfee books in my Kindle library and am looking forward to reading them, too.

It was fairly close to being realistic in today’s world. I would recommend this book to most readers. Some of logic for the thoughts and action were emblished with to much detail.

Well researched legal tangles and how they have been untangled without stepping on any toes. Personally I would recommend this book as a good read.

Unusually for a book like this, the reader knows whodunnit, why they dunnit and what there next move would be. We also knew that the accused was innocent. The mystery was how our hero would prove his client's innocence. Enthralling story with great characters. Look forward to the next one.

This novel was a very enthralling legal novel, despite its awkward writing style - going backwards and forwards and all over the place. However, the plot was terrific and engrossing and the protagonist (Thaddeus Murfee) very believable in his bumbling style. The style of his writing left much to be desired, and the novel was rescued because it was such a great legal thriller, but I would hope that his next novels are better written.

I couldn't put this book down. The author has a marvellous writing style that keeps you absolutely glued to the story line as it unfolds. The flow of the story is amazingly well done and everything just....well....fits. Our hero lawyer, while a bit of a greenhorn, is blessed with one crackerjack of a secretary. And she should at least get her own book out of this. It's been a long time since I'd read such a well rounded and satisying book. The layout of the story just couldn't havr been better. I'm hooked on this author now and look forward to getting into more of his books.

Libro avvincente: buona la trama ma l' unico punto debole è il finale - si è mai visto un avvocatuccio di provincia che fa fuori un killer della mafia