The Third Victim: A Novel

Phillip Margolin

Mar 2018 · Robin Lockwood Book 1 · Sold by Minotaur Books

About this ebook

"Margolin continues his return to the exceptional form of his early novels with this gripping, tightly plotted, and smoothly written legal thriller... A winner from a veteran genre author." —Booklist

The “master of heart-pounding suspense” returns with a brand new series and a USA Today bestseller The Third Victim is New York Times bestseller Phillip Margolin at his very best.

A woman stumbles onto a dark road in rural Oregon—tortured, battered, and bound. She tells a horrific story about being kidnapped, then tortured, until she finally managed to escape. She was the lucky one—two other women, with similar burns and bruises, were found dead.

The surviving victim identifies the house where she was held captive and the owner, Alex Mason—a prominent local attorney—is arrested. Although he loudly insists upon his innocence, his wife’s statements about his sexual sadism and the physical evidence found at the scene, his summer home, is damning.

Regina Barrister is a legendary criminal defense attorney, known as “The Sorceress” for her courtroom victories. But she’s got a secret, one that threatens her skill, her reputation, and, most of all, her clients. And she’s agreed to take on the seemingly impossible task of defending Alex Mason.

Robin Lockwood, a young lawyer and former MMA fighter, has just left a clerkship at the Oregon Supreme Court to work for Regina Barrister. The Alex Mason trial is her first big one, a likely death penalty case, and she’s second chair to Regina. Increasingly, she’s worried her boss’s behavior and the details in the case against their client don’t quite add up.

Ratings and reviews

Wow! What an emotionally charged read The Third Victim by Phillip Margolin was. This book had me on the edge of my seat, flipping pages at a high rate of speed. Just when you thought you had all figured out, think again. Robin Lockwood is a lawyer, fresh out of the gate and ready to take on the world. When she is given the opportunity to work with Regina Barrister, aka “The Sorceress”, she jumps at the chance, knowing its a once in a life time opportunity to pave a road for her new career. Having worked her way through school as an MMA fighter, Robin is ready to take on the fight of her life, both in the courtroom, and on the streets. Alex Mason, a well known local attorney, finds himself behind bars for multiple murders and an abduction, with a slew of evidence that points straight to him, but he insists he is innocent. He hires Regina’s firm to represent him and take on the seemingly impossible task of proving his innocence. With the third victim, having survived being bound, battered and abused, Regina and Robin have an increasingly difficult dispute to fight, that has become a case of life and death. Robin and Jeff, Regina’s private investigator, set out on a mission to prove Mr. Mason’s innocence, but not all things are as they seem. Not only is their client fighting for his life in the courtroom, but Robin and Jeff encounter their own dangers when they begin trying to dig up enough reasonable doubt to make the jurors question Alex’s guilt. Will it be enough? I absolutely relished every page of this suspenseful legal thriller. What appears to be a straight forward judicial case takes on so many different twists and turns that I am confident you will find yourself tearing through the pages of this book as quickly as I did, just to thrown for yet another unforeseen loop. What a well thought out and carefully plotted story. This book was filled with crime, deceit, courtroom drama and intense emotions. This is a must read for 2018. 5 fabulous stars **Review by Amy, Late Night reviewer for Up All Night w/ Books**

A gripping story that made me almost read the book in one go. A lawyer unexpectedly becomes the perpetrator of crimes and swears he is innocent whilst all the proofs say he is not. A defending lawyer and a team that has discorded views on the crime. Great story and plot as I would expect from Mr. Margolin! I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for the copy of this book.

The story idea is ok but the writing is horrible! Characters are written the same and have no dimension. Felt like I was reading a list of things that happened or a list of character traits but nothing draws you into the story. Was this self published? This author needed someone other than his mom to give him constructive feedback.

About the author

PHILLIP MARGOLIN has written over twenty novels, most of them New York Times bestsellers, including Gone But Not Forgotten, Lost Lake, and Violent Crimes. In addition to being a novelist, he was a long time criminal defense attorney with decades of trial experience, including a large number of capital cases. Margolin lives in Portland, Oregon.