Trial & Error by Paul Levine (2007, Paperback)

What's not to love about a hilarious whodunit that's also a dead-on legal satire and a pretty good romance? AND it contains an eBay reference: Continuing minor character Rexy (twin sister of the equally bimbo-ish Lexy) is being sued for selling costume jewelry as the real thing on eBay, claiming that since it has been worn by a semi-famous SoBe model — namely, herself — it has additional value. Ah…probably not a winning defense!

"Trial & Error" is just the latest in Paul Levine's Solomon & Lord series, but it may be the funniest one yet. "Take one part John Grisham, two parts Carl Hiaasen, throw in a dash of John D. MacDonald, and voilà!" says Tulsa World, and they've pretty much got it right. Carl Hiaasen himself is blurbed on the cover of the book as saying that "Paul Levine writes some of the funniest — and most wickedly accurate — courtroom drama that you'll ever read." And he's right, too.

This time around, lovers and law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord find themselves on the opposite side of an ecoterrorism murder case. Dolphins Spunky and Misty have been "liberated" — or have they? — and in the process, someone was killed. Now his partner in crime must stand trial for felony murder, while the man who wielded the shotgun (owner of Cetacean Park, Spunky's and Misty's home) is off the hook on the grounds of self defense.

Victoria and Steve both think they can win their case, but as their investigation deepens, it becomes clear that they're going to have to team up to ensure that justice is done. The courtroom scenes in particular are hilarious, with a judge who uses his model railroad in chambers to transport briefs around the table and punctuate arguments.

It's hard to explain just why this book is so funny, because the humor doesn't depend on whacky characters or screwball send-ups. Levine just takes reality and sharpens it…with a little skewering (emphasis on skew) along the way. And the ending — following a thoroughly climactic and surprising climax — is entirely satisfactory, complete with a little cliffhanger to make us look forward to the next book even more.

If you like "Trial & Error", then you'll also want to go back and read the first three books in the series: "Solomon & Lord", "The Deep Blue Alibi", and "Kill All The Lawyers". I wish I'd kept them to read again; they're that good. But you can jump right in with "Trial & Error" and still enjoy the story wholeheartedly, eBay reference and all.

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