Get our Best Book Club Books of 2025 eBook!

Summary and Reviews of Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel

Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel

Final Verdict

by Sheldon Siegel
  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • First Published:
  • Aug 1, 2003, 400 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2004, 432 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

A dramatic story of old wounds and new murder that is instructive, authentic and a refreshing contrast to the breakneck speed of most legal thrillers. Another win for Siegel.

Sheldon Siegel returns with a dramatic story of old wounds and new murder.

Fate throws a curveball at the San Francisco ex-husband-and-wife legal team of Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez, when Mike picks up the phone and hears the voice of Leon Walker. This is not good news--because Walker was the one who ruined their marriage. Years ago, he and his brother participated in a stickup that left a man dead. Through a series of (some said) questionable maneuvers, Mike got the charges dropped, but he and Rosie fought about it all the time and it finally drove a wedge between them.

Now, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist has been found dead in a dumpster on San Francisco's skid row. The new murder has been pinned on Walker, but he not only tells Mike he is innocent, he says he is a dying man and doesn't want to go to his grave proclaimed a murderer. Dogged investigation, courtroom nimbleness, and a healthy dose of luck usually have helped Mike before, but it looks like it'll take more than that to prevail this time, and his time is running out--both on his client and, just maybe, on his partnership.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $0 for 0 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

Publishers Weekly
... a refreshing contrast to the slapdash morality and breakneck speed of most legal thrillers - instructive and authentic, the resolution fair. The verdict is clear; another win for Siegel.

Kirkus Reviews - Margret McBride
Courtroom scenes, full of legal maneuvering, are highlights as Siegel's sharp style turns them into mini-dramas (or comedies). By contrast, the whodunit plot rarely surprises or provides any fresh twists.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $0 for 0 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Final Verdict, try these:

  • Confessions of an Innocent Man jacket

    Confessions of an Innocent Man

    by David R. Dow

    Published 2020

    About this book

    A thrillingly suspenseful debut novel, and a fierce howl of rage that questions the true meaning of justice.

  • In The Shadow of The Law jacket

    In The Shadow of The Law

    by Kermit Roosevelt

    Published 2006

    About this book

    In this complex, ambitious, and gripping first novel, Kermit Roosevelt vividly illustrates the subtle and stark effects of the law on the lives of a group of lawyers, and also on communities and private citizens.

We have 4 read-alikes for Final Verdict, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $0 for 0 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
Praised by Parade and The New York Times Book Review, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    One Death at a Time
    by Abbi Waxman

    A cranky ex-actress and her Gen Z sobriety sponsor team up to solve a murder that could send her back to prison in this dazzling mystery.

  • Book Jacket

    Serial Killer Games
    by Kate Posey

    A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry).

  • Book Jacket

    Ginseng Roots
    by Craig Thompson

    A new graphic memoir from the author of Blankets and Habibi about class, childhood labor, and Wisconsin’s ginseng industry.

  • Book Jacket

    The Fairbanks Four
    by Brian Patrick O’Donoghue

    One murder, four guilty convictions, and a community determined to find justice.

  • Book Jacket

    The Seven O'Clock Club
    by Amelia Ireland

    Four strangers join an experimental treatment to heal broken hearts in Amelia Ireland's heartfelt debut novel.

Who Said...

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

A C on H S

and be entered to win..