The Insanity Plea Paperback – May 4, 2014

Every now and then a riveting legal thriller comes along that captivates my attention from beginning to end, The Insanity Plea by author Larry D. Thompson is that book. The author calls upon his extensive legal expertise to weave a thoroughly engrossing and bone chilling tale that takes the reader inside the cold and calculating mind of a serial killer, interweaving it within the world of the mentally ill.Set in the Galveston / Houston area, a group of amateur sleuths led by Houston trial lawyer Wayne Little, doggedly tracks down a serial killer while trying to save Dan, his mentally ill paranoid schizophrenic brother from being framed with the murder of a young nurse who was brutally killed while jogging on Galveston's seawall. With an air tight prosecution case, can Wayne save his brother from prison, or will his best defense be an insanity pleas?The author utilizes his legal experience to provide the reader with some serious courtroom drama that will keep the reader riveted, while also drawing them into the gripping search for the serial killer that will keep them sitting on the edge of their seats until the surprising conclusion. I could easily see The Insanity Plea being made into a television or big screen movie.Author Larry D. Thompson is a fine legal thriller author who knows how to craft a well written and provocative story. His attention to detail easily draws the reader in and keeps them engaged and guessing what will happen next as the fast paced and heart pounding story unfolds with suspenseful twists and turns. I was intrigued by his in depth look into the issue of mental illness, it provides much food for thought on how the mentally ill are treated by the US legal system.If you are looking for an exciting legal thriller that will easily transport you into the heart of this nail biting story, while keeping you turning the pages, then The Insanity Plea is the book for you. The author sure does know how to take his readers on one hell of a thrilling roller coaster ride!

Right from the beginning you know he's innocent. Not long after that, you know who is guilty. Then, in an insanely twisted plot, the actual killer is a witness against the accused! Wow! A killer thinks his crimes are just an experiment that will get him in the mindset of serial killers and tries to justify it by it being research! Then he uses his research and credentials to testify against a schizophrenic off his medication to try to get him convicted. Now who's the crazy one!At first, the story was hard to follow with the back and forth in time. But as you read further, you realize how important those time shifts were to the plot. It helped you get in the mindset of the characters and made the connection stronger. You are along for the ride even though you know who's guilty! It just makes you want to jump in and help the defense team and tell them what they are missing.I usually like to be surprised by who the guilty party is, but in this story you actually become more vested in the truth coming out. You want to be a part of the team so that you can send them in the right direction, but you can't! That adds to the gripping plot pulling you right into the story.Like I said, it starts off a bit scattered, but, trust me, you need to keep reading. You will not regret it.

I enjoyed this book, but there were a few things I had to work hard to get past first.The not so great: the first few chapters jump around a lot. Many different characters and different time periods. It was hard to see how everything was going to connect. The conversational dialogue is so unrealistic as names of people are overly used and the manner of speech is very uptight. Every description of the female characters describe their breast size. The book is agenda driven (the author is trying to shed light on mental illness and how society views it) but it doesn't go far enough to educate and make a difference. The judge is very foul-mouthed (not offensive to me, but very shocking for a man of that stature). There are few leaps wording, such as after a second murder is mentioned we all of a sudden have a serial killer. And the ending is quite sugary sweet and packaged very nicely. And overall, the characters were not very fleshed out or believable. I didn't really connect with them.The great: I loved the concept of the book. While I really wish more was done with the serial killer's point of view, I appreciated the idea and most of how it was written. I really liked the different mediums of storytelling - prose, emails, newspaper articles, and journal entries. That was a nice break up of the pace.To really enjoy this book, you need to suspend reality, pretend you are watching a Hallmark Channel movie, and just read. A critical reader will be bothered by the inconsistencies in story, the strange dialogue and reactions of characters, and the inaccuracies in the court room. But someone who just wants a good story that doesn't take a lot of thought with a happy ending will really like this book.

The first thing that struck me was the padding - every character is described in excruciating detail (hair colour/height/vital statistics) - every meal is recorded (down to the drinks consumed at the same time) - the constant reference to Sports (American football?) seemed pointless - the cheesy dialogue that failed to drive the plot forwards or reveal any more about the characters - the irritating descriptions of the landscape whenever the story switched location. So yeah - it's really bad.Secondly - the plot was absurd. The police assumed the homeless man was the murderer despite logic dictating otherwise - and the Bible-bashing DA was a joke.Thirdly - the four main characters (the 'posse') came across like a nauseating, grown-up version of the Brady Bunch. It's difficult to know what level of audience intelligence the writer was trying to cater for. The sexual chemistry between the main lawyer and his neighbour was as realistic as your average Hallmark made-for-tv movie.Finally - the author's knowledge regarding anything British was farcical. It's obvious he doesn't waste time researching his subject matter.The only good thing about this - it's a perfect example of how not to write a legal thriller.

THE INSANITY PLEA BY LARRY D THOMPSONWhat a satisfying read! I read a lot of books and many are interesting, page turning, enjoyable reads but rarely is one so satisfying as this!An excellent detective story in which Dan, a paranoid schizophrenic is accused of murdering a young woman. It is up to Dan's brother Wayne who is a Houston trial lawyer, to find the real killer or else to prove Dan wasn't in his right mind at the time of the murder.We learn as we read just what being diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic means and how difficult for lawyers to use the Insanity Plea.Wayne and a few close friends form a team and thus begins a nail biting race against time. As Dan (who once was a successful trial lawyer before his illness) is put on a new course of treatment he aims to help the team. They try to link other murders as it becomes clear to them, that there is a serial killer at work.This is a really well written book and as the characters raced against time with the trial date looming, I felt as if I was racing with them! Couldn't wait to get to the next page! Was Rita safe to be jogging so early in the day? What will Dr Parke do now?Is Dan's illness going to take hold of him in the courtroom?I just loved Judge Fernandez with his down to earth, sometimes unorthodox way of dealing with anyone in his courtroom! What great courtroom scenes the author presents us with!As well as being an excellent nail biting story, there are issues brought to light how little help is available to people with mental health problems. It is to be hoped that one day things may change for the better. Maybe someone with influence in the `right places' will even read this book!I highly recommend this and certainly it rates five stars.

This legal story of a psychotic white homeless man, Dan, accused of the murder of a young woman from whose body he is found to have stolen a bracelet. Dan can not remember what he did. The trial and related investigation by Dan's brother who is the lawyer defending him in court is very well developed.The brother is assisted by beautiful computer savvy girl friend and a black pro football star turned legal eagle. This " Posse" has to struggle with a prejudiced prosecutor and crooked psychologist who claim that Dan was not so mad that he did not know he was doing wrong.The characters are well developed and the story interesting and full of twist with a conclusion that is both surprising and satisfying.I give four stars rather than five because some of the Court scenes are not credible. But I recommend this book strongly for readers who allow authors some suspension of belief and enjoy a well written romantic thriller.

Made me sit back and realise the other spectrum of mental illness and the stigma to having it should be talked and written about more. Wasfascinated with all the characters in the story and the relationship of the two brothers was a tale of love over acts of violence and rejectionin their younger life. A superb legal thriller and one that I couldn't wait to see how it all panned out. Wasn't disappointed at all.

This has been the best book I have read in years!!!!! The insight into mental illness and how sufferers are treated both medically and legally is spot on. The characters in the book are well written and the sub stories make the story flow. This is essentially a courtroom drama, but one with a difference. WOW!