Violence, Nudity, Adult Content

by Vince Passaro

Book Overview

William Riordan is on the fast-track at a New York law firm, where he's asked to defend a wealthy client accused of murdering his wife. Disturbed by the details of the case, the client allegedly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068485726X
• ISBN13: 9780684857268
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Realistic Legal Thriller

Generally, I hate legal "thrillers" because in order to make the normally humdrum life of a lawyer seem interesting, the author is forced to make it ridiculously unrealistic. Vincent Passaro is such a talented writer that he doesn't have to do that. He, instead, tells it like it is in such a wonderful refreshing way that pyrotechnics and silly plot twists are rendered unnecessary. Violence, Nudity, Adult Content concerns Will Riordan, a senior associate gunning for partner in a New York law firm. He's got two unusual cases dogging him, and his marriage is falling apart. His job is a bit unfulfilling, the intra-firm politics vex him and in one of these cases, he must defend a wealthy client everyone believes murdered his wife. Will struggles with the morality of it all, including his rather high salary on which he has difficulty scraping by, in a wonderfully cynical manner. This novel is not for someone looking for Pollyanna II, but rather for someone looking for a witty, wise exploration of the gritty underside of NY law.

Zow! Legal Thriller With Soul!!

I don't usually read legal thrillers, but in this case the title got me hooked. And it turns out this goes way beyond an up-and- coming lawyer on his way to making partner. Will Riordan is no longer introduced to us than he is enmeshed in two strange cases. An intense black woman (rape victim), a little unbalanced, sends him a barrage of stream-of-consciousness e-mails about the meaning of victimhood; the murder suspect he is defending is malevolent and undoubtedly guilty. Will's marriage is falling apart as we watch, and he is questioning the meaning and purpose of life. The dialogue is crisp and snappy, sometimes unbearably funny, while the characters struggle with emptiness and play legal games, office games, power games. And at the same time there is a strange goodness in the story. There is the hope of redemption. There is meaning to life after all. The story moves quickly; the writing is exquisite, poetical, sometimes vulgar and always believable. And, for me at least, this was not a book I "could not put down." You see, I had to put it down sometimes, to rest, to regroup. It was too intense to read straight through. It is a wonderful book and I recommend it highly!

A Great Debut Novel for Lovers of Language

Vince Passaro's "Violence, Nudity, Adult Content" is a brilliant character study without a single false note. This book is gritty, funny, tragic, moving, poetic and as real as an IRS Audit. It's also an unsentimental love story that takes no prisoners in its portrait of Will and Ellie's struggle with the incongruities of modern married life. "V,N,AC" includes some of the finest descriptive writing I have ever read. With this book, Vince Passaro takes his place in the front ranks of contemporary writers of fiction in America. "Violence, Nudity, Adult Content" is so much more than another legal thriller-- it aims higher and delivers. This is "literature" in the very best sense. I highly recommend this book.

Very good, but could've been better

I enjoyed this book, but thought it could have had a bit more "action" on the legal side. Will could've been more involved with his clients rather than spending 3 pages describing the car trip to upstate New York. I greatly enjoyed the characters in the book (except Ellie) and thought they were well-developed and explored. I especially like the fact that Will's secretary was given not just a name but also a personality and a past. Too many legal thrillers overlook the role that a secretary plays to an attorney. The plot was excellent and fast moving. I look forward to his future works!

redemption in a world of adult limitations

I heard about this book from a great review in the Baltimore Sun. And what a treat. The book is populated by amazing characters, the dissaffected Will Riordan, his wife Ellie, his work friends David and Sue, his client Ursula, and not least of all, New York City itself. Dark, but wonderfully observed, often witty, and ultimately, as the Sun noticed, about redemption in a world of adult limitations. ...