Reviews for Men and the Mills: A History of the Southern Textile Industry - Mildred Gwin Andrews - Hardc...

The average rating for Men and the Mills: A History of the Southern Textile Industry - Mildred Gwin Andrews - Hardc... based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-05-17 00:00:00 Joshua T Cowan In this collection from the Mystery Writers of America, Fairstein edits the compilation and presents an interesting cross-section of legal-based short stories. Some are mere entertainment, where the reader can watch for the pitfalls and turns the author weaves before turning a story on its head and leaving a character blindsided. Other tales tell of a deep and sadistic side of the law, through acts of senseless murder or child pornography. While it is not the place or time to summarise the collection here, I can say that the wide variety within the collection should appeal to many readers, who can pick and choose what interests them most. Whatever one thinks of the law and those who depict it in their writing, there is bound to be something for everyone, enough to tickle one's fancy as well as leave one wanting to skip over certain stories. Whatever the take, it's an interesting collection, worth examining and enjoying. There will be those who lament the collection, especially those who sit behind a desk and practice law, but to those folks, I can say but one thing, get a life. These are stories to entertain and provoke thought, just as Perry Mason and LAW & ORDER seek to entertain. Has Fairstein chosen the best and brightest? Perhaps not, as this is a genre in which I am highly interested and have never heard of many of these writers. That is not the sole basis for this collection. Does it entertain? Most certainly! Does it make the reader think a little? Definitely! Will I rush out to read full-length novels penned by many of the contributors? Not on your life. That said, it allowed me to see who I liked and who can continue collecting dust for the foreseeable future. And for that, I thank the Mystery Writers of America and Linda Fairstein. Well done Madam Fairstein. I look forward to reading more from some of your brood, while others await their capital punishments.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-04-14 00:00:00 Bruiser Larue For whatever reason, I am not usually a fan of short fiction. This collection of legal-related short fiction is an exception. A nice mix of police procedurals, courtroom drama, and legal ethical conundra with interesting twists. I learned something interesting in a James Grippando story called “Death, Cheated.” A viatical settlement is when someone with a substantial life insurance policy who learns s/he is terminally ill, can sell that policy to another person or group of investors for less than the face value of the policy but more than its cash value. The investors can reap a substantial return on their investment when the principal dies. In the story a woman asks Jack Swyteck to help defend her from a lawsuit of a group of investors. She had been diagnosed with ALS having an anticipated life span of only 2-3 years and sold her life insurance policy for a considerable sum only to discover she had lead poisoning instead which mimics ALS so she wasn’t going to die after all. The ending is somewhat predictable, but a good story. The tables are also turned in “Knife Fight” which has a nice little twist at the end. And “The Flashlight Game” which an engineer father who files constant pro se lawsuits and then gets arrested for murder is fun. One nice thing about collections of different writers is that new authors are often discovered and so it is here.