How do you feel about the fact that the majority of Mississippi Blood takes place in the courtroom? 

How do you feel about the fact that the majority of "Mississippi Blood" takes place in the courtroom? 

Although at times I found the courtroom scenes a little tedious, in my opinion this was the best method for Isles to reveal the history and motivation behind the actions of Tom Cage. He's such a good writer that I felt as if I was a member of the jury

If I had known beforehand that the third book was almost entirely devoted to a courtroom trial I would have doubted that Iles could have carried it off, but he did. Iles clearly did a great deal of research about trials and the trial was realistic and fascinating. I have to say, however, that having a witness get murdered on the stand seemed a bit over the top for me. Also having one of the lawyers engage in an ex parte conversation with the judge seemed not quite believable, but then again this is the South...

I found the courtroom scenes fascinating, but having a witness murdered by a device that had been previously implanted in the witness chair and Snake Knox sneaking into the court room to set off the device because he had colored his hair was improbable. A few scenes such as these took things a bit over the top. Iles did hold my interest through all three books and the courtroom scenes were some of my favorite parts.

The courtroom was a facinating way to bring to the forefront all the details that had been included in the first two books. I thought the courtroom was just a little too long, could have been abbreviated just a little, but it was so well written that I also felt like a juror.

This created one of the major problems of the trilogy for me. Because Iles decided to write this as a trilogy, he was forced to find boundaries for the first two books and this, in my opinion, caused him to overdevelop or overwrite the trilogy. I think two books would have resulted in a more realistic, tighter woven plot and a more realistically developed work. The courtroom scenes were interesting and vital to some extent, but time was spent describing situations such as Tom's lawyers positioning in the courtroom, for example, that were not needed. I also agree with a previous contributor here that a murder in the courtroom - such as that described in this third novel - is simply over the top. It seemed incredulous to me and is a good example of what I believe is the overwriting of this trilogy. Iles was committed to this format - he needed to fill pages - and as a result characters and events that seem unnecessary and impossible are included. This weakened the overall effectiveness of this trilogy for me.

Wow, I agree with susiej again. Iles had to fill space and because much of the book took place in a courtroom, I think he felt he needed some action, hence the witness being murdered. Defitinitely the 3 books could have been written or edited down to make two. There’s way too much plot detail to remember over the course of 3 LONG books, especially with time between reading of the 3 and the other books I’ve read meanwhile. Having said that, I love courtroom and legal action, but thought it was a tad tedious here.

I would have enjoy it better if I like the characters. I only like Henry, his mom(Mrs. Sexton, Henry’s girlfriend, Annie, Walt, Quentin and his wife, Penn's friend that a Marine veteran and is huge help with getting the bones and Penn's dad (I did like but not about the affair). The other reason I could not like the court case were a few scenes I felt was no way possible. For instance, how Penn was able to be co-council when it his dad being tried plus he is the mayor. Yes, this is the south. If Shad was so existed about destroying Penn, then he could find a loophole to prevent that.

thought the question-answer format used in a courtroom was an excellent way to tie the three books together. Iles can be wordy at times, but he has a real feel for good dialogue and the courtroom format allows him to take advantage of that. While an in courtroom murder is not common and thus might seem over the top, it has happened (in Atlanta, 2005) and hence I did not have a hard time suspending disbelief and going with it.

I thought it was that the 3rd novel take place in the courtroom. The first two novels set up the stories of violence and injustice and we were all waiting for some type of justice to be served.

The courtroom scenes were my favorite and I couldn’t wit to get back to them. Even though some of the action was stretched beyond belief, it was still the most interesting part of the third book to me.

I'm all about a good law thriller but yes, some of what happened were over the top.

My point exactly dianeh and barbf. The court room trials were tedious, to say the least, but it tied up all the loose ends in a neat little trial.

Surprisingly I enjoyed the third book, including the court room scenes. They proved to be an effective way to tie up all the loose ends. The action scenes were weak. The introduction of the new love interest was unnecessary. I particularly enjoyed the addition of Tom’s wife’s role in the story involving Viola. She proved to be much wiser about the affair than anyone suspected.

I think that this was the best way Iles had to end the trilogy and to tie up loose ends. Though I will say that I could have done with less of the melodrama in the trilogy itself.

I’ve been a fan of courtroom dramas ever since I watched the old Perry Mason series as a youngster. So, regardless of whether or not the fictional courtroom antics are believable Mississippi Blood ended up being my favorite book of the trilogy.

All the action in the first two books set up the third to be the trial. I am also a life-long courtroom drama lover, making this my favorite book in the trilogy.

I liked the courtroom action. It was suspenseful and an interesting way to show past events and motivations, especially about what happened in Korea with Tom and Walt. It was hinted at several times in the first two books, but never revealed until the trial.

I enjoyed the courtroom scenes and the tension of what would happen next. You could almost see the antics of Quentin and Shad playing off each other. Really well done.

I love legal courtroom dramas so I was ok with most of the book taking place in a courtroom.

Since this was presented as a trilogy, I agree that the last volume being primarily based in the courtroom was appropriate. The first volume was crime, the second investigation, the third justice. Quentin Avery was my favorite character of the trilogy. He was forthright and honest with himself, he didn't put up with Penn's machinations, and he knew what he was doing.

The court room was an excellent forum to tie together all of the key aspects of the first two novels. The murder of a witness on the stand was a little too dramatic for me, but I believe reinforced the violence tendencies of hate groups and length they often will go to do achieve their goals – control people through fear.

That was OK by me. I enjoy courtroom books. This just seemed odd. I was worrying about Quentin and if this was going really work as a defense. It seemed like no defense.

It worked for me.

I prefer legal thrillers where the authors are or were lawyers or experience like Michael Connelly. That is why a lot of this court drama I found to be unbelievable.

Much of the courtroom scene seemed mundane, yet I have to agree with others that the scenes were necessary to complete the setting of the previous books and finish Dr. Cage’s fate.