Chinese Wall

Merit Bridges Legal Thriller #4

Fiction - Thriller - Legal
331 Pages
Reviewed on 08/24/2022
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

Author Biography

MANNING WOLFE, an award-winning author and attorney residing in Austin, Texas, writes cinematic-style, smart, fast-paced thrillers and crime fiction. Manning was recently featured on Oxygen TV’s: Accident, Suicide, or Murder.

Her legal thriller series features Austin attorney Merit Bridges, including Dollar Signs, Music Notes, Green Fees, and Chinese Wall. She is co-author of Killer Set: Drop the Mic, and twelve additional Bullet Book Speed Reads.

As a graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Manning’s experience has given her a voyeur’s peek into some shady characters’ lives and a front-row seat to watch the good people who stand against them.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Alex Ndirangu for Readers' Favorite

Chinese Wall is a fascinating legal thriller involving the FBI. After hundreds of innocent people die when a bomb explodes in the middle of the San Antonio Riverwalk Marketplace in Texas, only one of the four suspects is found dead. After a short time, the mayor of San Antonio is assassinated, and the mayor of Austin is kidnapped. Merit Bridges, a strong-willed, competent, and astute attorney, is appointed by the judge as special counsel in this case. However, this case involves top-secret FBI information, and Merit's job is to remove sensitive information from FBI investigation documents irrelevant to the case. Something doesn't feel right to Merit, and she suspects the FBI is hiding something. She hopes she is wrong until it later dawns on her that her intuition was right. The FBI has taken the defendant's wife and daughter into custody to influence his actions and decisions in the case. Merit will use her powerful will and tenacity to uncover the FBI's dirty tricks. Manning Wolfe guides you through this character-driven narrative in an entertaining plot that will keep you entertained until the end.

Despite being the fourth volume in a series, Chinese Wall can be read as a stand-alone novel. In addition, I liked the author's ability to keep me entertained throughout, this being one of the few crime fiction books I have enjoyed. Manning Wolfe's ability to paint pictures and create suspense is commendable. She helped me feel a connection to a time in history that I was only familiar with through legal texts and lessons. In addition, I appreciated how the author describes even minor occurrences. From Merit's spinning around on the wheels of her chair, sending papers flying, to all the sweet enchantment that makes the fictional premise plausible, I created vivid images that enabled me to resonate with Merit. I also liked how the author included a quote from my favorite American polymath, Benjamin Franklin, at the start of the story. Personally, this literary piece piqued my interest and made me wonder about the author's true intentions. The novel's mystery element was handled masterfully, as I was kept on the edge of my seat waiting to figure out the sections that left me in suspense. The author did an excellent job with this book, and I can't wait to read her first three installments.