Worthy Brown's Daughter Mass Market Paperback – Box set, September 30, 2014

Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin begins in the early 1860's with 29 year old lawyer Matthew Penny being awakened from his reoccurring nightmare, reliving the tragic loss of his wife, Rachel being swept away, disappearing under the raging currents of the river they were forging as members of a covered wagon train in route from Ohio to their new life in Portland, Oregon.Bolting upright, Matthew is summoned to intervene when an angry mob is set on lynching salesman, Clyde Lukens based on the word of a convincing beautiful young and scheming sociopath, Sharon Hill, who uses her assets to climb the economic latter by duping men to get her way after which she leaves their hulls in her treacherous wake.Railroad, real estate, banking and mercantile trade magnate, Benjamin Gillette is a one of the richest businessmen in the area as a result of his honesty, people skills, risk taking and tireless work ethic. He is a widower with a bright, intriguing, educated, and attractive daughter, Heather.Matthew finds himself pitted against Gillette's seasoned lawyer, Caleb Barbour after Justice Jedidiah Tyler appoints him to defend Lukens and Barbour as the prosecutor.Caleb, a mean drunk and unscrupulous lawyer with a shady past and lack of character is used to winning by any means he can get away with inside or outside of the law. When he arrived in Oregon a state where slavery was not legally tolerated, he brought his slave Worthy Brown and Worthy's young daughter with him with the promise that he would free them if they continued to serve him for a year.Worthy brings a suit against, Caleb when he released him, but refused to release Brown's daughter, Roxanne and continues his accelerating abuse of the child. Matthews represents Worthy as Caleb defends himself.Eventually, Matthew finds himself in a quandary that has the potential to upset his budding relationship between him and Heather Gillette that may cost the life of one of his defendants and leave his life in shambles.For me, this was a spellbinding, entertaining and haunting tale that was skillfully written, developed and paced with believable and flawed characters.As the author states, this may be the best novel that he has ever written. While this it is a new genre for Phillip Margolin, it was years in the making, written, set aside and written all over again. It was really hard to put down.Thanks for recommending this one Brian Baker! You were on the money.I would be happy to see this one made into a series and put on the big screen.Enjoy!

This was historical fiction based on a true story. The characters were well drawn and the plot had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Phillip Margolin is a talented writer.

Good reading

While I found "Worthy Brown's Daughter" a fairly good read, I could not help notice that the assignments of characteristics were strict in their application. While this did not bother me so much with the antagonists Caleb Barbour and Sharon Hill (I think evil should be seen in all its nakedness), I did find Matthew Penny and Heather Gillette to be too perfect in their racial attitudes. I find it impossible to accept that in post-Civil War Oregon, where Black people were being driven from the state as a matter of law, there would be two white people who would look so kindly upon former slaves as to not display any sense of paternalism and superiority throughout the entire story.Having said that, I did suspend belief long enough to actually like the book.

....but very very good. The plot kept turning up surprises and interesting moral conflicts. The characters were a mix of good and bad. Matthew Was the most interesting.

From the moment I picked this book up, I could not put it down. Definitely a page turner! Margolin masterfully wove together 2 tales - One of a woman you will love to hate and the other of a man who is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter's freedom.

When I started this book I was not sure I was really going to like it even though I like the author. Once I go into it I found that I really did not want to put it down. Very well written and gave you a look into a world most of us are not that familar with. Really enjoyed it.

This was a nice read! I cared about the characters. The plot was engaging. The early years of Oregon’s statehood and their judicial system were a great backdrop to the story.3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️

Good story

This is a rather different story from Margolin's usual fare, but obviously a story he enjoyed telling and one I enjoyed reading. You might, too!