This book is awful. No character development whatsoever, not that you would empathize with anyone in the book anyway. The situations regarding financing, market reactions, Board of Director experts, business model, etc. are so ridiculous that it was obviously written by someone with no industry knowledge and who didn't care to do any research, or who was attempting to parody the Dot Com explosion, but didn't have any insight to do so. What makes this book so bad though is that people do not act like people in this book. For instance, the main character uses the term "paradigm" over and over again, as noun, adverb, adjective, and speaks like a Scott Adams consultant caricature (only much worse), yet the people around him all act like the pointy haired manager, instead of mocking the fool.

Fortunately, the publisher used a big font and the reading goes pretty quick so the pain of being stuck with this book on a weekend trip ended mercifully much sooner than the heft would have implied.

Jubal Thurgren, SEC enforecement officer, decides to conquer the deception of dot.com success on Wall Street by taking down the charismatic young head of The Street's hottest new overnight success story.

But little in this story is actually at it seems. The author wends the reader through surprises, twists, and deceptions of his own until the book reaches its ultimately poor ending.

The story begins with James Hanley, the aforementioned young man, working in a generic Wall Street brokerage where he tires of making millions for others and decides to form his own dot.com company. As he starts up his stunningly successful startup company with no product to sell, a parallel story follows Thurgren's skepticism and his efforts to shut Hanley down. Excitement follows.

Gruenfeld obviously has done his research on the workings of Wall Street and the dot.com industry. Unfortunately, he spends so long impressing us with his depth of knowledge that I almost gave up on the book near the halfway point. At that point, however, the first surprise sends the plot into overdrive and the reader is taken on 100-some pages of adventure, suspense, and action that make the book exteremely difficult to set down.

The book ends disappointingly with possibly the worst epilogue that I have ever read. It almost reads as though the epilogue were written a year or more after the novel was completed as an effort to tie up all loose ends. In doing so, however, previous plot lines are confused and characters contradict themselves. It is a real shame.

If I'd had this book available when I was getting my MBA and interning on Wall Street, a lot of things I perceived as inconsistent or illogical would have been a lot clearer, and I would have felt less confused. Come to think of it, I probably would have gone into a different field altogether rather than investments, where I'm now stuck. It wouldn't surprise me if, a hundred years from now, we look back at stock hustlers the way we now look back at turn of the century snake oil salesman, namely, conscience-less swindlers worthy only of contempt. And if that happens, this book will be cited as one of the reasons why. A lot of people got hosed in the dot-com madness, and even though it's hard to feel sorry for people who were looking to make a quick buck without lifting a finger, the prevailing cultural ethos said it was alright for them to do so. That needs to stop. People need to read this book. That it's a hugely entertaining read is beside the point, except insofar as it will induce people to pick it up and to recommend it to friends and colleagues. The Street is one of those rarities, a guaranteed wothwhile investment of your time and attention. DO NOT let the opportunity pass you buy (pun intended)!

Wow, how I enjoyed this book. I am completely surprised that Gruenfeld did not receive more reviews here on Amazon.com--only 9... Truly, the cost should have sent a message that this was not one of the usual novels. And, I surely agree. This was a fabulous read. I enjoy legal stories and this one tops Grisham's books. I also have an affinity with this book as I, too, have a computer background. Thanks to Gruenfeld he had the ability to marry the two fields with the human experience and walked away with my heart.

Rebecca Verona was an ace attorney and her client was betting his life (or prison term) on her ability to set him free. Notwithstanding the fact that he (a computer business millionaire) had aborted a recent love affair with her, he knew if she would defend him inspite of their past relationship (well know by all) that her defense would send the message that he was innocent of the charge of treason.

Weaved into the plot was the workings of encryption, sabatoge, computer theft, and oh yes--the prosecuting attorney who also was a recent ex-lover of Rebecca. Can't you see this being reality. Life is often very complicated as this story plays out. I highly recommend this book and hope that Gruenfeld keeps these wonderful books coming.

This book was a step up from the legal thriller novel that has become very popular today. The reason is that it was not as superficial as are most such thrillers. I love and read most of the others, but this one was different and better. There was detail that is lacking in most legal works of fiction. The author reminded me of Tom Clancy in that the detail was substantial but interesting. Many readers do not like Clancy because he goes into too much detail for a casual reader, but Gruenfeld does what Clancy does best without the depth of detail that bore those without the patience or desire to learn or delve into detail or reality, and who seek only to enjoy. I heartily recommend the book to lawyers or others trained in the legal field as it comes across as muuch more authentic than most.

As he always does, Mr. Gruenfeld combines a rich, mesmerizing plot with beautifully drawn and compelling characters. It amazes me that this author can write so insightfully on such widely diverse subject areas as he has in his last several books. The book jacket doesn't say anything about his being a lawyer, so I suspect he isn't, but his grasp of the state of justice in America today is downright uncanny.

One of the reasons I love to read him is that I always come away learning something while having a rollicking good time. After reading this book, I feel almost like an expert myself, on both federal criminal law and the increasingly important topic of computer encryption, which I'd heard about but didn't really understand until now.

Also as with his prior works, you can read this book on many levels: pure entertainment, an incisive commentary on our legal system, a surprisingly touching love story, or all at once.

Either way, it's a gem.

I have read other LG books, and this, his first novel, is quite entertaining; A depressed police officer kills some one. Why did she do it. Her boss, Captain Amanda Grant isn't satisfied with the answers she has so far.

The novel brings in various psychological issues which are quite interesting, but herein lies a few of the story's flaws. Amanda Grant has an MA in psychology, yet when she asks various psychiatrists for answers to certain basic psychological questions she is astounded at the answers. Did she sleep through all of her psych courses? I realize that many of these discussions are exposition to inform the readers, but why didn't her non-psychologist Lieutenant ask the questions? Also at one point someone informs the reader that all psychiatrists must undergo analysis. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

All in all, though, it's a very entertaining novel. I would recommend it.

I just got around to reading this debut novel five years after it was published. The author's book "The Halls of Justice" was recommended to me and I was so knocked out I decided to read all of his books.

I'm not a writer so it's hard for me to summon up enough superlatives to say how much this novel took my breath away. It can be read and enjoyed on so many levels, but I look at it as an intensely absorbing mystery written with tremendous flair and skill. The author's knowledge of police matters, psychology (I looked at his Website and he has a degree in psychology), psychoactive drugs and his insights into women (!) are fascinating. His ability to see deep into the hearts of females came across in "The Halls of Justice" and now I know it wasn't a fluke.

I enthusiastically recommend this wonderful debut novel to anybody who doesn't mind being asked to think a little along with the entertainment. "Irreparable Harm" gives you plenty of both.

This guy just flat out writes well. This is the third book of his that I've read, and although it's not his absolute best, it's still a very good read. The book is actually deserving of 3 1/2 stars.

style is dense, yet compelling. narrator spends half the time on introspection, slowing the pace to explain his thinking. the one-upmanship in legal strategies becomes as tedious as reading commentary on a sports event. the main character's ruminations come off more like polonius than hamlet. still, worthwhile reading.

About 75% of this novel takes place in the courtroom. If you love well done trial scenes this is the book for you. The technical aspects of the trials seemed quite complex at times, but were always interesting. I was amazed that the author, who doesn't seem to have a law degree, was able to write so convincingly about the legal world. The author even varied from the usual protagonist stereotype of "tall, dark and handsome." His hero prosecutor, is short, dumpy and not handsome at all. The first thing I did after reading the book is to come to this website and order all the other Gruenfeld novels.

This book is unbelievable - and not in the good way either. A team of government investigators searches for a shadowy genius capable of altering flight-navigation systems used by most large airliners, and obviously capable of bringing them all down. (When the mystery hacker blackmails the government, a few crashed planes are tossed in as a convincer.) Meanwhile, we meet Bo Kincaid, a grizzled veteran fighter pilot whose mastery in the air survived several wars abroad and incipient racism at home. Much of Bo exists as no more than flashbacks that occur thruought the book, and lack any apparent connection to the underlying story - flying Mustangs with the Tuskegee Airmen in WWII and Phantoms over Vietnam. In between learning of Bo's life, the reader watches the fitful and unproductive search for the extortionist whom investigators soon label "Captain Marvel". The investigators quickly hit on Florence Hartzig as the perfect expert to trap Marvel, but can never seem to locate her.

It would be generous to say that this book crashes and burns - generous because that implies that it ever got off the ground. Nothing much happens, but we're supposed to think that the author has done her homework and crafted expert characters, even as they don't do much during most of the story. (the author spends more time showing us how smart they are than he does having them get to the bottom of the mystery; in short, he spends so much time making them all geniuses, that he never makes them convincingly smart). We get the usual cast of characters - brainy and brawny hunks who know the system and how to work around it, and the rest (stand ins for us) as the idiots who'd be lost without them. Author Lee Gruenfeld puts her heroes' experience solving a myriad of issues both relevant (how airliners navigate, how extortionists use ATM machines) and otherwise (why Psychics aren't as reliable as they appear; why the media was wrong when it chastised the government over the Pentagon's $60 hammer). "All", more than many other books, is painfully in love with its sheer gobs of useless knowledge irrelevant to advancing the plot or developing the characters who wade through it. Unlike a really good book that grabs a hold of you from the first page, "All Fall Down" is sort of like some annoying guy you'll meet on an airplane and won't let go until you've heard everything he thinks about every subject he knows.

This is one satisfying read. I really wanted to give it almost 4 1/2 stars. It's very well written, and maintains a steady, but intense pace. The character development is excellent, as are the twists and turns that kept me guessing. It's one book that leaves you feeling full, like you've just eaten a tremendously good meal, and when it's done, you won't feel cheated by some lame ending like many other books have.

Lee Gruenfeld displays superb writing skills in All Fall Down. Two outstanding examples, one an action scene and one a quietly dynamic domestic spat, illustrate this point. The action scene, a literary gem, depicts Commander Jack Webster attempting to talk a crippled jet fighter back to a safe landing on the carrier during the season's worst storm. That one incident by itself would make a hit TV movie. The other scene portrays a bewildered Webster weathering a marital storm following a seemingly innocent remark. Who of us--married or single--cannot relate to that?

The two scenes are examples of what is meant by a character driven, rather than a plot driven, novel. Neither advances the plot line, yet both scenes give us insights into the character of the chief protagonist, thus making his decisions not merely understandable, but coldly logical.

The occasional flyer isadvised to read this novel AFTER his/her next planned flight. In All Fall Down a disgruntled psychopath, a genious in computer programming, extorts millions of dollars by threatening to blow passenger airliners out of the sky. This all-too-possible scenario brings in not only airline management, but the full force of the United States government: air traffic control, the FBI, and all other bureaus related to passenger safety. The climatic scene of the novel covers 15 minutes of real time. Gruenfeld uses some thirty pages to narrate it, not one paragraph of which is superfluous . Writing does not come much better than this.

Speed readers may be put off by the somewhat ;pedantic writing style of Gruenfeld. His low-key narration is somewhat remindful of erudite--though still interesting--professors in the lecture classroom. Speed readers in this case should slow down and smell the coffee.