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The Third Victim  By  cover art

The Third Victim

By: Phillip Margolin
Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
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Publisher's summary

The "master of heart-pounding suspense" returns with a brand-new audiobook series - The Third Victim is New York Times best seller Phillip Margolin at his very best.

A woman stumbles onto a dark road in rural Oregon - tortured, battered, and bound. She tells a horrific story about being kidnapped, then tortured, until she finally managed to escape. She was the lucky one - two other women, with similar burns and bruises, were found dead.

The surviving victim identifies the house where she was held captive, and the owner, Alex Mason - a prominent local attorney - is arrested. Although he loudly insists upon his innocence, his wife's statements about his sexual sadism and the physical evidence found at the scene, his summer home, is damning.

Regina Barrister is a legendary criminal defense attorney, known as "The Sorceress" for her courtroom victories. But she's got a secret, one that threatens her skill, her reputation, and, most of all, her clients. And she's agreed to take on the seemingly impossible task of defending Alex Mason.

Robin Lockwood, a young lawyer and former MMA fighter, has just left a clerkship at the Oregon Supreme Court to work for Regina Barrister. The Alex Mason trial is her first big one, a likely death penalty case, and she's second chair to Regina. Increasingly, she's worried her boss' behavior and the details in the case against their client don't quite add up.

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

©2018 Phillip Margolin (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Narrator Therese Plummer delivers a stellar reading of Margolin's latest thriller.... Her vocal skills capably supplement Margolin's fast-paced story in this riveting production." (AudioFile Magazine)

"Margolin continues his return to the exceptional form of his early novels with this gripping, tightly plotted, and smoothly written legal thriller.... A winner from a veteran genre author." (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Third Victim

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Kept my attention...

So many good books have been written recently. Philip Margolin's Third Victim falls into the good book category.
This book has all the makings for a good mystery. The pretty protagonist who is new at her job. Put herself through college by becoming a martial arts fighter. Her boss is a renowned criminal attorney experiencing some issues that make it difficult for her to perform her job adequately. The client is a very unlikable and arrogant attorney. He claims he's innocent of horrendous murders but his third victim got away and pointed to him as her attacker.
Taught mystery with excellent narration by Therese Plummer.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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72 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent legal thriller!

Lawyer and author Phillip Margolin has been writing legal thrillers for more than 40 years. He is not one of my favorite legal thriller authors, but his novels consistently earn 4 stars. The plot is excellent, but the real strength of The Third Victim, released this week, is the fascinating characters. The publisher's summary for The Third Victim comes too close to giving away the plot. Narrator Therese Plummer does a good job of narration.

Margolin has had a prestigious legal career. I've read many of his legal thrillers going back to the mid-1970s when he was in his early 30s. Now in his mid-70's, he continues to write excellent if not outstanding novels.

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65 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Better than most.

I have been devouring audiobooks lately and have been having a difficult time finding any that I really like. I did like this one. The storyline was interesting and kept me guessing. The narrator did an excellent job with voices in both sexes. I would definitely recommend this book.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Absorbing

I have read a number of Margolin’s books over the years. Most of them take place in Oregon as does this book. Margolin frequently has the hero as a female defense attorney as is the case in this book. Our protagonist is Robin Lockwood. She has obtained her dream job working for Regina Barrister, Oregon’s most famous defense attorney. Regina is defending a fellow local attorney, Alex Mason, who is charged with kidnapping, torture and battery. Robin Lockwood is second chair to Barrister in this case.

The book is mostly well written with a multiple twisting plot. This book is not for everyone because of the descriptions of torture and abuse. Margolin provides not only detective work but courtroom drama. I do not believe this book is up to the usual standards of Margolin, as in my opinion, it is jerky in the flow of the multiple plot lines. But over all I did enjoy the book. I enjoyed the interview with the author at the end of the book.

The book is eight and a half hours. Therese Plummer does a good job narrating the story. Plummer is an actress, voice-over artist and an award-winning audiobook narrator.


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20 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Aj
  • 04-10-18

Pretty Good

What made the experience of listening to The Third Victim the most enjoyable?

The narrator was great even though the "male voices" the narrator portrayed started to get a little annoying

What did you like best about this story?

I like the little twists of the story and the way the main characters worked through their theories of what happened

Which character – as performed by Therese Plummer – was your favorite?

I enjoyed Robin

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did. I started listening to it at work (and I did not get any actual work done) and then I continue listening to it in the car on the way home. Then once I got home I listened until it was finished. The plot was predictable to me, but I still very interested in the why and how it happened.

Any additional comments?

This book was good and an enjoyable listen. However, I did figure out the plot before it was revealed. There were little things that were said and done by certain characters that made it obvious. Even though I did not appreciate the predictable storyline it was still very interesting to see how it all unraveled. Even though I enjoyed listening to this book, it may not be in my top 10.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow! Great read!

I loved this book. I loved the main characters and how the book addresses a compenaray issue in a way that enhances the story. I also loved that the main character is an MMA fighter. She is a bad was and I hope the author builds a series around her.
This book is worth a credit. You will not be disappointed.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Start To New Series!!

The Third Victim is (audio)book 1 in a new series by bestselling author Phillip Margolin.
The book starts out with a woman stumbling out and onto a dark road- tortured, battered and bound. She tells a story of being kidnapped, tortured and finally escaping. She’s lucky though because two other women with similar burns & bruises are dead.
The victim is able to lead police to a remote home in the woods where she was held captive. The homeowner Alex Mason- a prominent local attorney- is arrested. Although he insists he is innocent, his wife’s statement about his sexual sadism and the physical evidence found at the scene, his summer home, is damning.
Alex hires legendary criminal defense attorney Regina Barrister. But she has a secret, one that threatens her skill, reputation, and most of all, her clients.
Robin Lockwood, a young lawyer and former MMA fighter has just left a clerkship at the Oregon Supreme Court to work for Regina Barrister. The Alex Mason trial is her first big one, a likely death penalty case, and she’s second chair to Regina. Increasingly, shes worried her bosses behavior and the details in the case against their client just don’t road- tortured, battered and bound. She tells a story of being kidnapped, tortured and finally escapinglucky though because two other women with similar burns & bruises are dead.
This was my first listen from this author but it definitely won’t be my last. His writing style reminded me of one of my favorite authors Harlan Coben. Mr Margolin’s latest legal thriller lured me in immediately, twisting and turning all while keeping me on the edge of my seat & guessing. I finished this (audio)book in a day!
I never fail to comment on narration. This audiobook is narrated by Therese Plummer. She is by far one of the best narrators I’ve listened to. It continues to amaze me how she can give various characters, male and female, their own unique voice that allows the listener to easily distinguish between who each one is. Great job Ms. Plummer!


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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Smart women main characters

Interesting story line with an unexpected twist. Additionally, fascinating situation with one of the lead characters. Audible has good narrator and there is an interview with Margolin at the end of the book where he discusses how he develops each story and character. Smart women main characters.

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5 people found this helpful

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Absolutely Excellent!!!

I highly recommend this book. Easily absorbing, nice twists, good characters, and a surprise ending. LOVED IT!!

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A Downer

All of the themes were depressing- violent sadomasochism and Alzheimer’s. Didn’t really add anything new to either discussion (maybe a little to Alzheimer’s.) Legal drama was ordinary.

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4 people found this helpful