Dead Man's Rule by Rick Acker

The main problem with Dead Man's Rule is that it reminded me of several other books mashed into one.
It tells the story of a lawyer who has taken up the case of a Russian man claiming he has ownership of a safe box. The only problem is, there isn't a key or any legal documents saying it's his. All he has to go on is the dying words of his friend.
The idea behind the book, the Dead Man's Rule of court cases is interesting, but it quickly veers off the point after a short, predictable court case.
The characters are pretty mediocre and not very believable.
This is acceptable as a debut novel but I hope to see a lot more from Acker in the future.
That said, there are several interesting scenes that nobody's ever tried before. This book does a good job of setting up the series. Overall, it's a little above average.
3 stars

Blood Brothers by Rick Acker

Blood Brothers is much better than its predecessor. The plot held my attention better in Blood Brothers and the story was much more interesting.
It's about a lawsuit Ben takes on that's between two rival brothers over a pharmaceutical company their father owned. The company has developed a new energy drug that they are currently testing on animals. The problem is the plant they have derived it from has a checkered past of violence.
The characters continued from the previous book are developed better and are more believable. The end is unpredictable and ironic. This is the kind of book that makes you excited for the author to write more.
4 stars