It’s a Mystery: New year’s crop of whodunits is all over the map

“Write to Die” by Charles Rosenberg (Thomas & Mercer, $15.95, 498 pages) For entertainment lawyer Rory Calburton, recently made a partner in his prestigious Los Angeles firm, the arrival of Sarah Gold as his assistant is definitely a mixed blessing. Sarah has trouble controlling her impulses, particularly those that involve doing something dangerous.

Some of her little ventures bring in useful information, but Rory keeps worrying that she will either compromise the firm in some way or she will get caught — or both.

There’s plenty of real work to do. Rory is defending a large movie studio against a charge that the script for its next blockbuster was stolen from a big-name star who has been cocooned in an ashram in India lo these many years.

Meanwhile, Rory finds the body of a studio executive, and the elderly head of the law firm is arrested for the murder.

The book is great look at how the law and lawyers work, as well as a balancing act between Rory and Sarah. Do you root for her out-of-the-box ideas or smack her down?

Read the Mercury News Review here.