Here’s the bad news: SOLOMON VS. LORD is a long cliché. Here’s the good news: It’s still entertaining.

But you’ve seen this before. Stephen Solomon is a small-time Miami lawyer known for his rebellious ways, his willingness to bend the law, his contempt for authority and his general, happy-go-lucky, impetuous style. Oh, and of course, he’s a wisecracker. Now he meets rookie lawyer Victoria Lord, who is prim, proper, respectable, comes from old money, would never break the law and is the type of person who makes plans for her life far into the future. They are complete opposites. They argue and bicker with each other, displaying rapier (well, maybe letter-opener) wit. They are working together, but they would prefer to work alone. Lord hates Solomon. You know full well they will end up in love with each other.

This type of artificial conflict is an absolute staple on television. It shouldn’t be surprising we also see it here since author Paul Levine has written for TV, most notably for Stephen J. Cannell Studios and the show JAG. The scrappy, spitting, dual protagonists must somehow find a way to respect each other. Once they make this step, love and babies aren’t far behind. The method that is used here to unite Solomon and Lord is an old one: a child. Namely Bobby, the semi-autistic, 11-year-old nephew of Solomon, who has rescued the boy from a cult (awww) and who is scared of strangers (awww) and who, of course, is brilliant in so many ways and helps to crack the case. Thankfully, Levine doesn’t pepper the plot with identical twins or a subplot about having scheduled two prom dates at once.

Solomon and Lord are thrown together on a case involving Katrina Barksdale, a minx in her 30s who was married to a very rich man twice her age. Unfortunately, that man has just passed away during a strenuous bout of strangulation sex play. Did Barksdale kill her husband or was it an accident? Solomon and Lord hope she’s innocent. They’re pitted against Ray Pincher, who happened to be Lord’s old boss and who is an arrogant S.O.B. If that isn’t enough, Solomon is also facing a serious custody case. The state is hoping to remove Bobby from Solomon’s obviously negligent care, and they’re doing it through two highly unlikely social workers: a lacrosse-playing ethical and physical monster and a snide, hateful man who’s really all right because he had a rough childhood and he believes in the system. He just doesn’t believe in Solomon. Only Bobby does.

So with all that going on, you have well over 500 pages of legal and emotional shenanigans. But remember, there’s a good part, too. Even though the plot features some old-news dramatic themes and fairly standard characterizations, the book is still written with a professional flair and smoothness. Even though we all know Bobby is the stock autistic kid, you actually begin to care about the things he says and whether he’ll be able to maintain any contact with his uncle, who seems to have been the best thing to happen in his life. You want Victoria Lord to change her style and loosen up, and you want Stephen Solomon to grow up a bit himself. Most of the reader’s empathy is earned by the terse and realistic dialogue.

Levine credits an editor with an ear for dialogue, and it is here that the book shines. Speeches contain well-chosen words, allowing you to feel the characters’ emotions, instead of having them explained to you. Action and reaction are realistic and no one really speaks too outrageously (though one will have to accept the absolute total recall and brilliance of Bobby). This dialogue drives you relentlessly through the book, and is a much better choice than penning long, descriptive paragraphs, obviously not Levine’s strong suit.

Like a meringue confection, this book looks a lot heftier than it really is. The characters are mostly stock and the plot is rather thin. But the pacing is very brisk, the style is glib and flowing, and you end up wanting to know the results of the custody and murder trial, perhaps even in spite of one’s self. It’s a decent holiday or airplane read so I’ll give it a qualified recommendation, especially if you like courtroom drama. But don’t expect tons of laughs or lots of kinky sex; that’s pretty much just in the hype.

A sequel, THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI, is already scheduled for a January release.