Book
In her defense
Record details
- ISBN: 9780060194406
- ISBN: 0060194405
-
Physical Description:
print
376 p. ; 25 cm. - Edition: 1st ed.
- Publisher: New York : HarperCollins Publishers, c2000.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Public defenders -- Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction Conspiracies -- Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction Trials (Murder) -- Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction Washington (D.C.) -- Fiction |
| Genre: | Legal thrillers. |
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
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- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #1 May 2000
In the wake of The Verdict, And Justice for All, and A Civil Action, does the world really need the story of another disillusioned lawyer who reclaims his soul by winning a righteous case? Maybe, if it's as well crafted and entertaining as this one. Frank O'Connell is a former top prosecutor who walked away from both a lucrative Washington law firm and his wife, the daughter of the firm's senior partner. He is offered a chance to return to the big time when he is hired by Ashley Brandon, a beautiful socialite who stands accused of murdering the former Secretary of Commerce, Raymond Garvey. Brandon believes that Garvey was responsible for her father's suicide. O'Connell assembles what has become a cliched defense team: the grizzled former homicide detective as his key investigator and father figure and the fresh-faced young associate as his researcher. There are few surprises in this novel, but Horn manages to keep the action flowing, the dialogue smart, and the characters believable (if familiar). For legal-thriller fans looking for fresh blood. ((Reviewed May 1, 2000))Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews - BookPage Reviews : BookPage Reviews 2000 May
Frank O'Connell had been struggling with his lot in life since he married Moira. As a young lawyer with a bright future, beautiful wife and son, and a partnership in his wealthy and powerful father-in-law's practice, Frank seemed to have everything. Then something changes. He begins searching for that one thing that defines a person's powerful sense of self-worth. He could no longer find it at home or at the office. So he gives up his "perfect" life to become a court-appointed attorney at the beck-and-call of drug-users and petty criminals. After experiencing life at the opposite end of the spectrum, however, Frank isn't so sure he has made the right decision.Welcome to Stephen Horn's debut legal thriller, In Her Defense. As a former prosecutor for the Justice Department, Horn has lived the stuff of which the very best legal thrillers are made. He's quick to point out there are many things he can't reveal about his career. But what he can glean from his experience, he does in this incredible story of one man's struggle to bring justice into the world, and maybe even find himself along the way.
Horn's lead character is pondering his life-changing decision one day as he enters the cellblock that houses one of his clients - another defendant in a drug case. That's where Frank meets Ashley Bronson, a gorgeous socialite in prison for the murder of former Agriculture Secretary and long-time family friend, Raymond Garvey. Ashley decides she wants Frank to plead her case. She is convinced that Garvey's actions drove her father to commit suicide. Before the trial ends, Frank will reveal to Ashley the truth about her father, his invention, and a life-long friend, and some shocking history about the United States government.
Horn's main characters are at odds, at times, with issues of right and wrong. Some are naive to the ways of the justice system; others, long since jaded. But they all blend to make this story riveting. We want Frank to save Ashley and we want him to save himself, too. After all, if he can, maybe there's hope for the rest of us.
Sonya Beasley, a native Mississippian, is hopelessly devoted to her husband Scott, and her hamster Penelope. Copyright 2000 BookPage Reviews
- Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2000 March #1
A burned-out attorney, a beguilingly suspicious client, an impossible case looks like it s time for another battle-of-the- century legal thriller. The best news Francis O Connell s had since he left his wife Moira and his son Brendan is the visit from socialite Ashley Bronson, under arrest for shooting former Agriculture Secretary Raymond Garvey, who liked Frank s looks when she saw him handling a nothingburger defendant in the next cell. The worst news he s had is Ashley s response to his request for information: I killed him. Convinced that old family friend Garvey had hounded her father to suicide, she let herself into his D.C. apartment with her own key and plugged him. The cops don t have her confession, of course, but they do have her prints on the murder weapon and an eyewitness who puts her at the scene minutes after the shooting. But they don t have Frank, who walked away from his beloved father-in-law s firm and from his lovely, loving wife because he preferred fighting for things to getting them handed to him. (Frank is given a psychiatrist to allow him to make this last point clear for readers new to courtroom drama.) They don t have Frank s can-do team of investigators, who could have held off the invasion of Wake Island. And they don t have the beauteous Ashley, who, as far as the rapidly smitten Frank is concerned, had every moral right to shoot her father s old friend especially given the murky, preposterous, decades-old conspiracy they both turn out to have been involved in. The ensuing battle is more notable for Frank s surprising sweetness than for novelty or surprise; even the rabbits Frank pulls out of his hat seem to emerge in slow motion. If he s not in the same class as Richard North Patterson or Steve Martini, though (don t even think about Scott Turow), Horn s debut places him above Gallatin Warfield and up near Jay Brandon in the crowded field of legal intrigue. (First printing of 100,000; Literary Guild selection; $150,000 ad/promo) Copyright 2000 Kirkus Reviews - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2000 January #1
In this debut, a washed-up criminal lawyer inexplicably gets a really glamorous client. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2000 May #1
Why would successful attorney Frank O'Connell give up his partnership in a prestigious Washington, DC, firm along with a good marriage and a child he loves? As Frank sits in his small, rented office waiting for the next court-appointed case to come his way, he is hard pressed to answer these questions. Enter beautiful socialite Ashley Bronson, accused of murdering a former cabinet member. After a chance jailhouse encounter, she chooses Frank as her advocate. With these elements, first-time novelist Horn sets the stage for a legal thriller that easily keeps pace with the works of Scott Turow and John Grisham. His competent, quick-witted style compels the reader to follow Frank on a classic hero's journey through a minefield of international espionage, unscrupulous media tactics, and romantic complications. The man who eventually emerges has not only advanced his career but has reached a higher level of self-knowledge. An amazing debut; recommended for all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/00.]--Nancy McNicol, Hagaman Memorial Lib., East Haven, CT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2000 April #2
To say that the defendant in this crisp, intriguing debut is guilty is to give nothing away she admits it herself early on, which makes for a very original take in a court procedural. And while the novel follows the usual format (lawyer on the rocks gets big case that could put him on top), perhaps it's that opening gambit that makes everything feel fresh and original. Attorney Frank O'Connell has given up the perfect life wife, child, a prestigious job at his father-in-law's Washington law firm to be a public defender. His previous good fortune, he believes, was handed to him on a silver platter, and he wants to earn his laurels the hard way. But just as he's wondering if he made the right decision, he stumbles on a case that might restore him to professional eminence. Socialite Ashley Bronson is accused of murdering Washington bigwig Raymond Garvey, and freely admits that she did it, blaming Garvey for her father's suicide. Hunting down connections between Garvey and Bronson, and attempting to raise reasonable doubt by finding other people who might have wanted Garvey dead, O'Connell and investigator Walter Feinberg begin to see signs of a conspiracy; to start with, the only person who witnessed Ashley leave the scene of the crime is a CIA agent. The first-person narration is sharp and intelligent, and Horn delivers on both the pretrial back-and-forth and the courtroom scenes, especially the cross-examination of the CIA witness. There are the expected lawyer/client romantic complications, but O'Connell also maintains strong ties with his ex-wife and his six-year-old son. Horn is a master of the small and telling twist, whether he is charting O'Connell's love life or the fate of his client. Eschewing glitter for solid, intelligent storytelling, Horn's impressive first effort is eminently satisfying. Agent, Peter Lampack. 100,000 printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club selection. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 2000 August
YA-Frank O'Connell, a burned-out former partner in a prestigious law firm, now takes jobs as a court-appointed lawyer. The future seems dark until Ashley Bronson, a well-known artist and socialite who is accused of killing a former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, hands him her case-complete with a confession of guilt and physical evidence. Determined to save his client, O'Connell ignores the obvious facts and begins to dig through conflicting information. Using old friends and contacts, the protagonist finds plausible information that could blow the case wide open, exposing old secrets and important people. This exciting page-turner is well written, the characters are believable, and the action flows. Horn uses his knowledge of law and government to create a story of murder, betrayal, and love that will entrance teen readers of mysteries or thrillers.-Linda A. Vretos, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. #
