Absolute Certainty : A Crime Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Rose Connors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2003

As an assistant D.A. for Massachusetts' Barnstable County, Marty Nickerson sees her job as a means for doing right. When a jury finds Manuel Rodriguez guilty of a brutal murder committed on a Cape Cod beach at the beginning of last year's tourist season, Marty feels vindicated. But then another body turns up as this year's vacationers begin to arrive and Marty has to wonder: Did they target the wrong man? The D.A. refuses to reopen the high-profile case, but Marty fears that the real killer will strike again. With her career on the line and lives at stake, she must rely on her own moral compass, legal savvy, and gut instinct as she matches wits with a twisted killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Unlike many legal thrillers, which suffer from excess verbiage or rely on obscure legal maneuverings, Connors's first novel offers sleek, straightforward entertainment. A year after a horrific murder (a young man was bludgeoned and mutilated), prosecuting attorney Martha "Marty" Nickerson of Chatham on Cape Cod successfully secures the conviction of Manuel Rodriguez for the crime. For Nickerson, an assistant DA for more than a decade, the conviction is fully satisfying until a second murder, disturbingly similar to the first, occurs. The arrest of a likely suspect for the second crime isn't enough to quiet her growing doubts. She soon finds herself in conflict with her ambitious boss, Geraldine Schilling, and, surprisingly, in league with her frequent adversary, defense attorney Harry Madigan. A single mom raising a teenage son and coping with her ex's belated efforts to forge a bond with his long-ignored son, Nickerson is bright, determined, competent. Her unease turns to dread as her suspicion grows that at least one innocent man has been convicted and more young men will die if the law, rather than justice, is served. To pursue the truth, Nickerson must put her career at risk, alienating her mentor and putting herself outside the very system she has depended on. Connors wrings a fair amount of suspense from her appealing heroine's predicament and shows considerable flair in producing a solution to the crimes. Readers will swiftly devour this swift-paced debut.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Short chapters propel the reader along in this engrossing legal thriller. The assistant district attorney of Cape Cod's Barnstable County, Martha "Marty" Nickerson, has just obtained the conviction of Manuel Rodriguez, who butchered a college student on Memorial Day in Chatham, Massachusetts. The day after the guilty verdict is announced, however, a teenager is found murdered in a similar manner. Marty's boss plays down the similarities; they won a conviction in the Rodriguez case on compelling evidence, and a serial killer on the loose will hurt the Cape's vast tourist industry. Unconvinced, Marty, along with Rodriguez's public defender, delves deeper into both crimes. Marty is a thoughtful, appealing heroine, concerned about the integrity of the legal system. Gripping courtroom scenes, crisp details of the legal system, vividly realized local color, and a nuanced portrait of the close-knit community, including Marty's personal life, all add up to a satisfying, often poignant debut novel. Recommend Connors to fans of Perri O'Shaughnessy and Lisa Scottoline, although, thus so far at least, she lacks the humor of Scottoline. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743448812
• ISBN-13: 978-0743448819
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,641,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fog Cutter from Cape Cod, September 10, 2002

By 

C. Fosgate "Charlie" (Pocasset, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Absolute Certainty : A Crime Novel (Hardcover)

I read at least one crime novel each week to the point I have to keep a list of those read so I don't walk out of the library or store with a previously read book under my arm. This list has grown to nine pages and 74 authors. Without a doubt Absolute Certainty ranks right up there with the best of them. I found it riviting and was unable to put it down except to eat and sleep.To be sure I am a Cape Codder, and the fact that I am familiar with the locale and have served on a jury in the courthouse described perhaps heightened my interest but I can assure the next reader that the author has done a marvelous job of setting the scene, establishing the characters, and spinning a yarn that very likely could have happened here. Spellbinding.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery." Calvin Coolidge, March 19, 2011

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Absolute Certainty : A Crime Novel (Hardcover)

In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, young men are being murdered without any logical reason and nothing, other than location, connects the men.

Martha "Marty" Nickerson is an assistant DA in Cape Cod. She considers herself a professional and feels a high level of accomplishment when the jury finds Manuel Rodriguez guilty of killing college student Michael Scott.

With the guilty verdict in, there is a sigh of relief within the communtity but before Marty can relax, another young man is found murdered. When an autopsy is finished this body has a roman numeral II scratched on his chest. But how could this be, Marty wonders, with the killer sitting in jail?

In close communities, sometimes there are connections between the victims and the attorneys and Marty has this close connection to the second victim's family. She is taken off the case and another person in her department is assigned to the case.

Wondering how Marty could help with the case, she is asked to accompany the defense attorney to visit the man accused of the second killing. When Marty gets some surprising details and informs her boss, Geraldine Schilling. Schilling is furious. The next day, while in court, Schilling accuses Marty of working with the defense to undermine the prosecution's case.

The author does a fine job of describing the internal politics of a prosecuting attorney's office and the consecquences of an attorney who puts a political goal above doing the right thing.

Marty is a fine attorney. We see her family life and the internal conflicts that she has with family time compared to the time on her job. It is also admirable that we see Marty's first obligation is not to put someone in jail. Marty tells the reader that her first obligation is for justice. This sense of morality would make the novel a good mandatory read for many of the corporations where greed more than honesty and justice seems to prevail.

I enjoyed this story and found it a good debut. At the same time it was more cute than suspenseful. Marty was somewhat unique for a prosecuting attorney but much of the material here has been done before. My rating was 3 1/2 moved up to 4 as credit for a debut novel and an attorney who has a high sense of justice above career.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, Intriguing...A Marvelous Debut....., December 8, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Absolute Certainty : A Crime Novel (Hardcover)

Barnstable County, Assistant District Attorney, Marty Nickerson asked only three things of the jury. First, examine every exhibit carefully. Second, listen and absorb all the testimony given during the trial. And third, use your own gut, your common sense and judgement when making your decision. "We impaneled seven men and five women. All of them promised. And I believe they kept their promises. It was the criminal justice system that failed..." Marty believed in the guilt of Manuel Rodriguez. He was accused of brutally murdering a twenty year old college student exactly one year ago on Memorial Day; a young man with a bright and promising future ahead of him. Putting Rodriguez behind bars for the rest of his life let her speak for the victim, and validated the criminal justice system. But when an eerily similar murder happens this Memorial Day, Marty begins to question the impossible, whether Rodriguez was wrongly convicted. Could there be a serial killer on the loose on Cape Cod? But when a third murdered teenage boy is found just a week later, Marty deliberately ignores the orders of her ambitious boss to stay away from the case, and puts her job and the integrity of the District Attorney's office on the line to find the truth..... Newcomer, Rose Connors, makes a spectacular debut with this compelling and suspenseful legal thriller. Her well paced story line is tight and tense, and filled with well-drawn characters, intriguing twists, and vivid and riveting courtroom scenes. Ms Connors indepth knowledge and expertise in the workings of the D.A.'s office, the courtroom, and Cape Cod, add real credibility to the story and bring it to life on the page. With a stunning climax and very satisfying ending that ties up all the loose ends, Absolute Certainty is a winner, and should find itself at the very top of all legal thriller lovers' "must read" lists.