The Best Defense [Mass Market Paperback]

Ellis Cose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 1999

From an award-winning non-fiction writer comes this debut novel about a savvy defense attorney who defends a businessman accused of slaying an office rival over an affirmative action promotion. Squaring off against Felicia Fontaine is her old flame, a seasoned district attorney.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ellis Cose has written so many books and magazine articles on issues of race, work, and gender that it should come as no surprise to find that his first fictional outing is a legal thriller about a killing caused by affirmative action. What is surprising is the amount of suspense Cose can conjure up by being scrupulously fair to all sides of a complex and explosive issue. When John Wisocki, a white computer-training expert, shoots the Hispanic coworker who got his job after a corporate takeover, his first move is to hire Felicia Fontaine--an African American defense attorney whose response to the constant cry of "We never seem to get our due" (from what she calls "a whole motley tribe of the so-called disadvantaged who were unsure of how to get ahead in life") is "We get what we know how to demand." Does Felicia really believe Wisocki's story that he was planning to shoot himself when the coworker got in his way? Or, as her prosecutorial opponent and ex-lover Mario Santiago puts it, is it a case of "You're damned good at playing the game, but you don't particularly care about the people involved. Sometimes I wonder whether you care about right and wrong." Before the case is over (and even after), Felicia and most readers of Cose's smart, heartfelt novel will find lots of their preconceived notions taken out for a brisk airing. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Having written several well-received nonfiction books on American race relations and the workplace (among them Color-Blind and The Rage of a Privileged Class), journalist Cose puts a human face on the subject of affirmative action in this observant, witty but sometimes too cerebral fiction debut, a provocative legal thriller. Fifty-four-year-old computer nerd John Wisocki has been downsized from his position at the computer conglomerate Infotect. Distraught, slightly drunk and already something of a bumbler, Wisocki attempts to commit suicide but ends up shooting and killing Francisco Garcia, the Latino man who is to replace him. By the time the press gets hold of the story, the accident is dubbed New York's first "affirmative action murder." As the case becomes a referendum on that policy, battle lines are quickly drawn between those who see Wisocki as a "raging bigot" and others who view him as a "hapless victim." Cose elaborates upon the premise by introducing a romance between Wisocki's defense attorney, African American, Harvard-educated Felicia Fontaine, and Puerto Rican assistant DA Mario Santiago, former lovers who still have eyes for each other. A Harlem demagogue, the Rev. Lester Hawkins, is also falling for Felicia as personal and political interests clash. Cose's dialogue is sometimes stiff, and his plotting skills are similarly standard-issue. He relies almost entirely on topical complexities to give his novel pizzazz: the alleged bigot is married to an Asian woman, upper-class Fontaine mentors a ghetto girl; Mario's wife has a Spanish name but is really Latvian-Filipina. On the other hand, Cose demonstrates a first-rate knowledge of the law and how the New York legal system works. He has produced an intelligent novel on a timely theme, but some may wish that he had not played it quite so safe and had illuminated more complex issues of race relations. One hopes to encounter Felicia and Mario in another book, where Cose might be a bit more daring. Agent, Michael Congdon; editor, Carolyn Marion.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (August 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006093087X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060930875
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,965,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very disappointing, October 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Defense (Hardcover)

Having read and enjoyed Ellis Cose's book RAGE OF A PRIVILEDGED CLASS, and having had heard him discuss his first-time novel on national radio, I added the title to my list of books-to-read.

Yesterday, I completed the novel... but only by force of habit. The writing, which I found exemplary in RAGE, did not translate into comparable skill with his novel. I was especially disappointed that the topic (essentially Affirmative Action) with which he had such mastery in the non-fiction book was so disappointing in his novel.

A novelist's first obligation is to create memorable characters about whom the reader cares, can identify, or (in the case of villians) loathes. But, despite the "rainbow coalition" smorgasbord of principal characters-- Hispanics,Blacks,& Asians-- for me, none of these expectations were fulfilled. PLOT: A white man feels he has been wronged, he then shoots a Hispanic male who dies, and he is defended by a conservative, Black, female attorney--who believes (and would have us believe) NO crime has been committed.

Okay. I might have even bought this legalistic, courtroom, tripe if Ellis had made it interesting, believable, or at least suspenseful. (Guess what the outcome is?) Additionally, I found myself questoning the authenticity of the female personna of Felicia Fontaine, maybe because it was written by a male--(although I myself, a Black male, have written short stores with Black female heroines)--but I think it was because her voice did not really seem FEMALE--despite all the sensuality and sexuality Ellis tries to show she has.

I believe it was Mark Twain who said, "Those who DON'T read books have no advantage over those who CAN'T." Regarding THE BEST DEFENSE, those who do read it will get no more enjoyment over those who don't.

From--

Someone who reads

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heard it before, but still a nice story, December 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Defense (Hardcover)

Legal thriller genre; ambitious defense attorney takes on high profile case with a client who obviously "did it," and in the other corner is the ADA who happens to be a former love interest of the defense attorney. Obviously, all kinds of possibilities exist here. On the positive side, the story is well told with believable characters and a fast moving story line. The courtroom dialogue isn't first rate, but it's compelling enough to make you keep reading. However, there are many minor characters who are nothing more than stereotypes, and certain plots (like the mishandled case from the "old days") go nowhere. This wasn't a great book, but it was definitely a pleasant read.

3.0 out of 5 stars Moderately entertaining, some weak characters, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Defense (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is not an exceptionally skillful book. The characters that are supposed to be engaging are not always so. You won't feel compelled to finish the book because you rarely feel any emotions from the characters.