Billy Strobe: A Novel [Hardcover]

John Martel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2001

Billy Strobe had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer like his father, the best criminal defense attorney in Oklahoma, until alcoholism, allegations of fraud, and a suicide on the eve of his imprisonment ended Joe Strobe's life. But not Billy's dream. Haunted by his belief in his father's innocence, Billy is determined to become a lawyer, to uncover the truth, and to clear his father's name. His ambition and intelligence carry him to the top of his class at law school, but a stock market scam goes south and lands him in a high security prison serving three to five years. Undaunted, Billy earns protection in prison by becoming a jailhouse lawyer, and winning the friendship of Darryl Orton, a soft-spoken but courageous lifer, whom Billy soon believes was framed for a murder he didn't commit.

Upon his release, Billy immediately gets to work clearing the names of the two men he respects most in life. But things are not as they seem, and Billy's dual quest for justice will lead him into high-level conspiracies and vicious murders, ultimately forcing him to choose between loyalty and the safety of himself and a woman he has come to love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Full of twists and turns, wit and well-drawn characters, Martel's fourth novel (after 2001's The Alternate) manages to transcend pig jokes and Okie humor to present a realistic portrait of a young man coming to grips with the truth about his father and himself. "Mr. Billy Nobody from Enid, Oklahoma," aka Billy Strobe, is two-thirds through UCLA Law School when all hell breaks loose. In a misguided effort to make some fast cash, he engages in illegal insider trading with a frat rat "Billionaire Boys Club II" and ends up doing hard time at Soledad Prison. He has already had cause to ponder the question of justice his father, Joe Strobe, an alcoholic lawyer, killed himself after being found guilty of forgery and bribery when Strobe was just a child. In prison, Strobe strives for fair treatment for all, and drives himself to finish his degree via correspondence course. Once awarded his law degree, he devotes himself to proving the innocence of a fellow inmate, Darryl Orton, who was wrongfully convicted of murder. Becoming the poster boy of second chances, Strobe lands on his feet in a cushy job whose strategic location will enable him to find the answer to the searing question that has haunted him all his life. The powerful prison sequences have the ring of authenticity, as do the courtroom and office scenes, attesting to Martel's professional expertise (he is one of the nation's top ten trial lawyers, according to the National Law Journal). This satisfying summer legal sizzler should assure Martel the growing readership he deserves.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This is the fourth novel by the highprofile trial attorney (more than a hundred trials, only four defeats), and it may be his best. It is certainly better than most of the output of John Grisham and equal to the best of Philip Margolin or John Lescroart. Billy Strobe is a law student who, through a combination of peer pressure and stupidity, winds up in jail. While finishing his degree by mail, he becomes an expert jailhouse lawyer; when a lucky break springs him early, he vows to exonerate a fellow convict, a man Billy believes was unjustly convicted of murder. He also decides to clear his father's name (Joe Strobe, a noted attorney, apparently committed suicide many years ago). This is a legal thriller in the manner that Dickens might have written it: an epic story that takes Billy through the many layers of society, bumping him up against heroes and villains; a story of an underdog, pretty much alone in the world, up against seemingly insurmountable odds. Give this remarkable novel to literary-thriller fans not averse to stretching the bounds of the genre. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1ST edition (August 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525946187
• ISBN-13: 978-0525946182
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,018,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting Book, February 20, 2002

By 

N. Gargano "nokegchris" (Waynesville NC and Bradenton, Fl) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Billy Strobe: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished reading this book and I really enjoyed it. I have read other books by Mr. Martel, and he is just getting better and better. I almost hated it to end because I knew I would have to say goodbye to Billy Strobe. Great character!!
I do have a small complaint though, although really more of a question for Mr.Martel. What happened to the cab and cab driver at the end of the story? For anyone who reads this, you will probably wonder the same thing. Otherwise......great book, great characters, and this is definitely one you should read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, well crafted novel, September 3, 2001

By 

Reacher (Mechanicsville, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Billy Strobe: A Novel (Hardcover)

I became a Martel fan after reading "The Alternate", but was not prepared for the level of excellence that this book presents. The off the wall beginning and ongoing plot twists are told with a humor and humanity that leave you reluctant to leave the story. Billy Strobe is a thoroughly original, totally engaging character,a sort of a cross between one with the strength, resolution and intelligence of "The Firm"'s protagonist, touched with a bit of the naive quality and integrity of a Forrest Gump.
The characters are well drawn, sympathetic and real, and the plot rolls.
I finished this one and turned it over to my wife, saying here you go,lucky you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Martel- Billy Strobe, December 7, 2002

By 

Constant - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billy Strobe (Paperback)

John Martel's fourth novel "Billy Strobe" is excellent, a non stop thriller, I found myself unable to put it down, and read it late into the morning, two days consecutively. This is the first book I have read by Martel, and I plan to read all of his work. Really enjoy the way the author wrote this book. Billy Strobe the main character confronts many challenges, from surviving in and out of prison, to trying to prove his father and friend Darryl Orton innocent, finding out who he really is and what he stands for, and who he loves. The reader follows him step by step often wondering what will happen next, the characters are intresting and have alot of depth, the settings such as the prison are painted very realistically,and alot of the time things are not how they seem. Written in the first person, you really feel like your there alongside him, as he continues his quest to find out the truth, whatever the cost. "Billy Strobe" is one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a long time, a book I would recommend to anyone who loves legal thrillers, and of course is willing to sacrifice some sleep.