Blind Judgment: A Gideon Page Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Grif Stockley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 1999

Justice...or the Perfect Revenge?

Like the South where he was born, Gideon Page is haunted by the past. Offered a shot at redemption and revenge, he returns to his hometown of Bear Creek, Arkansas, to defend a man accused of a contract killinghired by none other than the wealthy landowner who once destroyed Gideon's own family. Yet as the case unfolds, Gideon finds it's more complicated and dangerous than he'd imagined. In a world of old hatreds, lost loves, and crumbling family myths, Gideon is caught between his professional instincts and his personal desires. Now, he must make the most painful choice of his life, to settle an old score...or let a killer go free.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The best thing about Grif Stockley's mysteries featuring Gideon Page, an Arkansas social worker turned lawyer, is their no-nonsense attitude toward the business of being a lawyer. There are few big deals, no car chases, and a minimum of courtroom theatrics--just ordinary people trying to survive life's nasty menu. Blind Judgement has Page commuting from Little Rock to his hometown of Bear Creek in the Arkansas Delta to defend an African American accused of killing his Chinese American employer, presumably on the orders of a wealthy white man named Paul Taylor. Page has reason to hope the worst for Taylor: they had been boyhood friends until the Taylor family cheated Page's mother out of her property. But nothing turns out as expected, which adds to the pleasure and believability. Other Page-turners available in paperback: Expert Testimony, Illegal Motion, Probable Cause, and Religous Conviction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

It's old-home week for Gideon Page when Latrice Bledsoe asks him to come back to Bear Creek, Arkansas, to defend her meatpacker husband Doss on a charge of taking money from Paul Taylor to kill Willie Ting, the boss at Southern Pride Meats. Page is happy to take the case because if he can get Doss to testify against Paul Taylor, he'll be nailing the man who cheated his mother after his father killed himself. Apart from a couple of ambiguous conversations, though, there's no evidence against Taylor, and plenty (bloody knife, heavily alibi-ed coworkers) against Doss. Anybody but Page (Illegal Motion, 1995, etc.) would see other trouble signs, too: Doss refuses to take a lie-detector test; the supposedly despised Taylor has a surprising amount of popular support in Bear Creek; and Taylor's lawyer seems utterly unconcerned about the trial. (He probably knows the novel will have run most of its course by the time he'll need to show up in court.) But Page, awash in youthful memories and content to neglect his long-suffering girlfriend Amy Gilchrist for the dubious embraces of high-school sweetheart Angela Marr--the man seems to take up with each woman only to abandon her for the next--just can't keep his eye on the ball; it'll be a miracle, and no thanks to his dazzled lawyer, if Doss walks. A thimble-sized mystery interleaved with so many reminiscences of the hero's adolescence you'll feel as if you're paging through somebody else's high-school yearbook. Despite some incisive asides on racism, sensitive Page's fifth case is his weakest. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (February 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006101317X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061013171
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,378,747 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 interesting and enjoyable, October 10, 1999

By 

Gerrit Ruitinga "gerrit ruitinga" (Antwerp) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blind Judgment: A Gideon Page Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

One can hardly call this book a legal thriller. Ok, it's about a lawyer, Gideon Page, and it's the fifht installment in a series of very good legal thrillers, but the lawyering is very weak and the courtroom is only entered at the end of the book where the reader has already lost his interest for the plot.

The five stars are for a very good and insightful view on the relations and the character of Gideon. We know him from previous books as worrying about his daughter Sarah, his girlfriends Rainy and Amy, but in this book all the spotlight is on Gideon himself. It is a very subtle description of mid-life crisis. In everything he does he seems only to be able to concentrate on one thing; on himself. He has no problem, on a whim, to end a relationship with his girlfriend and also helping his client is made pursuant to his own vindicative feelings. I can't help liking him less then in previous novels, but I guess that is always the case when you probe in the life of your "heroes.

Apart from Gideon's own struggles, his observations of the Arkansas black/white scene are very interesting. The way he describes the county is completely politically incorrect, but honest and provoking.

For those who have not read any of the books in the series and who are looking for a legal thriller, do not buy this one but start on one of the earlier ones. For those who find interest in the Page family; don't miss this one!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stockley is one of the best in his genre, July 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: BLIND JUDGMENT: A Gideon Page Novel (Hardcover)

Arkansas attorney Gideon Page leaves his home in Little Rock to defend an African-American, Doss Bledsoe, indicted for allegedly killing his employer, Chinese-American Willie Ting. The case is being held in Bear Creek, Gideon's place of birth and a town he would prefer never to see again. The prosecution feels strongly that Page was hired by Paul Taylor, a white man, whose family cheated Page's family out of property.

The Prosecutor offers to plea bargain with Page and Bledsoe. The state would lighten his sentence in return for Doss's testimony against Taylor. Page likes the idea because it will enable him to obtain some vengeance against the wealthy Taylor family who destroyed his own family. However, this may not be the best defense for his client. Page, who starts the case very poorly, has to decide between giving his client his all or ignoring his legal responsibilities to seek vengeance against his enemy.

Gideon Page is a no frills lawyer, who makes certain that the reader understands that being an attorney is not necessarily a glamorous job. The first person narrative adds to the feeling of a hard working, but mentally warring lawyer trying to insure his client receives BLIND JUSTICE while trying to personally obtain revenge. The ending is pure nirvana (no Perry Mason rabbit out of the hat trick). Readers who want to peruse an exciting, interesting, but realistic legal novel, need to obtain all five of Grif Stockley's works. No one paints a more intriguing but honest portrayal than Mr. Stockley.

Harriet Klausner