From Publishers Weekly
Coughlin ( Shadow of a Doubt ) delivers another thoughtful, brisk-paced and fully satisfying legal mystery. Though his drinking caused his near-disbarment, former hot-shot Detroit attorney Charlie Sloan, now practicing from Pickeral Point, a small town outside the Motor City, gets a chance to rescue his career. The recovering, thrice-divorced criminal lawyer hits the headlines when his client, a physician labeled Dr. Death, is convicted of murder for helping a wealthy, terminally ill patient speed his demise. While appealing that conviction and advising a waitress who has accused a Pickeral Point bigwig of rape, Sloan is asked by an old drinking buddy and fellow lawyer to take charge of the appeal of a $5-million personal injury suit brought against Ford by a man paralyzed in an auto accident. Sloan soon finds himself being lured into a extortion scam that seems to incriminate his mentor, a much-respected judge. As the rape case evolves into homicide, Dr. Death is jailed again on another murder charge, and the personal injury appeal confirms Sloan's suspicions of high-court corruption. In Coughlin's deft handling, Sloan triumphs in each case with his credibility and self-respect intact--and without taking a drink. Readers will regret that Coughlin (Shadow of a Doubt) died earlier this year. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; R e ader's Digest Condensed Books selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Detroit trial lawyer Charley Sloan ( Shadow of a Doubt , LJ 7/91) is defending a doctor accused of helping his patients die--for a fee. At the same time he is asked to handle the appeal in a $5 million lawsuit involving Ford and a man injured in an accident. Sloan, whose reputation for alcohol consumption and legal shenanigans far outweighs his current nondrinking, now-honorable life style, is approached by a former appellate judge who offers him a way to win the appeal. Juggling both cases, Sloan demonstrates a high level of heroism and professional ethics and the courage to implement both. Coughlin, an attorney and judge himself, brilliantly captures the corruption of the legal system by human error and greed. This 14th in a long line of well-written novels is thought-provoking and timely. Bravo! Literary Guild alternate; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/92.
-Jo Ann Vi carel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., OhioCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
