Customer Reviews

Death's Witness: A Novel

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This guy makes Grisham look like literature. Plot makes no sense. Plot twists? Every time the story gets in trouble (which happens a lot) another new character is added. Did you read who reviewed this book? Cable TV cronies. Oh and do you really believe the stunning 30's blonde would fall so easily for the ineffectual lamo old guy hero? Would the mob kill the only key to their fortune? Would they walk away so easily from their cash?

I love it when a book from a new author hits the doorstep, and it turns out to be so good that it seems to be velcroed to my hands once I start reading. I had this experience with DEATH'S WITNESS by Paul Batista. Batista is a prominent defense attorney and, perhaps more importantly in this age of the electronic media, a go-to guy for Court TV and elsewhere. Such a curriculum vitae does not guarantee a work of the quality of DEATH'S WITNESS, but in Batista's case his literary prowess is the equal of his legal reputation.

Batista commences the book with an extremely gutsy move: he kills off a gentleman who arguably is his main character. Tom Perini is a legendary football player, a Heisman Trophy winner who turned pro only to turn his back on his instant name recognition and fame to attend law school and become a defense attorney. We are barely introduced to Perini when he is gunned down in Central Park while jogging, an incident that appears to the police to be a random act of violence but is known to the reader to be a deliberate hit. Perini leaves a young daughter and a wife, Julie, who understandably is grief-stricken and baffled by her husband's murder.

Disappointed by the police investigation and angered by the attitude of an FBI agent who has interjected himself into the case, Julia begins investigating on her own, focusing on her husband's professional life and specifically on a money-laundering case that he had been trying at the time of his death. Julia slowly begins to uncover a series of quiet deceptions in Perini's life that leads her to conclude that he was living a double life. With the aid of Vincent Sorrentino, a defense attorney representing a co-defendant in the trial Perini was involved in, Julia finds that she and her loved ones are in terrible danger, and that the only way to protect herself and her family is to discover the secrets that her husband hid from her so well.

Batista, in a word, is wonderful here, guiding his readers skillfully and assuredly through a complex plot. Though it is not immediately obvious, Batista eschews what would have been an easy path for him --- writing a courtroom thriller --- in favor of presenting a mystery unraveled through dogged determination. While there are courtroom scenes in the book, they add to and enhance the story rather than become the alpha and omega of the tale.

DEATH'S WITNESS is Exhibit A for the proposition that Batista is as much a winner at writing as he is at defending.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Former Heisman winner turned lawyer Tom Perini is shot at close range while jogging in Central Park. Perini had been part of the defense team for Congressman Danny Fonseca, who is being tried on charges of bribery. Perini's wife Julie is questioned by FBI agent John McGlynn, who leaves Julie with the impression that he is not willing to put much effort into finding her husband's killer. Julie decides to use her skills as a journalist to begin her own investigation into her husband's death and starts with his case files. Subsequently, Perini's client Selig Klein, an alleged mobster, is gunned down, and Julie is sure the two murders are connected and that somehow McGlynn is involved. When the FBI subpoenas her husband's files, hinting they believe he was involved with money laundering, Julie implores Tom's defense partner Vincent Sorrentino to help her stop McGlynn from ruining her husband's reputation. What the two discover is not only shocking but may be the only way to save the lives of Julie and her daughter.

Death's Witness is the debut novel for Paul Batista, criminal defense attorney and media pundit. The mystery, although easily solved, is filled with twist and turns, and Batista entertains the reader with an onslaught of red herrings to consider. Although the ending is somewhat predictable, this is overall a good read.

An amazingly exciting, beautifully written novel that literally kept me turning the pages from beginning to end. Great work.

An amazingly fascinating, wonderfully written thriller, with living, breathing characters and surprise after surprise. Out-Grishams Grisham.

Death's Witness is a terrific book. It is a novel in the vein of my favorite mystery writers: Ross Thomas, Elmore Leonard and Patricia Cornwell. Once I began reading it I could hardly put it down.

so I read it (300pp) in one night. In the Grisham genre, but much faster-paced. Plot and character development are terrific, and you'll love the denouement! Great read for fans of Lee Child too.

Sometimes, as a result of age, or as a result of life, experience can provide "vignettes" worthy of note.
Woven together expertly with powerful and creative eloquence, Mr. Batista's novel successfully explores
cerebral, visceral and passionate responses of the human condition at its best and at its worst.
He applies them appropriately with rare insight to his strong characters with profound understanding.

Death's Witness affords an informative journey into the world of law... at its best and at its worst.
This reader remained absorbed in this ever so probable adventure.
Lady L

The book is a great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have given several copies for holiday gifts. I highly recomend it.