Degree of Guilt [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard North Patterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 1993

Mary Carelli, one of the most powerful women in TV journalism, is charged with the murder of Mark Ransom, America's most eminent novelist. Her attorney, Christopher Paget, sets out to shock the courtroom with revelations about Ransom as a twisted sexual predator. But as the trial unfolds, it is Paget who will be surprised...by Mary's secret motive for murder...by evidence that Mary is lying...by a woman prosecutor who believes Mary invented the story of rape...and by an enigmatic judge with an agenda of her own....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The core of Richard North Patterson's legal thrillers is characterization, and Degree of Guilt, the novel that relaunched his career in 1993, features two captivating individuals: Christopher Paget and Mary Carelli. Paget, the upstart hero of Patterson's 1979 Edgar-winning The Lasko Tangent, is now a sophisticated trial lawyer doing his best to raise a teenage son in San Francisco. He's a man to be admired: famous for bringing down the president in a financial scandal, he has settled into the comfortable life of a successful attorney. His life is transformed, however, when his former lover (and mother of his son), Mary Carelli, pays a visit.

The novel begins in a San Francisco hotel room as Mary, now an NBC journalist, surveys the torn landscape of author Mark Ransom's apartment. Ransom is, or was, America's most eminent writer. As she tells the police, Ransom had uncovered new recorded evidence of an affair between a long-dead starlet and a now-sainted senator (shades of Marilyn Monroe and JFK). While Ransom and Mary were listening to the tapes, she claims, he tried to rape her and she killed him in self-defense. Mary turns to Paget to defend her in what becomes a complex case of missing and conflicting evidence. Old emotions are stirred between the two just as Paget begins to doubt Mary's innocence.

The suspense of Degree of Guilt is grounded in the twists and turns of the trial at the novel's center, but just as compelling is the emerging history of Mary and Paget, and Paget's struggles to keep his son out of the media frenzy surrounding his mother's case. As well, Patterson addresses the deeper ethical questions that face many lawyers as they decide which cases to take and which evidence to use. Capturing archetypal characters and situations, Degree of Guilt becomes a parable of American law. --Patrick O'Kelley

From Publishers Weekly

This absorbing but overstuffed courtroom thriller revolves around a California attorney's efforts to defend a TV newswoman who kills a famous novelist.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034538184X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345381842
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

RICHARD NORTH PATTERSON is the author of The Spire, Eclipse and fourteen other bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, he was the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups. He lives in San Francisco and on Martha's Vineyard with his wife, Dr. Nancy Clair.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now THIS is what we call a Courtroom THRILLER!, November 15, 2000

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Degree of Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)

My first outing with Richard North Patterson, and still ranks as one of my favorite of the genre. Once you get into it, and I understand this great story isn't a locomotive with no brakes at the beginning...but BELIEVE ME, it DOES get there. Our characters are likeable, but not without their faults. Christopher Paget is called to defend his former 'girlfriend' and Mother to his son in a murder charge which has just a ton of evidence that SHOWS us that she actually DID it...but if you are a reader of legal-thrillers, you KNOW that what the author wants you to know about and what actually happens at the end of the book are two entirely different things, right? 'Degree of Guilt' is NO exception here. Everything ISN'T as it seems--at first. But even as new evidence is unearthed that helps the defendant, she STILL looks guilty. IS she? I'm gonna let you find out the answer for that one yourself. 'Degree of Guilt' has some of THE BEST courtroom scenes I've read to date. It's obvious that Mr. Patterson was an honest-to-goodness lawyer, and he uses his skills very well here. I'll warn you of a BIG bombshell that Mary reveals to Christopher that kinda took me by surprise, it doesn't affect the outcome of the trial, but let's just say it gives the story a different twist. Also, this novel is a great lead-in for Patterson's next FANTASTIC courtroom whodunnit: 'Eyes Of A Child' a partial sequel to this book, and in MY opinion even BETTER. Legal thrillers can be some of the most compelling books out there, because let's face it: NOTHING could be more dramatic than one person fighting for their life in a murder trial. Patterson truly IS one of the better writers of this particular genre out there and 'Degree of Guilt' is one of his very best books. VERY worthwhile.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good legal thriller, January 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Degree of Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)

Reading the title of the book, we know that the defendant is guilty, it is to what degree of guilt the story takes us. Mr. Patterson writes believable, even likable, characters. They are not perfect, but nor are they caricatures. I was particularly intrigued by the courtroom manueverings. While they are believable, they are certainly fiction. The plot line was solid, with no real glowing inconsistancies. I agree that Mr. Patterson's books rise above John Grishams. They are not read as quickly & easily, but the extra work is worth it. I will read more from Mr. Patterson.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for A Great Legal Thriller? Look no Further., July 17, 2002

By 

Chris Pizula (Newport Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Degree of Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)

Patterson is the thinking man's Grisham. His characters take on a life of their own, and Degree of Guilt doesn't disappoint. RNB is really the best of his genre, as his books are fast-paced, intelligently written, and are plausible.