Hear No Evil [Large Print] [Paperback]

James Grippando (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2004

A New York Times Bestselling Author

A beautiful woman is accused of murder, and she wants criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck to defend her. The victim is her husband, an officer at the U.S. Naval base on Guantanamo Bay and the son of a prominent Cuban exile. Having no experience in military justice and sensing that the woman isn't telling the entire truth, Jack agrees with great foreboding to represent her. That decision plunges him headlong into a case with as many twists and turns as unanswered questions, and a trial that will bring him face to face with the ultimate surprise witness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck is in for one hell of a roller coaster ride in this lapel-grabbing thriller, Grippando's ninth (Last to Die; etc.). Lindsey Hart, about to be charged with the murder of her husband, Marine Capt. Oscar Pintado, comes to Jack because she believes he is her last, best chance—and also the biological father of her adopted son. Stunned, Jack thinks he recognizes the picture of the 10-year-old she shows him ("he knew those dark eyes, that Roman nose"), but he still isn't sure whether he should take the case. What if he doesn't and she's innocent? She could be convicted. But if she's guilty—and he takes the case and wins it—he doesn't want to see the child raised by a murderer. Thanks to Grippando's devious mind, that's just the beginning. Plot twists, doled out with perfect timing, include the story of the murder victim, who's the son of a rich and powerful anti-Castro activist; the prosecutor's connection to Swyteck's family; and the testimony of the defense's prime witness, who is a private in Castro's army—the murder took place on the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It's manipulative Lindsey, however, who proves to be the book's most unpredictable element. This character-driven, intricately plotted thriller will keep readers guessing up to the end.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The latest Jack Swyteck mystery finds the Miami defense lawyer in unfamiliar territory. When a woman asks him to defend her against the charge of murdering her husband, Jack is initially reluctant: the victim is a U.S. naval officer; the crime took place at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay; and Jack has almost no experience with military courtroom procedures. But the woman has a very persuasive reason for Jack to take the case (all right, it's a little far-fetched, but it works), and soon Jack finds himself fighting for his client's life in an arena that is brand new to him. Grippando, a former Florida trial lawyer, started his writing career with a Swyteck novel (The Pardon in 1994) and then rested the lawyer hero for eight years while producing a string of stand-alone thrillers. This fourth Swyteck novel is a tight, smartly constructed mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The military overtones should appeal to fans of the television series Navy NCIS and JAG. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006072689X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060726898
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,825,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After twelve years as a trial lawyer with Miami's most prestigious law firm, James Grippando is now a national best-selling author of thirteen suspenseful thrillers in as many years, including Lying with Strangers, When Darkness Falls, Got the Look, Hear No Evil, Last to Die, Beyond Suspicion, A King's Ransom, Under Cover of Darkness, Found Money, The Abduction, The Informant and The Pardon. His first novel for young adults, Leapholes, was published in 2006, as well as his first short-story, Operation Northwoods, which appeared in the critically acclaimed Thriller anthology. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in twenty-four languages.

James's first job out of law school plunged him headlong into death penalty cases. That experience was an inspiration for his 1994 debut novel, The Pardon, a legal thriller that critics heralded as a "bona fide blockbuster." Beyond Suspicion (2002) was the long-awaited sequel to that first novel, and it launched an exciting new series that features Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck and that critics have heralded as "John Grisham meets Robert Ludlum."

As a lawyer, James was an avid writer. His numerous scholarly articles appeared in some of nation's top law reviews, and they are frequently cited with approval by the courts. His trial practice ranged from complex corporate litigation to class actions on behalf of chicken farmers. As a frequent volunteer in Florida's guardian ad litem program, he helped provide legal representation to neglected children in family court proceedings. He was a faculty member with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Nova Southeast University. He was named by Florida Trend Magazine as one of Florida's emerging leaders, and in 2006 he received the Distinguished Author Award from Scranton University. His alma mater is the University of Florida, where he graduated second in his undergraduate class and earned his law degree with honors. He now serves Of Counsel to David Boies' law firm, Boies Schiller & Flexner, LLP.

James lives and writes in Coral Gables, Florida, and he is married to Tiffany, who has been his unofficial editor since book one.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun diversion, June 3, 2007

By 

Jessica Teel (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hear No Evil CD (Jack Swyteck) (Audio CD)

Grippando delivers another far above average thriller in the Jack Swyteck mystery series. Hear No Evil is entertaining and a fun diversion made special with the narration of Campbell Scott. Scott is one of those actors whose voice is familiar and comforting, yet he's not so famous that the listener is distracted by an image of him in their head. His authoritative voice has the right balance of masculinity to perfectly portray Swyteck. He likewise does a perfunctory job with Cuban accents - making them believable without being over the top, cliché, or Mexican. Hear No Evil weaves Cuban-American politics into a fun, action packed thriller.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex, Lies and Digital Cameras, June 4, 2007

By 

Red Rock Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hear No Evil (Jack Swyteck, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've been "on the road again", and this time I took along Hear No Evil by James Grippando, as read by Campbell Scott.

Mr. Grippando has constructed a witty, tense and wonderfully written story that hooks you and slowly reels you in, while Mr. Scotts reading keeps you hanging on his every intonation. You become so immersed in the tale that you hardly realize how many miles have flown by until you find yourself sitting in the driveway at your destination hesitant to leave your car until the tale ends.

The story begins with the murder of an officer stationed at Guantanamo Naval Base, leads us through a labyrinth of mysterious twists and turns, abounds in red herrings, gives us an inside look at Cuba's political climate and culminates with a murder trial that keeps you guessing until the very last line.

Miami defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, is more a Tom Hanks "guy next door" than slick attorney, while his client appears to be a composite of Meg Ryan and Lizzie Borden. This keeps Jack (and us) wondering who is she really and which part of her story is fact and which part is cleverly concocted fiction.

Whether you read this book or listen to it as I did, you will be completely enthralled. Thanks to this experience, I have become a fan and can hardly wait for my next Jack Swyteck adventure.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James Grippando Strikes Again!, August 21, 2004

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hear No Evil (Grippando, James) (Hardcover)

HEAR NO EVIL is the fourth of James Grippando's novels to feature Jack Swyteck, a Miami criminal defense attorney. Grippando, as he did in THE PARDON, BEYOND SUSPICION and LAST TO DIE, seamlessly melds Swyteck's professional and personal life into a puzzling mystery with significant consequences for all concerned.

HEAR NO EVIL begins with a woman entering Swyteck's life, seeking representation and bringing him shattering news. Lindsey Hart is about to be arrested for the murder of her husband, Oscar Pintado, a marine officer stationed at Guantanamo Naval Base. She wants Swyteck to represent her; he demurs, due to his lack of familiarity with military law. Hart then drops another bombshell: she and Pintado are the adoptive parents of Swyteck's son, Brian --- a son he has never known, a ten-year-old hearing-impaired youth who was asleep in his bed while Pintado was being murdered in the next room. Swyteck is stunned by the revelation and feels obligated to undertake Hart's representation in the matter.

Swyteck travels to Guantanamo where he finds that the military is attempting to stymie his investigation of the murder and his defense of Hart. However, Swyteck obtains some surprise assistance from an extremely unlikely source: a Cuban military officer who is willing to help Swyteck for reasons that are not immediately evident. Swyteck, while reticent to accept help from such a source, needs all the help he can get.

His biggest obstacle in defending this case is not the United States military, or even the victim's father, a prominent anti-Castro Miami businessman; rather, it is his own client. Hart, it seems, cannot move her lips without lying to Swyteck, even when it would be in her best interest to tell the truth. Swyteck must find his way through several layers of deception emanating from several sources to defend a client who he suspects may well be guilty but who, for the sake of his son, he has to defend to the best of his ability. At the same time, he must deal with revelations about his own past that will shake him to the core of his being.

Grippando's style over the course of his previous eight novels has become as compelling as anyone working in the genre. He is dramatic without resorting to theatrics; most of the violence in HEAR NO EVIL takes place off of the printed page, yet Grippando infuses his narration with an electrifying tension and excitement from beginning to end. Theo Knight, Swyteck's enigmatic and charismatic friend and private investigator, provides some comic relief, as well as giving Swyteck effective if unorthodox assistance in trial matters. HEAR NO EVIL also introduces Sofia Suarez, a Miami attorney who assists Swyteck in Hart's defense. Grippando does a superb job of creating some understated chemistry between Swyteck and Suarez, and I would not be surprised to see Suarez appear in a future Swyteck novel in a more prominent, and different, role.

Given that Grippando is currently at work on another Swyteck novel, we should soon know if that will be the case.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub