Hostile Witness: A Novel [Hardcover]

William Lashner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Struggling to survive in his meager two-member partnership, Philadelphia lawyer Victor Carl is asked to represent a chief aide to a crooked councilman, who wants Carl to play along while the aide is set up. A first novel. 75,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Philadelphia attorney and first-time novelist Lashner has written a dark, gut-wrenching thriller about a down-on-his-luck lawyer with a big chip on his shoulder. Victor Carl, who couldn't get into a top law school, couldn't get hired by a top firm, can't pay his bills, and can't get a break, seems destined to be one of life's losers--until William Prescott, partner at prestigious Talbott, Kittredge, and Chase, offers Victor the deal of a lifetime. Represent Chester Concannon, chief aide to Councilman Jimmy Moore, who, along with the councilman, has been indicted for extortion and racketeering. An easy case, Prescott assures Victor, since all Victor has to do is sit in the courtroom, keep his mouth shut, and let Prescott do the work. It sounds too good to be true, and of course, it is. Even as readers are crying out, "Victor, don't do it," the poor schmuck allows himself--despite the cries of his conscience--to be drawn into a world of flashy cars, dirty drug money, sleazy high rollers, and big trouble. By the time Victor recognizes he's in over his head, it's way past too late. In the tradition of his highly successful colleagues, Grisham and Turow, Lashner has written an absorbing legal thriller. What sets this one apart, though, is the dark, despairing view it takes of human nature. A superb, disturbing read. Emily Melton

From the Publisher

The readers of Scott Turow will love this exciting debut by a Philadelphia-based attorney, who gives us both a tantalizing, breathless legal thriller and one of the most memorable heroes in recent fiction.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060391464
• ISBN-13: 978-0060391461
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #859,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Lashner is the New York Times Bestselling author of A KILLER'S KISS, MARKED MAN, FALLS THE SHADOW, PAST DUE, FATAL FLAW, BITTER TRUTH, and HOSTILE WITNESS. His thrillers have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages and have been sold all across the globe. He also recently published a small existential novel called KOCKROACH under the pseudonym Tyler Knox. Before becoming a novelist, he was a prosecutor with the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. A graduate of the New York University School of Law, as well as the Iowa Writers Workshop, he lives with his wife, his three children, and his dog, Chase Muttley, in Philadelphia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A NOVEL!!, June 4, 2001

By 

lusty22 "avid reader" (VT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hostile Witness (Mass Market Paperback)

I adored this book!! It was a really meaty story. Just like the ones I love to sink my teeth into! I don't think I have come across a lawyer protagonist I liked quite this much since Rudy Baylor in John Grishams's "The Rainmaker". You can't help but adore Victor Carl in this story. Perhaps some of his goals lack sensitivity but you know that deep down, Victor is an honorable man and sure enough, by the end of the book even he realizes it. The suspense of the story is riveting, the characters are very real and there are enough twists and turns in the story to keep you intrigued. But the best thing about this book is it's depth and it's quality. I can't fully explain it, but it makes most lawyer type thrillers seem shallow in comparison. Sometimes I had to reread a passage and just stop to think about what was going on, but that is a sign of a great read, in my opinion. It is a delicious story and a one you just want to savor,so to speak. When you are done you sure want more of Victor Carl and I can't wait to read the next in the series. I hope Mr. Lashner is working hard on a third!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This thriller will leave you wishing for more of Lashner, March 29, 2003

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

This review is from: Hostile Witness (Mass Market Paperback)

There are a number of legal thrillers being published with great regularity, but I haven't encountered very many that capture what it is like to walk out of law school with that freshly minted degree, pass the bar exam, set up practice and...wait. Wait for the phone to ring, wait for that promised money to start rolling in, wait for that career satisfaction to kick in.

William Lashner, the author of HOSTILE WITNESS, describes this and, even though he describes it from a retrospective standpoint, does it quite well. Actually, he does a number of things quite well and a number of things amazingly well. When Victor Carl, Lashner's main character gets caught between the rock of expenses and the hard place of a shrinking accounts receivable, one gets the feeling that Lashner, who was a practicing attorney in Philadelphia, has either been there or has been close enough to it that he knows what it smells and looks like, even if he's never tasted it.

When we meet Carl he is six years out of law school and, in his own words, flat-out broke. Out of time, out of money and possessing only an abundance of despair, a sharp intellect and a way with a smart remark, he finds himself only a few cases away from being destitute. One of those cases takes him to the offices of Talbott, Kittredge, and Chase, opposing counsel and one of the premiere Philadelphia law firms. Carl goes into their offices expecting nothing and leaves not only with a generous offer of settlement for a marginal case, but also an offer of employment as co-counsel.

William Prescott III, a partner with Talbott, Kittredge, and Chase offers Carl the opportunity to represent Chester Concannon, an aide to City Councilman Jimmy Moore and charged as a co-defendant with Moore for extortion, arson and murder. The trial is in two weeks, but all Carl has to do is sit down, be quiet and leave everything to Prescott. The fee that Prescott offers is more than enough to solve all of Karl's problems as well. It is that final point that sweeps away any ethical reservations Carl might have. It does not take long, though, before it becomes obvious to Carl that Prescott is subtly setting Concannon --- and Carl --- up for a fall.

That, however, is not Carl's only problem. He soon finds himself involved with Moore's mistress, the beautiful, enigmatic Veronica Ashland. Ashland is the nexus of the Gordeon knot that lays at the heart of the crimes Moore and Concannon are accused of and has the potential to either save Carl's client or bring the case crashing down around his ears.

Between first page and last, Lashner does a masterful job of keeping this complex, complicated plot humming along quite nicely and demonstrates a fine sense of knowing when to connect dots for the reader and when to sit back and let the reader do it. If there's a flaw at all in HOSTILE WITNESS, it's with the introduction of Morris Kapustin, a wonderfully unlikely private investigator. The flaw is that Kapustin is so interesting a character that he almost steals the entire book away from Carl. If only every author had such a problem --- Lashner has so many interesting characters that they must jostle for position between the book covers!

HOSTILE WITNESS is a magnificent debut that will leave the reader wishing for more of Carl --- and of Lashner. More of both, thankfully, are on the way.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complicated and well worth the time to read!, December 12, 2003

By 

Christian "Writer/Human" (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hostile Witness: A Novel (Hardcover)

After reading a local review that simply raved about William Lashner, calling him the "best mystery writer in the country," I knew I had to find one of his books and read it. I was not disappointed.

Victor Carl, an attorney with two first names, isn't your ordinary, every day hero. One might call him an anti-hero. Consider that he's a lawyer, first off. And that he's made some really bad decisions in his life, which has put him on the "down and out" list in Philadelphia. In order to save his failing private practice, he agrees to aid Councilman Jimmy Moore to avoid a racketeering and murder rap. Basically, he's sold his soul in order to get a leg up in the world. Not only does his decision turn out to be the most dangerous choice he's ever made...it turns out to be the worst.

While Victor watches as his client is framed--and could it be that he's being duped as well?--he begins to learn a hard lesson about life, and about himself.

An excellent, well-written novel, with deeply flawed and believable characters, Lashner is one author that gets added to my "favorites" list!