The Law of Second Chances: A Novel [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

James Sheehan (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2008

Jack Tobin, a Florida trial lawyer, is dedicated to ending capital punishment one prisoner at a time. Jack is convinced that doomed convict Henry Wilson is innocent, but can he delay execution and get Henry a new trial in time?Benny Avrile is a small-time crook with his eye on an oilman's big billfold. But as he makes his move, a shot rings out and the oilman falls dead; Benny blacks out. Just when his fate is all but sealed, an old friend from Jack's past reaches out...The clock is ticking, two innocent men are facing the death penalty, yet the one person who Jack most wants to save-his beloved wife, Pat-may have the least time of all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fast moving and tightly written…boasts a gripping story and characters who will make the reader care. All in all, a stylish and engaging novel.” –Richard North Patterson, author of The Race

Praise for The Mayor of Lexington Avenue:

“Sheehan writes with bleak clarity when he’s sharing the dirty tricks of his trade in the harrowing trial scenes, but there’s a touch of the poet in his voice.”--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“If you like South Florida crime novels, legal thrillers, and courtroom dramas, then you'll love THE MAYOR OF LEXINGTON AVENUE...This is a debut novel, but it reads like it was written by a master of the genre.”—Nelson DeMille

“Sheehan’s powerful debut…reads like To Kill a Mockingbird on steroids.”—Chicago Tribune

"Not only is this a top-notch legal thriller, it's also a moving story about love, guilt, personal redemption, and friendship. Sheehan is a truly gifted storyteller, and the novel's format is fresh and clever...This is a terrific novel, a genuine literary achievement." --Booklist (starred review)

“This first novel has all the ingredients of a satisfying page-turner…and an added plus: intelligent commentary about the inherent flaws of the capital punishment system.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Mesmerizing.” —The Tampa Tribune

“This is the kind of novel you want to curl up with and read straight through—a fast-paced, dandy debut!” –Rocky Mountain News

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Back Cover

Henry Wilson, a career criminal and the biggest man Jack has ever seen, has been on death row for seventeen years. His execution by lethal injection is just eight weeks away.

Small-time crook Benny Avrile takes part in a high profile robbery that ends in murder. The cops are in hot pursuit.

Both men will rely on trial lawyer and death-row advocate Jack Tobin to represent them. But dark clouds are on the horizon for Jack and his beautiful wife Pat.

Will the Law of Second Chances come into play for any of them?

Crime, dark secrets and a desperate race against time combine in a gripping legal thriller that is almost impossible to put down. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged edition (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400106621
• ISBN-13: 978-1400106622
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,562,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning legal thriller, March 8, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Law of Second Chances (Hardcover)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there really were a law of second chances? However, not everyone deserves a second chance and very few people ever get a second chance.

Jack Tobin is a retired lawyer. His legal practice did not include criminal cases, but when an old friend came to him and pleaded to help his son, Jack got involved in pro bono cases to free wrongly convicted criminals. Jack would not take a case unless he was totally convinced that the person was innocent of the crime for which he had been convicted.

Jack and his wife Pat live in Bass Creek, Florida. Pat has always been interested in Jack's cases, and he enjoys discussing the pros and cons of each case with Pat. Jack has taken on the case of Henry Wilson, convicted years before of murder, when his wife Pat is diagnosed with cancer. Jack almost gives up the case to devote all of his time to his wife. Pat will not agree to this so Jack fights Henry's fight while trying to deal with his wife's illness.

Meanwhile back in Manhattan, Benny Avril, a small-time hood is arrested for murder. Although Benny does not know it, he has a connection to Jack-and eventually Jack will become involved in Benny's case.

The story of Jack's fight to save Henry, the conclusion, and the connection to Benny in Manhattan makes for a very exciting story. The legal battles give the reader an insight to what really happens on paper and in the courtroom.

The flashbacks to Jack's life as a young boy in New York help you to understand Jack and his young friends. It is amazing the different directions life led these young people and how some are finally able to come together in their adult years.

I intend to recommend this book to all my friends. I also feel now I must read The Mayor of Lexington Avenue, the book published prior to The Law of Second Chances.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for anyone who loves legal thrillers-and good writing.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN SAYS: "AS GOOD AS GRISHAM AND PATTERSON AT THEIR BEST!!", March 13, 2008

By 

Rick Shaq Goldstein "*SHAQ*" (Danville, Ca, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Law of Second Chances (Hardcover)

The author, James Sheehan sets lofty literary goals for himself when he embarks on his journey with three simultaneous plot lines. Sheehan not only keeps all three stories interesting, but makes you look forward to getting back to the other two tales, while you're still immensely interested in the current saga you're immersed in. The book starts out in New York focusing on Benny Avrile, a down and out, street-hustling, drug-abusing, pick pocket, street reprobate, who if you didn't count the abandoned building he slept in, you could also add "homeless" to the previous description.(Think of "Ratso Rizzo" from "MIDNIGHT COWBOY") As fate would have it, as Benny is stealing a credit card from an attractive woman at a bar, he is unknowingly, interfering with the unholy agenda of another beautiful upscale woman, sitting next to his targeted victim, who has much higher criminal aspirations than Benny could ever dream of. Before you know it, Carl Robertson, a multi-billionaire oil man, is shot and killed and Benny is arrested for murder.

The protagonist is Jack Tobin, a lawyer who had made his money defending insurance companies and lives in Florida. After building up his law firm and selling it for millions of dollars, Jack now only defends people he believes are innocent and "destiny" has brought him to Starke, a maximum security state prison in Florida. A big, physically imposing, African-American inmate by the name of Henry Wilson, after being on death row for seventeen years, is now eight weeks away from being executed. After a harrowing meeting with Henry at the prison, and some follow-up investigation, Jack believes in Henry's innocence and takes on his case in the hopes of being granted an appeal.

In the midst of these two major storylines, the author deftly interjects "flashbacks" to more than thirty years before to Jacks adolescence in New York, mostly concentrating on his friends and acquaintances surrounding his neighborhood football team "The Lexington's". The teenage friendships made here, miraculously and seamlessly, tie in down the road during the fantastic culmination of this intelligently written crime saga. This taut legal drama encompasses lifelong love lost, lives saved, friendships renewed, murder, conspiracies, characters who change from client to sidekick to partner, all without the author missing a beat, and with the reader refusing to put down the book until they ride this multi-dimensional masterpiece to its conclusion.

I am a voracious reader and the recent products put out by Grisham and Patterson pale in comparison to this splendid story. The author has introduced and has in place some really interesting characters that hopefully will set the stage for a follow-up book with our newfound friends.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Double-Feature Legal Thriller, January 21, 2011

By 

N. Bilmes "bookaholic" (Vernon, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Law of Second Chances (Hardcover)

Sheehan's 2nd outhing featuring Jack Tobin gives you not one, but two legal thrillers! The first one is a death-row case in Florida, and when that case reaches a resolution---along with the foreshadowed life-changing event for Tobin---it's off to Manhattan for another legal thriller. Sheehan's writing is crisp, and though his dialogue is somewhat stilted, the book manages to move along believeably and at a breakneck pace. There are some twists that you'll be surprised at, and some events that make little sense, but if you're like me you'll be staying up late to finish this as fast as you can.