Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer [Paperback]

Tom Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2009

A really good man died Sunday night in Nashville's notorious Printers Alley. According to the newspaper account, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A drunken reveler with a gun had fired his weapon indiscriminately, ending the life of Tennessee's likely next governor and perhaps a future President of the United States. Mark Rollins wasn't ready to buy it. The dead man, Harold T. Lansden, Esq., was more than just a prominent lawyer and rising political figure. He was a friend, and he had called Rollins the night before his death to ask for Mark's help with a problem of some kind. Lansden was killed before the two could meet to discuss the details. Was Lansden's death as it seemed on the surface or was it premeditated murder and, if so, by whom and why? Rollins' search for answers yields a plethora of avenues that could have led someone to commit murder. As for who did it, there is no shortage of candidates.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

While Mark Rollins Adventures stories are works of fiction, there is just enough real life in the stories to make people wonder.   For example most of the places in the stories are real.  The food or wines enjoyed by Rollins during his adventures were also enjoyed in those restaurants by the author at some point in real life. Likewise the hand guns and other weapons involved in the stories are real.  Like the people who use them, the weapons are story characters each with a unique personality and voice--actors playing out their own unique roles in the story.  In Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer,  I took the unusual step of including an appendix at the end of the book  that pictured each weapon and told a little of its own story.

From the Back Cover

A good man, Harold T. Lansden, Esq., is dead. He was a lawyer, a rising political figure and the man who had called Mark Rollins for help the night before his death.  According to reports, he was gunned down in Nashville's notorious Printers Alley during a drunken reveler's celebratory shooting spree.  Was that it?  Was that all there was to it? Was it just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time?  Or was it premeditated murder by someone orchestrating the people and events--a puppeteer pulling the strings?

Mark Rollins is a retired technology entrepreneur and the creator/owner of the Women's Health Club, a unique and exclusive fitness center for the wealthy and socially elite women of Nashville, Tennessee.  While others run the Club, Rollins has become the person people seek out when they need help.  He uses his wealth, friends in high places, and loyal team of computer experts to make problems go away.  It's strictly legal--or as Rollins says, "We never seriously break the law." 

Another story of murder in the law firm world by Tom Collins

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: I-65 North, Incorporated (December 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982589808
• ISBN-13: 978-0982589809
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,540,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Summary Biography:
M. Thomas (Tom) Collins is one of the pioneer entrepreneurs of the information technology industry. His business successes include Juris, Inc. which was purchased by LexisNexis® in June of 2007. In addition to his role as the founder and head of Juris, Inc., he shared his 30 years of experience working with midsized law firms on the award-winning blog www.morepartnerincome.com. The London-based publication Citytech called him an "outstanding individual and visionary" when he was named as one of the Top 100 Global Tech Leaders in the legal community. He is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the publication Law Technology News for his contribution to the use of technology in the legal community.

Tom Collins retired from commercial activity at the end of 2007. Today he writes mystery/thrillers and continues to write and speak on the subject of law firm financial management.

Additional Information:
Tom Collins earned his Master's Degree from the University of Alabama in 1965 and began his career as a CPA with Price Waterhouse (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers). He left Price Waterhouse in 1968 to pursue the emerging business opportunity that followed IBM's consent decree allowing the use of IBM computers for the purpose of providing services. It was the birth of the information technology industry. After serving as one of the principals of Compass, Inc., and then Vice President of NLT Computer Services, he joined with four associates to found the public company Endata, Inc. Endata was later acquired by First Financial Management. Following that acquisition, Tom began Juris, Inc. in March 1986. When Juris was purchased by LexisNexis, it had become the leading provider of financial and business information systems for midsized law firms with an estimated 27% market share.
Throughout his career, Tom has been a frequent speaker and author on management subjects as well as technology issues and the legal profession. Among his many industry roles, he is one of the founding members and officers of the consortium organized to implement standards for the electronic exchange of data within the legal community--LEDES, the copyrighted "Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standards." Tom was also the founding chairman of the National Association of Legal Vendors and served as an advisor to several legal-related associations and for the LegalTech® educational and expo conferences.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read!, November 14, 2011

By 

CCB (Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer (Paperback)

M. Thomas Collins' best yet in the Mark Rollins series! Collins knows law firms so the reader finds the story believeable, while unexpected turns keep one reading. (A secret stripper girlfriend is going to be trouble in any story.) Rollins and his team are compelling and enviable! Like!