Publication Date: June 10, 2003 | Series: Random House Large Print
What Carl Hiaasen and a host of South Florida’s finest authors did for Sunshine State crime capers in the New York Times bestseller Naked Came the Manatee, William Bernhardt now does for legal thrillers–with the help of a "Dream Team" of today’s hottest suspense writers. Like a literary game of telephone, Natural Suspect begins with a chapter from Bernhardt. Then each writer contributes a chapter and passes it along to the next. The result is a completely inventive, brilliantly plotted novel of suspense with more twists than a schizophrenic's train of thought. Can you guess who wrote which chapter?
NATURAL SUSPECT
Arthur Hightower made a name for himself and a vast fortune in the oil business. But when the volatile tycoon decides to disinherit his spoiled children and cheating wife, he makes the biggest mistake of his life-- and thelast. After declaring his intentions, Hightower turns up on Thanksgiving Day . . . clubbed to death and stuffed in a meat locker, clutching a frozen asset–his wife’s precious pearl necklace. Now Julia Hightower stands charged with the cold-as-ice crime of murdering for millions. While the sensational trial has New York in a frenzy, a curious cast of characters face off in and out of the courtroom.
Devin McGee, a small-time lawyer about to hit the big-time defending Julia Hightower-- if her intimate encounter with the prosecutor doesn’t catch up with her . . . Trent Ballard, the quirky assistant D.A., who owns a huge pet rabbit and thinks his tryst with Devin will help him get a conviction . . . Patrick Roswell, a wannabe reporter sitting on a scoop that could turn the trial upside-down, unless a scalpel-wielding clown decides to kill the story-- and Patrick . . . Sissy Hightower, Julia's sex-crazed, air-headed daughter-in-law, who has a suitcase full of secrets . . . Robert S. Rutledge, a powerful Wall Street warrior with a lot riding on the Hightower verdict-- and a lot to learn about messing with the wrong people . . . and Cordelia, the mystery woman that everyone seems to know.
All are in for the trial of their lives–but who among them is the true natural suspect?
All author royalties will be donated to The Nature Conservancy.
First there was Naked Came the Stranger, a novel written round-robin by Newsday staff, then Naked Came the Manatee, a serial crime caper from Miami-based writers. Now, here's a legal thriller wherein each succeeding chapter has been created by recognized pros in the genre. The roster of authors includes Leslie Glass, Gini Hartzmark, John Katzenbach, John Lescroart, Bonnie MacDougal, Phillip Margolin, Brad Meltzer, Michael Palmer, Lisa Scottoline and Laurence Shames all of whose contributions appear without bylines. Saluting and satirizing the tricks of the trade, Bernhardt starts the story off on a Long Island estate as oil mogul Arthur Hightower threatens to divorce his martini-soaked wife, Julia, and cut off his wastrel children. Before he makes good on the threat, Arthur's frozen corpse is discovered in the basement freezer. Julia hires Devin Gail McGee to defend her in court, not knowing Devin once shared a hot tub with the handsome prosecutor. Bernhardt laces his opener with possibilities, then each author in turn uncovers clues and miscues, from the toe cut off by the movie-quoting thug in clown costume to one lawyer's unseemly devotion to his voyeuristic pet rabbit. The fun for readers of this team tour de force is not to solve the case but to guess which author penned which chapter. Remarkably, the ending ties up more loose ends than anyone has a right to expect. More publishing than literary event, more mind game than artistic accomplishment, the book is an over-the-top diversion, with each author attempting to be more clever than the one before. There are some hits and some misses, but most of the curveballs are fun. (Nov.)Conservancy.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
A thriller with chapters by different authors, e.g., Philip Margolin, Brad Meltzer, and Lisa Scottoline. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
I love my job. Even on the worst day when I can't seem to put together a coherent sentence, I am grateful for having been given this magnificent opportunity to participate in the literary exchange of ideas. My mother says I was telling people I wanted to be a writer when I was seven. I know that seems incredible, but she's my mom, so we have to believe her. I never missed an opportunity to visit the library, which was blissfully near my home, and the librarians there took a great interest in this nerdy, shy, bespectacled kid who kept reappearing almost every day. They encouraged me to read widely and to read the best of everything, and that is exactly what I did and have continued to do all my life.
I sent off my first submission when I was eleven, to Highlights Magazine. This was a poem of which I was particularly proud concerning the Oklahoma Land Run. They turned me down. Yes, that was my first rejection letter. Over the next twenty years, I collected over 400 more of them. No, I'm not exaggerating. I still have them. Every last one. There was a reason, I realize now, why all those compositions were being rejected. They weren't very good. But they improved over time. I didn't know it, but during the entire torturous process of submission and rejection, I was learning how to write.
I finally had my first novel published (by Ballantine, a division of Random House) when I was thirty-one. To some, this may seem an early age to publish, but if you clock it from my first rejection, it took twenty years. That was a great year--my first son, Harry, was born in August, and my first book, Primary Justice, was born in December. The book surprised everyone and the follow-up did even better and before I even realized it I had accomplished my goal--I was a real honest-to-gosh writer. I've been writing ever since. I've written more than twenty novels, edited two anthologies, done two books for children, and published numerous stories, essays, puzzles, and poems. I have three children now, and this job allows me to be present when they come home from school and available when they need me during the day, which is a blessing I could not have anticipated back when I was a seven-year old gazing dreamily at author photos on dust jackets, wishing I could see myself there.
My goals for the future are to continue to learn, to grow, to find new ways of doing my work and doing it better. I think the current interest in thrillers provides a marvelous opportunity to spin bigger and more exciting stories. I've learned that I enjoy teaching, which has led to the William Bernhardt Writing Programs and The Fundamentals of Fiction DVDs, as well as many speaking and teaching engagements throughout the year. My interest in mentoring aspiring writers led me to start the Small-Group Seminars and Master Classes, which allow me to teach my favorite subject all across the nation. And in my personal life, my goal is I to be the best parent possible to Harry, Alice, and Ralph, and the best possible partner to my wife, Marcia. I'm very excited about the future--my personal life with these extraordinary people, and my professional life, creating new stories for you wonderful people who still understand the importance of storytelling and the written word. ------- William Bernhardt is the author of more than twenty novels, including Primary Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, Death Row, Capitol Murder, Capitol Threat, Capitol Conspiracy, and Nemesis. He is one of fewer than a dozen recipients of the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." He is also one of the country's most popular writing instructors, teaching at various conferences throughout the year. A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Marcia, and their children.
NATURAL SUSPECT is a roller coaster ride on the noir side which alternately keeps you glued to your chair while its amazingly cohesive plot unreels and hanging on for dear life to keep from rolling on the floor with laughter. Mavened by master of suspense William Bernhardt, this delightful whodunnit-and-why? thriller combines his own talents with those of eleven other top writers in the genre round-robin fashion...each in turn adding hir own unique touch to whatever has gone before...and moves hilariously from twist to turn as we follow the trail of a cunning killer down one blind alley after another to the novel's absolutely logical denouement. There's simply no way to capsulize the plotline since what Bernhardt begins as a dysfunctional family saga...mega-millionaire Daddy Hightower, after threatening to disinherit his entire wacky family, has been found dead in the deep freeze...speedily develops a life of its own as a hoot-and-a-half pastiche where all the gimmicks and stock characters appropriate to the genre (from the hard-boiled gumshoe to amateur-detective-wins-out with overtones of international espionage plus Hitchcock's classic McGuffin in the form of a rabbit) are brilliantly satirized, limited only by the imaginations of the individual writers and the reader's willingness to accept their premises. What fun! its authors must have had playing Can-You-Top-This? and their pleasure is thoroughly contagious. As a reader, I found myself mentally rubbing my hands in glee to see what would/could happen next under the now-given circumstances. What is perhaps most unusual of all about this surprisingly compelling exercise in suspense is just how well the whole story hangs together without ever violating our willingness to suspend disbelief. These folks really know their business, and I'd call NATURAL SUSPECT a "natural" wonder and a definite must-read for fans of the genre.
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William Bernhardt leads of this novel with the first chapter, in a collaborative work of fiction sure to entertain. The uniqueness lies in the fact that each of the authors didnt know the storyline until it was his/her turn to write a chapter. When the author is finished with his/her chapter, he sends it on to the next. The end result is a fun and entertaining mystery written by some very talented writers (see above). The novel was written more for fun and should be read with this in mind. If you want a quick and entertaining read that has a lot of humor and surprises, this is it.
Recommended for all mystery lovers with a flair for fun.
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After all the rave reviews, I couldn't wait to start this book. What a disappointment it was. I found the characters shallow and totally unlikeable, the plot impossible to follow, and in general....just a boring book. I read to the end but now I don't know why I bothered.
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First Sentence:
A time when families all across the country spend quality time together-breaking bread, acknowledging how important they are to one another, sharing secrets. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Arthur Hightower, Joe Kellogg, Julia Hightower, Trent Ballard, Patrick Roswell, Robert Rutledge, New York, Sweeney Hotel, Long Island, Morgan Hightower, Hightower Oil, Starry Night, East River, Marilyn Hightower, Silver Girl, Henry Cloutier, Jack Powell, Wall Street, Devin Gail, John Whitechapel, Commodore Marina, Detective Guttman, Foot Locker, Hammer Crain, Julia Conners Hightower
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