Persuasive Evidence [Mass Market Paperback]

R. Barri Flowers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2004

It is five years before the millennium and Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Jordan La Fontaine is in line to be the next Chief of the Homicide Division Bureau. But Jordan's world turns upside down when her teenage son is accused of a double homicide and her competition for the post, Jerrod Wresler, is assigned to prosecute the case. She enlists the services of Simon McNeil, her late husband's law partner, to defend him.

At the same time, Jordan is preparing to try a decorated Portland police detective, Graham Turner, accused of viciously murdering his ex-wife. Causing Jordan further grief is Turner's hardnosed partner, Detective Harry Coleman, who will stop at nothing to prove his innocence.

As Jordan moves back and forth between the two tough cases and deals with issues in her personal life, she must use all her resources to clear her son's name and convict a cop of murder.

PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE is the first in an exciting new legal crime series from the bestselling author of STATE'S EVIDENCE and JUSTICE SERVED.

PRAISE FOR PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE:

"Interesting "whodunit" that kept me guessing until the end...found the story to be quite engaging with all around solid pacing, plot and delivery." -- APOOO BookClub

"An absorbing legal thriller... Flowers' forte lies in the vivid well-developed characters he creates. The interactions of his characters and the conflicts that arise serve to make the story a compelling page-turner." -- Romance in Color

"All the elements of a great mystery book, suspicions, red herrings, evidence and witnesses. If you are into mysteries, this would be the book for you." -- Romance Review

"A story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.... A page turning story I couldn't put down." -- Romance Junkies


PRAISE FOR OTHER LEGAL AND THRILLER FICTION BY R. BARRI FLOWERS:

"Flowers once again has written a page-turner legal thriller that begins with a bang and rapidly moves along to its final page. He has filled the novel with believable characters and situations." -- Midwest Book Review on STATE'S EVIDENCE

"An electrifying and enthralling legal thriller that will appeal to readers of Nancy Taylor Rosenberg and Barbara Parker. The courtroom scenes are very realistic and the heroine is someone readers will empathize with and admire as a role model for minorities and women." -- Harriet Klausner on STATE'S EVIDENCE

"Justice Served is a model of crime fiction.... Flowers may be a new voice in modern mystery writing, but he is already one of its best voices." -- Statesman Journal on JUSTICE SERVED

"A clever mystery with many suspects.... Vividly written, this book holds the reader's attention and speeds along." -- Romantic Times on JUSTICE SERVED

"A masterful thriller set in the dark underbelly of Maui, with lots of fine action, down and dirty characters, and the vivid details of police procedure. A terrific read!" -- Douglas Preston, co-creator of the bestselling Pendergast series of novels on MURDER IN MAUI.

" Gripping writing, wonderfully rounded characters you really care about, and vivid locations...this novel is a real and rare treat." -- Peter James, bestselling author of Dead Simple on MURDER IN MAUI

"A steamy, non-stop thrill-ride through the seamy underbelly of Hawaii." -- Allison Leotta, federal sex crimes prosecutor and author of Law of Attraction on MURDER IN MAUI

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Compelling detective mystery." --The Best Reviews

"A superb legal thriller." --Midwest Book Review

"Raw, primal, thrilling, incredible--one of the best books that I have read. I was completely riveted from the first page." --Romance Reader at Heart

It has all the aspects of a perfect mystery, and thankfully, it isn't so predictable you figure out what's going on." --RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

"An excellent look at the jurisprudence system...will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein." --Harriet Klausner --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

From the Author

Good day to my fans:
 
PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE was my first bestselling legal thriller and I am happy to be able to bring it back to life as an eBook for a new generation of readers to enjoy.
 
The story begins five years before the millennium with the protagonist, Jordan La Fontaine, a deputy district attorney, forced to try and prove her son's innocence of a double homicide while also trying to convict a decorated police detective of murdering his wife.
 
An interesting set of dynamics here where Jordan's professional and personal lives merge with a heart pounding conclusion.
 
See YouTube Video as I discuss further, PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE:

youtube.com/watch?v=KvnGCteVjHs

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing this book.

I also recommend that you read my other legal thrillers now in Kindle, STATE'S EVIDENCE and JUSTICE SERVED; as well as other eBook mysteries and thrillers, KILLER IN THE WOODS, MURDER IN MAUI, and DEAD IN THE ROSE CITY.My young adult mysteries in eBook and print include DANGER IN TIME and GHOST GIRL IN SHADOW BAY.
 
If you like true crime, I suggest you try my bestselling book, THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS, now in Kindle for first time.
 
Keep up with my upcoming books on my pages in Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, CrimeSpace, and [e-mail]
 
Happy reading!
 
Best,
 
R. Barri Flowers --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (October 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843954698
• ISBN-13: 978-0843954692
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,623,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

R. Barri Flowers is an award winning, bestselling author of mystery, thriller, suspense, and romance novels, along with true crime and criminology books, and short fiction. His novels include a brand new eBook private eye mystery, DEAD IN THE ROSE CITY. There is also a print edition available of this title.

Thrillers by the author include, STATE'S EVIDENCE, JUSTICE SERVED, and PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE. Flowers is the editor of the American Crime Writers League mystery anthology, MURDER PAST, MURDER PRESENT and has a noir tale, "The Wrong End of a Gun," in SEATTLE NOIR.

As a nonfiction crime writer, the author's latest book titles include PROSTITUTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE, STREET KIDS, COLLEGE CRIME, and FEMALE CRIME, CRIMINALS AND CELLMATES.

Under the pseudonym, Devon Vaughn Archer, the author has also penned several bestselling mainstream and romance novels, including THE SECRETS OF PARADISE BAY, CHRISTMAS DIAMONDS, KISSING THE MAN NEXT DOOR, DESTINED TO MEET, CHRISTMAS HEAT, and LOVE ONCE AGAIN.

Visit R. Barri's websites at:

http://www.rbarriflowers.com

http://www.devonvaughnarcher.com

Connect with the author on CrimeSpace, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb legal thriller, September 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Persuasive Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

Assistant District Attorneys Jordan La Fontaine and Jerrod Wresler compete for the position of Chief, Homicide Division Bureau, but the former believes being a black female works against her while the latter believes that gives her an edge. Jordan currently works the case of a Portland homicide detective killing his former wife. If she gets a conviction she has the promotion. This is an open and shut case because the police officer was found in his ex-spouse's bedroom covered in blood and holding the murder weapon.

Jordan's son Trevor is charged with killing two acquaintances. The police have not found the murder weapon, but have an eyewitness who claims seeing the suspect leave the crime scene and a victim's blood is on Trevor's clothing. Others claim he had a fight with one of the dead victims and said the guy was going to die. Defending Trevor in what also appears to be an open and shut case is Simon, former partner of the suspect's dead father and his mother's lover. Unable to remain on the sidelines, Jordan conducts her own sleuthing independent of the official investigation.

R. Barri Flowers has written a superb legal thriller that offers the reader an excellent look at the jurisprudence system and how race is a key card. Jordan received the cop case because she and the detective are black; the victim being white apparently is irrelevant. What is interesting is how concealed the race element is yet how significant it effects all aspects of the legal system, but is kept silent for fear of reprisal. PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE will appeal to fans of John Grisham and Linda Fairstein.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars spellbinding thriller, January 11, 2005

By 

Jasmeen Raj "Rajini" (Davison Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persuasive Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

Recently I began reading R.Barri Flowers novels.
Persuasive Evidence has a very descriptive style. Reading it was like watching a movie. The story is very exciting and the vocabulary great. I could not guess who the killer was. It really shocked me when I found who he was at the end. I was at the edge of my seat. It was interesting seeing the attorney going through different emotions and suspicions. Her own son is charged with murder and she is trying the case of a homicide detective who is charged with murder. She is a single mom raising two kids and trying to enhance her career and take care of her love life. It is brilliant how the writer brings everything together at the end. I really enjoyed the story and bought 9 copies for friends. I will be ordering more.
I read this book on a plane to Australia. It really helped with the long boring flight. The book was sweet at times with romance and normal day stuff and the story is written about anybody's next door neighbor.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who Dunnit?, November 4, 2004

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Persuasive Evidence (Mass Market Paperback)

After the death of her husband, Assistant District Attorney Jordan La Fontaine has immersed herself in her work and is slowly losing touch with her teenage children Trevor and Kendre. She's set on getting promoted to the Chief of Homicide for the Bureau, but keeps running up against obstacles that may cost her the position. Just when things seem to be going well for her, both chaos and love hit her radar.

First, she finds love in an unexpected place -- in the arms of her late husband's partner and friend, Simon McNeil. Simon has taken over the company he shared with her husband and comes to her rescue when Trevor is arrested and charged with killing fellow students. She also takes on a major case in which a cop is accused of killing and mutilating his ex-wife - a case that will determine whether or not she will be passed over yet again for promotion. To make matters worse, her archenemy is the lawyer assigned to convict her son. Things start out looking one way with both of the cases, but the evidence persuades those involved to look another way.

R. Barri Flowers lets it all hang out in this fast paced mystery. It has all the aspects of a perfect mystery, and thankfully, it isn't so predictable you figure out what's going on. Instead, you're not quite sure what's what and who's who (and in a good way). One thing for sure, this novel had me completely caught up, making my own assumptions of what was going on and also anxiously reading from page to page. While I wasn't too thrilled with the relationship Jordan had with Simon, I did enjoy seeing that side of her life. I also enjoyed how Flowers adds in the race factor to the legal proceedings and the two trials and how it was played out for the reader. It was great seeing a female ADA handle things both personally and professionally. I liked Jordan La Fontaine's character and would love to see her on the big screen. (RAW Rating: 4.5)

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers