Proof of Intent: A Charley Sloan Courtroom Thriller [Hardcover]

William J. Coughlin (Author), Walter Sorrells (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Okay, so your client is a liar. Does that make him a murderer?

In the dark hours of morning, Charley Sloan arrives at the palatial home of Miles Dane, celebrated novelist from the Detroit suburb of Pickeral Point, to find Dane's wife murdered in their bed.

Dane tells Charley he was downstairs working. Heard nothing, saw nothing.

The police arrive. Dane tells his story again. Only, this time there's a mysterious intruder fleeing down the hallway, with Dane in pursuit.

Miles Dane became a famous writer because he had a wild and violent imagination. But now that imagination seems to be getting him in trouble. The more he talks to the police, the crazier his story sounds. Is he making things up because that's just what he does? Or is it because he has something to hide?

Once the cops uncover physical evidence linking Dane to the crime, they're sure they know the answer. Dane is charged with murder.

Charley Sloan has his work cut out for him. How do you protect and represent a client who seems to be his own worst enemy?

Miles Dane's wild thoughts continue to dog him as the evidence rolls in. The police soon suspect that he had planned this crime many years ago. And made the mistake of writing it all down. In exact detail.

Was it a plan of action or just another of Miles Dane's strange fantasies? At first Charley can't help but think that Miles killed his wife. But as he begins conducting his own investigation into the case, Charley comes to believe that Miles his client has been framed. And that the real killer is using Dane's own bizarre imagination against him.

But if that's true, why doesn't Dane speak up?

Charley thinks he knows why. Dane has something to hide. Something from his past. Something shameful.

Charley understands shame. A recovering alcoholic with a string of wrecked marriages behind him, he has his own dark past. Charley has long been separated from his daughter Lisa, a law student and recovering alcoholic, who now joins the hard-pressed legal team. Will the case bring father and daughter together or drive them apart?

The trial begins and still it's unclear where Miles Dane's wild imaginings stop and reality begins. Or whether he is committing the ultimate sacrifice in order to atone for something he did long ago.

Only in the crucible of the final, fevered moments of trial will Charley finally put the pieces together. And reveal the stunning truth.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

William Coughlin's series character Charley Sloan gets a second lease on life in this new thriller that carries the small-town Michigan lawyer into murder and mayhem; vintage heroes never die, even if their creators do, and Walter Sorrells, a talented writer whose mysteries plow much of the same ground, carries on Coughlin's series with a nifty setup--a bestselling crime writer fallen on hard times who's accused of murdering his wife in a plot taken from one of his own books. Miles Dane may get away with murder unless Charley can prove he's been set up by the man who may--or may not--be his long-lost son. This is a solid legal thriller that will delight the late Coughlin's fans who've wondered what happened to Charley and what's still happening in picturesque Pickeral Point. Long may the franchise wave! --Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

Sorrells (Cry for Justice) takes one of the more endearing fictional lawyers from the 1980s and early 1990s, the late Coughlin's Charley Sloan, and puts him back in court with the same clever, bombastic style that Coughlin perfected in a string of successful Sloan novels (Shadow of a Doubt; The Judgement, etc.) before his death in 1993. Sloan, the thrice-divorced, formerly hard-drinking defense attorney from suburban Detroit, finds himself working for a particularly difficult client. Miles Dane, a thriller writer of fading popularity, stands accused of beating his wife to death. Dane insists he didn't commit the murder, but his implausible story of a late-night intruder strikes Sloan as a defense he would rather not take into court. Dane alludes to another version of events that would completely clear him, but he won't tell Sloan what it is. As the media frenzy over the trial of the enigmatic writer intensifies, Sloan has no option but to begin digging into Dane's personal life. What he finds-the dead wife's enormous trust fund, a son kept secret from the public for nearly 30 years, a brood of in-laws who viciously ostracized Dane-gives Sloan enough ammunition to keep the courtroom fireworks at full blaze. Sorrells does a credible job of maintaining Coughlin's breezy voice. He also gives Sloan a worthy sidekick: his daughter, Lisa, a law student who shares his aggressive approach to criminal defense, as well as his taste for liquor. The plot bogs down somewhat as Dane's trial starts, with many witnesses repeating what readers already know, yet Sorrells rallies down the stretch and adds a sly clincher at the end.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312280661
• ISBN-13: 978-0312280666
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,160,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly written, criminal defense novel, December 25, 2002

By 

Scott G. Beckley (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Proof of Intent: A Charley Sloan Courtroom Thriller (Hardcover)

This is a superbly written novel by two authors, William Coughlin and Walter Sorrells, where I have not had prior exposure to their writings. I do not proffer 5-star ratings unless the novel meets a few personal criteria:

1. Challenging, great command of English language, diction, and syntax.
2. Depth of main and supporting characters coupled with an engaging story line.
(Nowadays, notice how authors introduce too many minor characters that don't deliver substance to the novel?)
3. Logical and twisting plot. Suspenseful and thrilling.

Proof of Intent exceeded my expectations and is a fabulously written criminal defense novel. The main characters are richly developed and the minor characters have enough character-descriptions to identify with them lucidly. Recently, this is one of the best fictional books that I have read. I look forward to read additional books by these authors. This is a "must-read" for the spellbound enthusiast, who enjoys courtroom drama to its finality. Enjoyable!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twists and turns abound in this entertaining legal thriller., February 16, 2003

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Proof of Intent: A Charley Sloan Courtroom Thriller (Hardcover)

William Coughlin has been dead for years, yet the books keep coming. His latest posthumous legal thriller is "Proof of Intent," written by Walter Sorrells. This novel brings back Charley Sloan, a slick criminal defense attorney who is a recovering alcoholic. Charley has a shaky relationship with his grown daughter, Lisa. She, like her father, is an alcoholic and she has recently dropped out of law school. While her father has remained sober for seven years, Lisa is having trouble staying on the wagon.

Charley and Lisa team up to defend Miles Dane, a writer of pulp fiction who is accused of bludgeoning his wife, Diane, to death. Miles claims that he worshipped Diane, and he would never think of harming her. Sloan faces a hostile judge, a skilled prosecuting attorney, and a mountain of circumstantial evidence that points to Miles Dane as the murderer. Charley and Lisa have their work cut out for them in this difficult case.

Sorrells does a creditable job of setting up the characters and making them believable. Charley is, as he has been in the past, sharp, funny, resourceful, and not above pulling shady courtroom stunts to help his client. His daughter, Lisa, is not fully fleshed out, but she is an intriguing character and I would like to see more of her.

The courtroom scenes in "Proof of Intent" are dramatic and suspenseful and the murder mystery is engrossing. The problem with this novel is the contrived ending, which seemed tacked on to "surprise" the reader. However, I still recommend "Proof of Intent," since it moves forward briskly and does what a legal thriller should do. Sorrells holds the reader's interest until the end and he does so with considerable style.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful look at triumphs and tribulations of Charley Sloan, November 24, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Proof of Intent: A Charley Sloan Courtroom Thriller (Hardcover)

Pickeral Point, Michigan has its share of famous people like defense attorney Charley Sloan and mystery writer Miles Dane. These two men become very acquainted on the night of Oct 21 when Miles calls Charley and tells him his wife Diana was murdered. When Charley arrives on the scene, he sees Diana beaten to death in her own bed and calls 911.

From the time the police arrive, Charlie knows that he is going to have an uphill battle on his hands. Diana was killed with one of Mile's weapons, the fingerprints on the weapon belong to the defendant, and Dane's clothes soaked with Diana's blood are found on a neighbor's boat. A lesser man would quit in face of such overwhelming evidence but Charley is the type of lawyer who likes to try to pull off the impossible.

Now deceased William J. Coughlin created the triumphs and tribulations of Charley Sloan. Upon the death of the award-winning author, Walter Sorrels, a fine mystery writer in his own right, has begun writing legal thrillers starring Charley. It is impossible to figure out without knowing the facts, which writer wrote the book. Mr. Sorrels has done an excellent job of staying true to the character with the courtroom scenes particularly are a study of excellence. Hopefully, Mr. Sorrels will write more Charley books in the future.

Harriet Klausner