The Good Lawyer: A Novel [Kindle Edition]

Thomas Benigno (Author)

Book Description

#1 BESTSELLING LEGAL THRILLER ON AMAZON

AMAZON BESTSELLER IN THRILLERS
AMAZON BESTSELLER IN MYSTERY & THRILLERS
AMAZON BESTSELLER IN FICTION
AMAZON BESTSELLER IN GENRE FICTION
AMAZON BESTSELLER IN LITERATURE & FICTION
TOP 10 SUMMER THRILLER FOR 2012

INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY A young, ambitious lawyer is eager to prove he is better than the father who abandoned him and worthy of the devoted mother who raised him beyond the siren call of the mobster dominated family he grew up in. Working as a Bronx Legal Aid Attorney he learns how to twist the system, how to become an unbeatable defense lawyer, and he is peacock proud of his perfect record-not a single conviction. But it's 1982. The Spiderman rapist is on the loose and New York City is a city in fear. When an outraged rape victim commits suicide right before his eyes, searching for absolution, he grabs the headline case of a teacher's aide accused of molesting three students. Armed with a firm belief in his client's innocence, he knocks the pegs out from under the prosecution's case. When one of the children turns up dead, he discovers that his client may be strangely connected to the Spiderman. Digging deeper, horrifying revelations about his family's past collide with the true identity of the sadistic sociopath behind the Spiderman's rampage. In the process, this good lawyer comes face-to-face with his greatest conflict and deepest fear: to win, really win-save the city and even the woman he loves-must he sacrifice every principle he believes in and embrace his family's mafia past to become judge, jury, and executioner?

Editorial Reviews

Review

• #2 BEST KINDLE LEGAL THRILLER OF 2012!
• TOP 20 BEST AMAZON EBOOKS OF 2012!
• KIRKUS BOOK REVIEW Benigno's first effort is a crafty legal page-turner, just as good in the courtroom as it is outside...Benigno fortifies his lead character with problems that his law degree can't fix. Readers who like their courtroom thrillers packed with lawyer-speak and zigzagging plot developments should find much to savor.
• BOOKSPOT.COM REVIEW (STARRED REVIEW)by Chris Algernon 5/6/12 ...The Good Lawyer delivers a genuinely audacious twist that is both effective and very powerful. It's testament to Thomas Benigno's writing that The Good Lawyer remains believable throughout...Benigno creates a sympathetic (if at times slightly naive) protagonist...The twist is a good one, being neither easily guessable or outlandishly absurd. By the end of the novel, there's a sense of something really epic (on a human scale) unfolding. The Good Lawyer...rapidly picks up speed...on the way to a climax that will likely remain in the minds of most readers for quite some time.
• MEN READING BOOKS BLOGSPOT.COM REVIEW
Benigno's mastery comes through in introducing and developing character after character and weaving them into a complex and totally believable story that connects them all together in the end. Seemingly incidental subplots some from years earlier tie back to the main plot in surprising yet meaningful ways. Some are easily guessed, others catch you by total surprise...The setting too is inspiring and nostalgic ...a flash back to simpler times...plus Nick drove a 1966 Chevy Malibu... awesome. I hope we hear more from Thomas Benigno.

From the Author

TOP 20 AMAZON'S BEST EBOOKS OF 2012!

#2 BEST KINDLE LEGAL THRILLER OF 2012!

WHY I WROTE THE GOOD LAWYER
BY THOMAS BENIGNO "As a Legal Aid Attorney in the South Bronx in 1982, I handled the grittiest of cases. These cases didn't just include the run-of-the-mill burglaries and robberies or drug deals at a time when miles of square blocks there were leveled to rubble and burnt out buildings seemed to be everywhere. There were much more horrible crimes there. And I was...... defender of all of it.
But this is not why I became a lawyer. I wanted to do some good--help the innocent, give the guilty poor a second chance-a chance for a better life outside of prison.
I graduated in the top 11% of my law school class. Tried a case in my 3rd year and won. Took the job at Legal Aid in the Bronx to hone my skills for a few years prior to entering private practice. There were high hopes for me. I started out on fire, getting more cases dismissed in Criminal Court than just about anyone. I was cocky, a bit arrogant. I had the makings of one damn good trial lawyer. For my age, I was convinced there was no one better. I had also fallen in love. Didn't think I needed to study for the bar. Then I flunked. When I did pass I was on a mission to prove myself. Failing was humiliating. So I took on the most difficult of cases intent on winning at almost any cost. And I did win, time and again. Rapists, child molesters and drug dealers were freed, and all my doing. Finally, I couldn't take it any more, accolades and all. I was a young man drowning in the conscience of my own success.
This was not the boy my Mom raised me to be. She purposely kept me away from my mob connected relatives who were now dropping like flies in burnt out Cadillacs and after hour joints, winding up charred remains of flesh, stuffed in garbage cans, wrapped in plastic.
Then a case came through the system. Headlines. No prior arrest record. Horrible crime. He could be innocent.
This is why I became a lawyer- to champion for the innocent man.
And so life set me up for the greatest fall ever. Years later I couldn't shake what I had done, so I wrote it down. The original title of my novel was "The Confession." Then Grisham came out with it. So why not then..."The Good Lawyer."
A fictional account--the names changed to protect the innocent. My name on the cover remains the same.

Don't hesitate to give the author feedback after or even during your read of "The Good Lawyer" at: [e-mail].
Website: facebook.com/TheGoodLawyer

Book clubs don't hesitate to email the author at [e-mail] for an appointed video conference with your club anywhere in the world, or an in-person talk in and around the New York City, Long Island or Westchester areas.
Thank you in advance for your interest.
Thomas Benigno

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 514 KB
• Print Length: 338 pages
• Publisher: Landview Books; 1 edition (March 14, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007OWO0YE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #843 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #12 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Legal
  • #12 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Legal
  • #77 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Suspense

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

176 of 190 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I ever read! March 20, 2012

By BookReader2222

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

i admit never hearing of this author but came across this book while searching on amazon. i do this from time when i either have read all of the mainstream authors or simply get bored of them. The outcome is not always favorable but every now and then you strike gold. As with this book. The title of the book is what made me look further since i did not know what a good lawyer was, especially a defense lawyer! Turns out I found myself rooting and cheering for him as the book progressed. This is a terrific story written with a fresh and unforced prospective. Thomas Benigno may not be very well known...but he will be. Read this book.

79 of 86 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A very good read May 8, 2012

By JenP

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book. For some reason, I knew from the beginning who the Spiderman rapist would be, but it didn't dilute the fun of reading the book, because it took some twists. I liked that it was set in the early 80's when surveillance cameras and cell phones were non-existent. Those times required a lot more true detective work.

I did get a bit bogged down in who was who, sometimes. There were a lot of side characters - attorneys, criminals, family, friends...past and present - all with names. "Now who is Ventura? Who is Ryan? Who is Tedeschi? Who is Charley? Who is Joey? Who is Farkas? Who is..."

One last point - the author needs a better editor. There were some spelling errors.

58 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Lawyer a GREAT Read This Weekend April 23, 2012

By Fred

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this true-to-life tale which I couldn't put down over the rainy weekend. Whether you are a "Good Lawyer", or know one, or wish you had access to one, Benigno's fast read is for anyone who's ever pursued a passion through its ups and downs, and twists and turns.

More About the Author

"This one scared the briefs off me. Make room Grisham, legal suspense fiction has a new senior partner..."-Mike Shain, The New York Post

"Gritty and true-to-life; a can't-put-down-read."-Gil Clancy, commentator CBS, HBO, MSG Network

"Tom Benigno, blends his knowledge and experiences as a trial lawyer with a hardhitting, literary style with THE GOOD LAWYER."-Ron Ross, author of Bummy Davis vs. Murder, Inc.

THE GOOD LAWYER IS INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY...
Thomas Benigno is a practicing attorney on Long Island, N. Y. After graduating Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan in 1979, at the behest of his Criminal Law Clinic Professor, Barry Scheck (who later obtained fame for representing O. J. Simpson) he was fast-tracked to a position as Associate Attorney with the New York City Legal Aid Society in the Bronx. While there he sought out and tackled the grittiest of cases, even representing the infamous Spiderman Rapist. If you ask him why he repeatedly took on the defense of child molesters and rapists, he'll sound off two reasons: 1) no other attorney would take these cases, and 2) he was young and out to prove himself. The year before he left Legal Aid to go into private practice he was featured in a two page spread in the New York City Legal Aid Society's Annual Report for his success in winning what seemed like an unwinnable case-a teacher's aide charged with molesting three of his students. At a party held in his honor he was handed a beautiful plaque commemorating his court victory-a plaque he never hung up or put on display ever. Two years later he left Legal Aid, and within eighteen months after that, left the practice of criminal law behind forever having never lost a trial. Currently he practices real estate and business law, enjoys acting in staged productions on Long Island, appeared as an actor in two movies, one an award winning short film, and even produced (along with others) a Broadway show (Burn the Floor and its U.S. tour). He is married to the same beautiful woman since shortly after graduating law school and has three adult children. THE GOOD LAWYER is a novel inspired by real events while he was working as a Legal Aid Attorney in the Bronx.