Ties That Bind [Mass Market Paperback]

Phillip Margolin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2004

Phillip Margolin -- author of the smash New York Times bestsellers Wild Justice and Gone, But Not Forgotten -- returns with a thrilling tale of politics, secrets, and murder . . .

Amanda Jaffe was a rising star of Portland's legal community, until a run-in with a psychopath left her scared and craving anonymity. But her new case promises to keep her in the spotlight -- and in danger. Defending the accused murderer of a U.S. senator will place her and those she loves directly in the path of a deadly cabal with ambitions that extend all the way to the presidency of the United States . . .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Bestselling author Phillip Margolin brings back Portland lawyer Amanda Jaffe for a repeat performance (after Wild Justice) in this mystery about a group of college killers who grow into a cadre of powerful political and business leaders bent on keeping their boyhood adventures concealed--as well as their present-day connection with a gang of cutthroat South American drug lords. There's big biotech money involved, enough to keep the so-called Vaughn Street Glee Club intent on making sure anyone who knows about their plans is silenced. Permanently, if necessary. It's up to Amanda to unmask the reason why the Glee Club is so anxious for her client Jon Dupre, the accused killer of a U.S. senator, to go down for murder. And what she learns about the lengths to which they'll go to keep their secrets, including killing members of their own family, threatens her life as well. Margolin strings a clumsy plot on a weak thread--why three affluent college boys become killers is never adequately explained--and the heroine, whose dogged perseverance is admirable, is otherwise too boring to capture the reader's interest. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Murder and intricately plotted mayhem are abundant in this latest by attorney-turned-novelist Margolin (Wild Justice), which should satisfy the most discerning and bloodthirsty of legal literati. There's a huge cast of characters, but readers shouldn't get attached-most will end up dead. Oregon attorney Amanda Jaffe reluctantly agrees to defend Portland pimp and drug dealer Jon Dupre, accused of killing one of his high-end call girls. Since Dupre also murdered his previous lawyer in a fit of pique, defending him takes guts. Jaffe's opponent in the case is state's attorney Tim Harrigan. A handsome ex-football star, Harrigan intends to parlay this sensational trial into national prominence and election to the Senate. Unfortunately, Harrigan harbors a fatal weakness and a dark secret, both of which undermine his performance as prosecuting attorney and his ascension to high-level politics. Behind all this subterfuge lurks a covert club of prominent, fat-cat officials who secretly manipulate unsuspecting men and women into implementing the club's criminal master plan to elect one of their own to the U.S. presidency. It matters little that the premise is over-the-top and that most of the characterizations are familiar. Margolin's legal expertise and narrative skill keeps the plot twisting, the action rolling and readers precariously perched on the edge of their seats.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: HarperTorch (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060083255
• ISBN-13: 978-0060083250
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,005,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An author who always pleases, May 17, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Ties That Bind (Mass Market Paperback)

I just want to start of by saying that some people take writing a review a bit too seriously. When I read reviews on Amazon it is to get a feel for people's reaction to a book, either they loved or hated it. I am tired of reading detailed synopsis on books or of people criticizing the authors just because they did not like the book. Either you like or you hate a story. A quick overview of the book with an honest opinion is all that is needed.

With that said, I want to say that I loved this book. Philip Margolin is one of those authors who has yet to fail pleasing me. I buy his book without reading what it is about. This book is no exception. The story revolves around Amanda Jaffe, a lawyer who asked to represent a pimp who is accused of killing a US Senator. Amanda is a character from one of his previous books where she is kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer. This book not only gives us the usual twist and turns of a whodonit but it also focuses on how Amanda is learning to live with the traumatic experience of being tortured by a psycho. For anyone who has had something very bad happen to them, this book is good in describing the emotions of a person who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Good book, great ending, quick read....THE END!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Margolin does it again, April 3, 2005

By 

Dianna "Sullynation" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ties That Bind (Mass Market Paperback)

Margolin does it again. A great mystery/thriller with characters that were easy to care about and a story line that kept you guessing until the end. The plot was solid and the story fast paced.

A great read!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting conspiracy theory action, June 24, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ties That Bind (Mass Market Paperback)

Since she was kidnapped and tortured on an earlier case, lawyer Amanda Jaffe has lived with flashbacks and panic--to the point where she's considering abandoning her career in criminal law. Being a court-appointed attorney to a pimp accused of murdering a senator and his lawyer is close to Amanda's ultimate nightmare. But as she investigates, she starts to wonder if some horrible miscarriage of justice might not be taking place.

Prosecuting attorney Tim Kerrigan should be happy. He's got a beautiful wife, a wonderful daughter, a Heisman trophy, and a father and friends pushing him for more--like becoming U.S. Senator and eventually even President. Tim has a problem with his self-worth, but his powerful friends are willing to make accomodations--and push him as far as he wants to go. But first, he's got to secure what should be an easy conviction in a death penalty case. Of course, there is the little matter of the blackmailing prostitute.

As Tim and Amanda explore the case they share, each begins to learn that there are powerful currents hidden beneath the surface. Amanda picks up vague hints of some sort of cabel--the rich and powerful take care of themselves and others, and stop at nothing to preserve their power. They might even have sent a lawyer to kill his own client--the man who is now her client. But if they are that powerful and that willing to kill, is her own life safe--or has she stepped into her worst nightmare?

Author Phillip Margolin writes a fast-paced and tight thriller. Although the paperback version is four hundred pages long, I tore through the book in a single afternoon, devouring the story as quickly as I could. The powerful cabel, the fears of the primary protagonists, and their feeling of helplessness they learned that the cabel's reach is long indeed added power to the story. I did have some problems with the characters--both Amanda and especially Tim whined a bit much for my taste, but Margolin's powerful writing kept them from becoming completely unsympathetic. One horrible editing error--where Tim's wife first reports that Tim is alive and then claims that she doesn't know whether he is alive or not did jar me out of the story, but not for long.

If you like conspiracy-theory types of stories, you won't go wrong with TIES THAT BIND.