The Whole Truth [Paperback]

James Scott Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008

At the age of five, Steve Conroy saw his seven-year-old brother kidnapped from the very bedroom they shared. His brother was never found. And the guilt of his silence that night has all but destroyed Steve's life. Now thirty years old with a failing law practice, Steve agrees to represent convicted criminal Johnny LaSalle, an arrangement sweetened by a lucrative retainer. It's not long until he discovers that this con man might just be his missing brother. Desperate for his final shot at redemption, Steve will do anything to find the truth. But Johnny knows far more than he's telling, and the secrets he keeps have deadly consequences. Now Steve must depend on an inexperienced law student whose faith seems to be his last chance at redemption from a corrupt world where one wrong move could be his last.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The scenes and characters jump off the page to create a startling, emotionally stirring story that's a bit dark and deliciously suspenseful." -- Romantic Times

From the Back Cover

At the age of five, Steve Conroy saw his seven-year-old brother kidnapped from the very bedroom they shared. His brother was never found. And the guilt of his silence that night has all but destroyed Steve’s life. Now thirty years old with a failing law practice, Steve agrees to represent convicted criminal Johnny LaSalle, an arrangement sweetened by a lucrative retainer. It’s not long until he discovers that this con man might just be his missing brother. Desperate for his final shot at redemption, Steve will do anything to find the truth. But Johnny knows far more than he’s telling, and the secrets he keeps have deadly consequences. Now Steve must depend on an inexperienced law student whose faith seems to be his last chance at redemption from a corrupt world where one wrong move could be his last. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; 1ST edition (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310269032
• ISBN-13: 978-0310269038
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JAMES SCOTT BELL is a bestselling and award winning suspense writer. He was the fiction columnist for Writer's Digest magazine and has written four popular books for the Writers Digest line: Plot & Structure, Revision & Self-Editing, The Art of War for Writers and Conflict & Suspense. Jim taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences in the United States, Canada and London. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver. He lives and writes in L.A. He blogs weekly at Kill Zone -- www.killzoneauthors.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...a worthy tome in the Bell catalogue!, February 3, 2008

By 

C.J. Darlington "Author of Thicker Than Blood... - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole Truth (Paperback)

Back in 2002, when young Elizabeth Smart was kidnaped out of her own bedroom window, the whole country felt the Utah family's pain. We could only imagine the guilt, anguish and complete helplessness her parents felt. But there was someone else I remember empathizing with even more: Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary Katherine. She'd been in the room when it happened. She'd waited to tell. What kind of guilt had SHE felt?

In James Scott Bell's latest legal thriller The Whole Truth we find out exactly what she could have felt. As a tender five-year-old boy, Steve Conroy watched his older brother Robert be abducted from the bedroom they shared. And just like Mary Katherine, Steve didn't tell. How could he? The man threatened to kill them both if he did. There was no way for Steve to know those first three hours are the most crucial in abduction cases. But unlike the Smart case where Elizabeth was returned to her family, Robert never came home.

Now thirty and a struggling lawyer, Steve Conroy has tried to get on with this life. But his Dad never did forgive him and eventually committed suicide. His mother died a few years later, and Steve's experiences in the foster care system certainly didn't help him heal. It was no surprise he eventually turned to drugs to rid himself of the guilt.

Those days are over, and Steve's determined to better himself and live life clean and sober. Except things never seem to go right for him. His wife's filed for divorce, and he can barely afford the rent of his shabby law office. Paying clients are few and far between.

Then a law student named Sienna shows up on his office doorstep. Not only does she skillfully ward off his landlord's demands and buy him more time, but she fields a call from a prisoner named Johnny LaSalle who wants Steve to represent him. For ten thousand dollars. It's an offer Steve isn't about to refuse. Only Johnny turns out to be far more than he expected. How does the man know so many intimate things about him? Is he just an expert con, or could Johnny LaSalle really be his long-lost, dead brother?

James Scott Bell takes this intriguing what-if concept and weaves it into yet another page-turning, redemptive thriller. Chapter after chapter we're perplexed and confused right alongside Steve. We feel for him each time he's kicked to the dirt. We root for the guy when he slowly rises from the ashes. We gasp when a twist hits Steve, and us, between the eyes.

Bell's novels have taken a darker turn these days, but The Whole Truth returns him to his roots. There's more light here than in No Legal Grounds, something I welcome. Sienna's open faith gives Steve, and the reader, much to ponder. The most interesting exchanges spiritually come as Steve is challenged by a religious cult leader who spouts Scripture left and right, yet manages to twist each verse to further his own desires. Even someone like Steve who's avoided God and religion recognizes the deception. It's an eye-opening perspective to see how innocent people can so easily be swept up in a man's charisma.

The Whole Truth is a worthy tome in the Bell catalogue, cementing its place on our shelves right alongside John Grisham and Randy Singer.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real page-turner, January 9, 2008

By 

Richard Mabry "author, retired physician" (Frisco, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole Truth (Paperback)

James Scott Bell presents us with a flawed hero who's doing his best to overcome the trauma of a childhood episode, a marriage in the last stages of dissolution, and an adult cocaine addiction while hanging on to his law practice with his fingertips. Just when we think things can't get worse for the protagonist, Bell tightens the screws. And in case you're one of those readers who like to guess what's going to happen...you'll be wrong, again and again. I found myself unable to put this one down, promising to turn out the light after "just one more chapter." Like the cocaine that keeps calling to the hero, this tale is addicting.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cinema on the pages of a book, January 20, 2008

By 

Ane Mulligan "V.P./Sr. Editor, Novel Rocket" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Whole Truth (Paperback)

You can depend on Bell throwing more curves at you than a major league pitcher. Steve Conroy, a gritty character battling addiction, seized my allegiance on page one. I continued turning page after page, wooed on by the story. Then Bell, a master at plotting, caught me totally off guard with a twist quickly followed by another. You'll never know the ending of a James Scott Bell novel until you get there.

A cinema on the pages of a book is the best description for The Whole Truth. Bell's artistry with words will hold you captive till the last page. I give this book a high recommendation.