Witness to the Truth [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul Lindsay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

In 1992, FBI agent Paul Lindsay received commendation and a $600 incentive award from FBI director William Sessions for helping spearhead the capture of serial killer Benjamin Atkins. After writing this novel, Paul Lindsay -- a twenty-year veteran of the FBI -- became the victim of a vicious backlash. The Bureau threatened to fire Lindsay for insubordination, claiming he violated a company ban on accepting outside income. Was that the case? Or did Lindsay expose too much about an agency that likes to remain in the shadows?

Special Agent Mike Devlin is an exception to the FBI rule book. But when one too many unorthodox arrests gets him wiretap duty, Devlin gets an explosive earful: a traitor in the ranks is selling out the FBI's informants to the Mob. Yet closer to home, a fellow agent's daughter has been kidnapped, and a serial killer is the prime suspect. Now Devlin must put his career and his life in the cross-hairs of the Mafia and a maniac. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this debut novel, FBI agent Lindsay puts the heat on the agency's bosses in a no-holds-barred romp through high-crime Detroit. Special agent Mike Devlin sidesteps Bureau policy--as usual--by singlehandedly nailing a fugitive killer. Enraged at missing a photo-op (and a chance for quick career advancement), Devlin's superiors "reward" him with night-shift wiretap duty plus the burden of training a new agent. Both punishments backfire: novice Edgar Livingston, a black man straight from Devlin's mold, proves an instant ally against the self-serving bureaucrats; and the wiretap on the Pantatelli family reveals that an agent is selling the FBI's Detroit snitch list to the Mafia. When the bosses further enrage Devlin by refusing to declare one of their own agent's daughters as missing (for fear of bad press), he gathers a team of agents whom he and Livingston can trust to nail the Mafia contact and trace the missing girl. Lindsay's riotous style fuels a hard-driving narrative, and his insider knowledge gives the quirky plot twists welcome credibility. He manages to skewer stuffed-shirt bureaucrats while shining the badge of the dedicated agent right up to the perfect ending. Major ad/promo; film rights to Hollywood Pictures; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Special Agent Mike Devlin is in hot water. His bruising get-results style doesn't go well with the bureaucratic administrators of the "new" FBI. So when Devlin evades orders to bust a drug dealer, he's exiled to late-night wiretap duty. He hears a Mafia big shot make arrangements to buy a list of the FBI informants in the Detroit area, confirming a rumor about a mole already denied by his superiors. Assembling a crew of fellow malcontents, Devlin launches his own covert operation, at the same time secretly investigating the possible kidnapping of another agent's daughter. Written by an FBI agent, this has all the gritty procedural details of a Joseph Wambaugh novel, although the author lacks Wambaugh's ability to bring his characters to sympathetic life. But this isn't a novel to read for characterization; its gripping plot grabs you early on and won't let go. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/92.
-Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449147940
• ISBN-13: 978-0449147948
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,133,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All the Reviewers are Right!, December 15, 2001

By 

JD Schaefer (San Rafael, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witness to the Truth (Audio Cassette)

This is the first time I agreed with all the reviewers, whether they panned the book or loved it. No it wasn't well written, the bad guys aren't all going to grovel in front of the FBI, the rookie black agent and his romance are not well addressed, the black characters are either all good or all bad, all characters are pretty stereotypical with the good guys idealized and the bad guys demonized. and yes the plot is more like a series of vignettes that tie together too neatly at the end.

But so what? This is a fun book. It wasn't meant to be the Bard. The characters in the trenches are likeable and the witticisms are often hilarious (they almost steal the book). The FBI doesn't get a lot of respect these days and no wonder since the general impression is the administrators care more about improving their careers than removing crime and in so doing, all too often forget good case solving technique and procedure. However this book gives hope to those of us who want to have good feelings about the FBI, that there are those agents who believe in what they're doing, not solely about career advancement.

This book stayed with me a little longer than the typical 3 books a week that I normally read. I've read Paul Lindsay's subsequent books and they're an improvement over this book in terms of character and plot development. If you like this book, then you should get the rest of them. I've asked Amazon to notify me when his next book is out.

P.S. I hope the former FBI agnt who reviewed this book (and gave it a positive review and whose reviews of other books I enjoyed), had a spell check feature on his computer when he wrote reports in his capacity as an FBI agent.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it, May 6, 2000

By 

Michael - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witness to the Truth (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was enjoyable. Don't go into it thinking it is Shakespere it is not. It is a great action book that keeps you guessing....

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars True to life and very authantic, June 26, 2000

By 

Sam McNeal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witness to the Truth (Mass Market Paperback)

As a former FBI agent i enjoy reading authors perspectives on the FBI. Lindsay, also former FBI, spent alot of time developing characters and procedural drama. I found the book to be entertaining and very authantic, made me remember what it was like to work for the Bureua. Also entertaining was Lindsays' portrail of the relationship between agents and management was much like the bureacracy i worked under.