Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010036895 | PS3566.A67475 S89 2001 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000010036894 | PS3566.A67475 S89 2001 | Open Access Book | Creative Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Twelve years ago, the brutal murder of a young wife and mother rocked the quiet coastal town of Stuart, Florida-and a local troublemaker was sentenced to death for the crime. Now, new evidence has come to light, and Miami attorney Gail Conner agrees to take the case-against the wishes of her fianc , top criminal defense lawyer Anthony Quintana. One look at the trial transcript convinces Gail that her client was wrongfully convicted. But to save his life, she'll have to push the law to the breaking point.
Author Notes
Barbara Parker was born in Columbia, South Carolina on January 28, 1947. She studied drama at the University of South Florida. Before graduation she switched her major to history and then went to law school at the University of Miami. She worked as a prosecutor in the state attorney's office in Miami and then went into private practice. She also received a master's degree in creative writing from Florida International University (Miami).
Initially, she began writing stories for her son, but it soon became a hobby and eventually her new career. Her first mystery, Suspicion of Innocence, was published in 1994 and became a CBS Movie of the Week entitled Sisters and Other Strangers. She wrote 12 novels during her lifetime including Blood Relations, Criminal Justice, The Dark of Day, and the Suspicion series. She died on March 7, 2009 at the age of 62.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews 1
Publisher's Weekly Review
Once readers are pulled in by the intricate plot of Parker's eighth Gail Connor/Anthony Quintana legal thriller (after Suspicion of Innocence), they won't want to skip a word. The premise is simple enough: Gail is asked to take on the case of an old family friend's grandson, Kenny Ray Clark, who was convicted of the stabbing death of a housewife over a decade earlier, indirectly causing the death of her infant son. Now, after 11 years on death row, his appeals are about to run out. Anthony, Gail's on-again, off-again fianc?, himself a high-powered Florida attorney, warns her of the futility of trying to save Clark. But Gail digs into the records and finds, among other things, a drunk defense attorney, a bogus confession and a witness who would have provided an alibi but was threatened by police. At the same time, she discovers skeletons in her own family's closet that seem to be linked to Clark's case, as well as a crooked real estate deal and some unsavory individuals who don't want her getting involved. With help from Anthony and her cousin Jackie, an idealistic young cop, she races to expose the flaws in the state's case and challenges the bureaucratic "conveyor belt" mentality of the death penalty. If Parker has an ax to grind here, it is the legal system's determination to put judicial procedure and the public's thirst for vengeance ahead of the sanctity of human life. She is a former prosecutor who knows her way around the system; her characters are complex and believable, all of which makes this multifaceted and thought-provoking mystery one of the better ones this year. (Aug. 6) Forecast: Parker hit bestseller lists with Suspicion of Betrayal and looks poised to do so again, having taken on a hot-button issue without being sensational or exploitative. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
