Bluebird Rising: A Mystery - Hardcover

Decure, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312273088 ISBN 13: 9780312273088

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2003

Synopsis

In this brooding, atmospheric mystery, John DeCure once again brings the seemingly disparate worlds of law and surfing together with engaging results. For J. Shepard, prosecuting attorney with the California State Bar Association, only one thing in his life keeps him centered: riding waves. When the surf is rising, J. has never had a problem coming up with an excuse to cut out of work.

But with a new fiancée and a troubling internal audit beginning at work, J. has little time these days to hit the sand. When a legal mentor from his distant past washes up in his office stinking of alcohol and hoping for a second chance at life, J. drops everything, including his surfboard. But will he be able to help? The man is in deep trouble, and J. will have to use every tool at his disposal, both in the courtroom and on the beach, to get him out of it. A wrenching, suspenseful follow-up to John DeCure's critically acclaimed Reef Dance, Bluebird Rising is a taut novel sure to please established fans and new readers alike.

About this title

About the Author

John DeCure was a deputy trial counsel with the State Bar of California from 1993-1998. He lives and surfs in Southern California, where he was born and raised.

Reviews

California's surfing lawyer, J. Shepard, who debuted in DeCure's Reef Dance (2001), has a way of letting his altruistic impulses and a penchant for irregular procedures land him in trouble. In this, his second engaging outing, Shepard agrees to be the volunteer monitor for attorney Dale Bleeker, who inspired him to take up the law and is now on the skids after a bad run of personal and professional problems. Juggling his shaky personal relationships with fiancee Carmen and her Down Syndrome brother, Albert, who have recently moved in with him, already has Shepard scrambling. Trying to add Bleeker and a wealthy but difficult client to the household may be too much. But that's what Shepard does as he tries to protect the client, who's often incoherent, and extract Bleeker from a scheme that threatens to ruin them both. DeCure takes plenty of whacks at the California legal system and its overseers within the profession and in the state legislature, but reserves the most venom for those who abuse the system at the expense of their clients. The skillfully drawn supporting characters, who include Shepard's Rottweiler, Max, help to make Shepard, whose many parts don't always add up to a well-integrated whole, more appealing than he might otherwise be-and a series hero to watch.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This is the second entry (following Reef Dance, 2001) in DeCure's series featuring J. Shepard, a lawyer who surfs. If that seems an uneasy mix, rest assured that DeCure is becoming increasingly adept at switching from the courtroom to the beach. Whether he's arguing the finer points of his cases involving disbarring unethical lawyers in his work for the California Bar Association or riding big waves at his hometown beach in Christianitos, J. brings a deeply philosophical approach to the proceedings. Atmosphere and character take precedence over plot in a story centering on J.'s efforts to help former legal titan Dale Beeker, whose professional career took a nosedive after his family life imploded. The two become embroiled in a case involving the bilking of the elderly when it is discovered that Beeker's law license is being used to give the thieves access to seniors' bank accounts. J.'s distinctive narrative voice, which often digresses in interesting fashion to discuss surfing etiquette or Cuban food, is the highlight here, as are the crisply described surfing scenes. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312273088
• ISBN 13: 9780312273088
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384