Fall from Grace: A Noir Thriller - Hardcover

Phillips, Clyde

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688157440 ISBN 13: 9780688157449

Publisher: William Morrow, 1998

Synopsis

Her race for the murderer of San Francisco socialite Jenna Perry brings Homicide Inspector Jane Candiotti face to face with one of the most ruthless villains in the city's history, as well as with her own romantic missteps. Tour.

About this title

Review:

Strangers on BART, San Francisco's subway system, meet and make mayhem in this first novel by television writer/producer Clyde Phillips, who pays off on his debt to Alfred Hitchcock by updating the master and adding a few new twists. When lawyer David Perry blabs to his subway seatmate, a seedy mechanic named Barton Hubble, that he's about to be divorced by his rich wife, Hubble decides to do his new friend a favor by killing the offending wife. But then Perry refuses to acknowledge his share of the drunken bargain, and Hubble becomes a serious threat. There's a bright, attractive cop named Jane Candiotti and several exciting action scenes that take place far below and well above ground—even on the Golden Gate Bridge. —Dick Adler

From the Publisher:

With his literary debut, FALL FROM GRACE, Clyde Phillips, veteran television writer and creator of such hits as Suddenly Susan and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, offers a fast-paced murder mystery that will keep readers riveted.

The novel begins as David Perry, a successful, San Francisco lawyer, is about to divorce his adulterous wife, Pacific Heights heiress Jenna Maxwell Perry. An encounter with low-life car mechanic Barton Hubble on a subway ride downtown leads to an evening in which Perry drunkenly shares his grief with Hubble. Shortly afterwards, Perry's wife is found murdered, and Hubble reappears, claiming he is responsible and demanding payback for the job. When Perry refuses to cooperate, Hubble refuses to go away, stalking Perry and his daughter Lily. What ensues is a series of nail-biting episodes involving anyone who crosses Hubble's path.

Assigned to the murder is Inspector Jane Candiotti, a smart, attractive woman on the verge of middle age whose loneliness triggers a personal interest in Perry. As the case progresses, the two grow more intimate, much to the dismay of Jane's partner and former boyfriend, Kenny, who is not only jealous but feels that the case and Jane's safety are being compromised. In a final plot twist worthy of Alfred Hitchcock, Inspector Candiotti finds herself clinging to life high atop one of the most famous landmarks in the world, while two men are desperately trying to get her. One to save her. The other to kill her.

FALL FROM GRACE is filled with plot twists and troubled characters whose secrets and lies are intertwined. Phillips skillfully portrays everything from feminine vulnerability to reckless greed to psychotic behavior. Readers will be left guessing until the very last page of this masterful thriller.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0688157440
• ISBN 13: 9780688157449
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320