Writ of Execution (Windsor Selection) - Hardcover

Perri O'Shaughnessy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754017060 ISBN 13: 9780754017066

Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C, 2002

Synopsis

Masterful storytelling. . .gripping legal drama . . .relentless suspense - these are the hallmarks of Perri O'Shaughnessy's work. Critics hail her legal thrillers as "terrific . . . will keep you turning the pages into the night" (USA Today) and "a real puzzler. . .with twists diabolical enough to take to court" (The New York Times Book Review). Now the New York Times bestselling author of Move to Strike returns with Writ of Execution, an electrifying tale that plunges attorney Nina Reilly into a shadowy world of high-stakes gambling and cold-blooded murder. In the mountain resort town of South Lake Tahoe, Nina Reilly is known for taking on the underdog cases, the kind that can make - or break - her one-woman law practice. Her latest case begins in the middle of a summer night when she is called away from a very personal visit to her investigator Paul Van Wagoner's hotel room to meet with a desperate new client at her office. The frightened young Washoe Indian woman gives her name as Jessie Potter. She has just hit one of the biggest jackpots in Nevada history, and the men in suits are waiting to hand her the million-dollar first installment when they know her real identity. With time running out, Nina helps her client devise a brilliant plan to collect the money while keeping her true identity a secret. The check's due to clear in ten days-and Nina's got her hands full as powerful interests line up to grab the money. The Nevada Gaming Control Board is looking into allegations that the jackpot was rigged. The man sitting on the seat just before the jackpot hit says it's his, and he doesn't mind going outside the law to get it. And the wealthy man stalking Nina's client has managed to attack the jackpot winnings with the help of an unscrupulous local lawyer, Jeff Riesner, using a legal maneuver called a writ of execution. To fight it, Paul Van Wagoner flies to Hawaii and digs up a dark moment in Jessie's past. The odds of Jessie ever collecting are starting to look hopeless. For Nina, what began as a fight for an underdog in federal court soon escalates into something very different and far more dangerous. Jessie has a secret, and she needs that money for a very good reason. By the time Nina discovers that Jessie is withholding vital information, it might be too late for her client and even for Nina herself. Because somewhere in the darkening Tahoe night, people are dying. A killer is exacting chilling vengeance in a case where the writ of execution has become more than a legal maneuver; it's a death warrant.

About this title

Review

Nina Reilly's new client ought to be dancing in the streets. She's just won the biggest slot machine jackpot in Lake Tahoe history. But if Jessie Potter claims it, she's putting herself and her little boy in harm's way. Someone's out to get the young woman, and the only one who seems to be on her side is Kenny Leung, an awkward but likable techno-wizard who's about to go bankrupt. Nina comes up with a plan to help Jessie collect her jackpot without revealing her identity to the powerful man who believes she killed his son. But her client's pursuer is already on the sniff. Though he was unable to convince the police to charge her with homicide, he and his sleazy lawyer counter Nina's maneuver by filing a writ of execution that will deprive Jessie of her rightful winnings. And just to thicken the plot, there's someone else threatening Jessie--a very angry man who believes she stole the jackpot that should have been his. He will kill anyone who stands in the way of his claim.

Nina may be a crafty lawyer, but she's not quite as deft in juggling her personal and professional lives. Paul van Wagoner, her investigator, isn't happy with their romantic relationship, and Nina herself, still mourning the death of her husband, is reluctant to commit to more than a casual romance. Perri O'Shaughnessy doesn't devote a lot of ink to her heroine's emotional concerns, but she's good at plotting, excellent on the legal maneuvering, and handles her secondary characters well, particularly Leung, whose computer expertise illuminates the technical aspects of slot machine gaming. This is a series that keeps getting better. O'Shaughnessy fans who've stuck with Nina since her somewhat plodding earlier adventures will be glad they stayed the course. --Jane Adams

From the Back Cover

“Well-paced and engaging courtroom thriller ... captivates with its scenes of wily courtroom negotiation. Readers will relish the myriad plot details and the procedural drama, and enjoy the cast of offbeat characters.”
— Publishers Weekly


Praise for Perri O'Shaughnessy and the Nina Reilly novels:

Move to Strike

“A fast-paced page-turner ... plenty of plot twists and turns ... Courtroom drama and deft legal maneuvering are still the heart of this thriller, and the tough-minded Reilly is its soul.”
— New York Post

Acts of Malice

“Will keep you turning the pages into the night.”
— USA Today

Breach of Promise

“A legal mystery for thoughtful readers ... The dialogue is clean and smart and the surprise twists wonderfully effective.”
— San Francisco Chronicle

Obstruction of Justice

“Nina Reilly is one of the most interesting heroines in legal thrillers today.”
— San Jose Mercury News

Invasion of Privacy

“Suspenseful and complex.”
— San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

Motion to Suppress

“A real puzzler, with twists diabolical enough to take to court.”
— The New York Times Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0754017060
• ISBN 13: 9780754017066
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 621