The Rules of Action (Devlin)

“Briskly told and well-drawn… A fast-paced tale of justice in action and a remarkably accurate portrait of a trial lawyer’s daily grind.”
—Kirkus Reviews

IT'S 1970, AND AMERICA HAS A DIRTY SECRET

The author of "ZigZag"—“One of the boldest and most original first novels to appear in a long time” (Carl Hiaasen)—reinvents the legal drama popularized by Michael Connelly, John Grisham and Scott Turow. Human beings are being warehoused in substandard nursing homes, neglected and left to die under suspicious circumstances. But this is America in the 1970s, and no one seems to know about it, much less care.

Rookie lawyer Connor J. Devlin discovers this secret underworld when he meets One-Armed Lucky, a cagey Vietnam vet and bail bondsman with an uncanny knowledge of the law. Lucky refers Devlin’s new client, a heartbroken but tenacious woman who’s convinced that neglectful nursing home care killed her mother Ann, a greyhound-racing devotee and Lucky’s best friend. But Devlin has a big problem. Taking on a nursing home for wrongful death in the 1970s—one backed by a corporation owned by a hardnosed Texas industrialist—will be almost impossible. Almost.

In this Devlin series debut, a "briskly told and well-drawn" (Kirkus Reviews) legal drama, Landon J. Napoleon offers all the thrills of John Grisham and other masters of the genre, while proving that "legal procedure can provide as much action, suspense and whodunit excitement as any shootout or car chase."

“The Rules of Action is one of the most compelling and entertaining books I have ever read on the strategy and gamesmanship of the legal process.”
—Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods

LANDON J. NAPOLEON is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of fiction and nonfiction books. His debut novel "ZigZag" received starred reviews, was a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" 1999 finalist, and was adapted for a feature film starring Oliver Platt, John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes.
 
His critically acclaimed Devlin series charts a street-smart trial lawyer's career rise through the 1970s ("The Rules of Action") and 80s ("The Dark Action") with the 90s volume ("The Cause of Action") in the works. His non-fiction biography "Burning Shield: The Jason Schechterle Story" documents the inspiring true story of a rare human being with an undeniable will to live. The book debuted in the Amazon TOP 100 for biographies and memoirs and was an "Arizona Republic Recommends" selection for March 2014.
 
He is a graduate of Arizona State University (bachelor of arts in journalism) and the University of Glasgow in Scotland (master of philosophy in creative writing). He lives in Arizona.