Ties That Bind - Hardcover

Margolin, Phillip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060083247 ISBN 13: 9780060083243

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

Lawyer Amanda Jaffe uncovers the trail of a fiercely secret fraternity of powerful and dangerous men behind a political conspiracy

A series of seemingly unrelated deaths culminate in the gruesome murder of a U.S. Senator just days before he is going to be his Party’s nominee for the Presidency. Portland hometown hero Tim Kerrigan―Heisman trophy winner and now District Attorney―prosecutes the case.

Representing the alleged murderer is Amanda Jaffe, still recovering from the traumatic events that concluded the sensational New York Times bestseller Wild Justice. Her client claims to have information linking the Senator to a mysterious circle of high-ranking judges, public officials, and South American drug lords―an affiliation that is rumored to go back 30 years―known as the Courthouse Athletic Club. Amanda must hope her client can stay alive long enough for the truth to be revealed.

About this title

About the Author

Phillip Margolin has written nineteen novels, many of them New York Times bestsellers, including his latest novels Woman with a Gun, Worthy Brown’s Daughter, Sleight of Hand, and the Washington trilogy. Each displays a unique, compelling insider’s view of criminal behavior, which comes from his long background as a criminal defense attorney who has handled thirty murder cases. Winner of the Distinguished Northwest Writer Award, he lives in Portland, Oregon.

From the Back Cover

Success is fleeting; nobody knows this better than lawyer Amanda Jaffe, She had been the undisputed rising star of Portland's legal community, but in a cruel twist of irony, the same case that put her on the map -- the Cardoni trial, which pitted Amanda against a brilliant sociopath (in the New York Times bestseller Wild Justice) -- had left her traumatized, doubting her instincts, and shunning the limelight.

This reticence ends when Amanda agrees to handle the case no one else will touch. Jon Dupre, who runs an upscale call-girl service, is accused of murdering a U.S. senator. Dupre claims to possess proof of the existence of a secret society of powerful men who have banded together for a commonly held political agenda. The rite of passage that binds them together -- the initiation into this powerful brotherhood -- is murder.

To Amanda these seem the desperate claims of a man who will lie to save his own skin -- until she is pressured to walk away from the case. Determined to put a knife in the heart of the fear and psychological trauma that has plagued her ever since Cardoni, she refuses to abandon her investigation. It's a decision that will place her and those she loves directly in the path of a deadly juggernaut with ambitions that extend all the way to the presidency of the United States.

Reviews

Murder and intricately plotted mayhem are abundant in this latest by attorney-turned-novelist Margolin (Wild Justice), which should satisfy the most discerning and bloodthirsty of legal literati. There's a huge cast of characters, but readers shouldn't get attached-most will end up dead. Oregon attorney Amanda Jaffe reluctantly agrees to defend Portland pimp and drug dealer Jon Dupre, accused of killing one of his high-end call girls. Since Dupre also murdered his previous lawyer in a fit of pique, defending him takes guts. Jaffe's opponent in the case is state's attorney Tim Harrigan. A handsome ex-football star, Harrigan intends to parlay this sensational trial into national prominence and election to the Senate. Unfortunately, Harrigan harbors a fatal weakness and a dark secret, both of which undermine his performance as prosecuting attorney and his ascension to high-level politics. Behind all this subterfuge lurks a covert club of prominent, fat-cat officials who secretly manipulate unsuspecting men and women into implementing the club's criminal master plan to elect one of their own to the U.S. presidency. It matters little that the premise is over-the-top and that most of the characterizations are familiar. Margolin's legal expertise and narrative skill keeps the plot twisting, the action rolling and readers precariously perched on the edge of their seats.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Defended by Wild Justice's Amanda Jaffe, the man who killed a senator who would be president has dirty secrets to share about several public officials.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Young defense attorney Amanda Jaffe, still reeling from a near-death experience in Wild Justice (2000), doesn't know if she's ready to represent another violent criminal. Convinced that she can't run from the past forever if she plans to continue in defense work (in her hometown of Portland, Oregon), Amanda takes the case of Jon Dupre, a high-class pimp accused of murdering one of his lawyers and, worse, a U.S. senator. On the prosecution side is Tim Kerrigan, would-be perfect man but for a deep-rooted secret that makes his past success--winning the Heisman trophy, marrying the ideal woman, being tapped to replace the late senator--feel fraudulent. As Amanda digs to find evidence to exonerate her sleazy client, a strange pattern unfolds that involves high-powered men from business and the law; simultaneously, Tim taps into the same ring, and their discoveries converge in a thrilling climax that helps both heroes conquer their demons. Although the cast of characters grows a bit unwieldy, the novel is a showcase for Margolin's particular talents: intense action, unpredictable plot twists, embraceable (though, thankfully, flawed) heroes, and a powerful ending. Slick and convincing and sure to please thriller fans of all kinds. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060083247
• ISBN 13: 9780060083243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352