Silent Witness (Unabridged)

Patterson, Richard North

ISBN 10: 0679459286 ISBN 13: 9780679459286

Publisher: Random House Audio, 1996

Synopsis

12 cassettes / 18 hours
Unabridged
Read by T.J. Edwards
Also available on Compact Disk and abridged on cassette

Almost thirty years have passed since Tony Lord left Lake City.  Thirty long years dedicated to putting the past -- the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Alison Taylor, and his own acquittal of the crime -- behind him.  Married, a father, and a successful defense lawyer in San Francisco, Tony Lord has run as far from Lake City as he can.

But the phone call requesting his return -- and the circumstances surrounding it -- is enough to make the ghosts of Tony's past live again.  The trigger is the murder of another young woman -- that of 16-year-old Lake City High School track star Marcie Calder, last seen alive with Sam Robb, her coach and Tony's childhood friend.

With this stunning new novel of psychological drama and suspense, Richard North Patterson has done it again.  Silent Witness is a drama of rivalry and betrayal, the darkest recesses of love and friendship, and the tenacious grip of the past on all our lives.

About this title

Review:

In each successive novel since Degree of Guilt, Richard North Patterson has experimented with flashbacks and past tragedies to drive the present suspense of his legal thrillers. Silent Witness is, perhaps, his greatest achievement with the technique as his hero, Tony Lord, is haunted by the 27-year-old murder of his high school girlfriend, Alison Taylor.

In the late 1960s, Tony is the star of the Lake City, Ohio, high school football team. But when Alison is found strangled behind her house, even Tony's closest friend, Sam Robb, suspects him. Alison's true killer is never found, and Tony flees his home town to forge a career as a high-powered, high-profile San Francisco criminal attorney and marries a a movie star. Cutting to the present day, Tony is called back to Lake City to defend his old friend. Sixteen-year-old track star Marcie Calder was found dead on the shore of Lake Erie, and Sam, now the overweight assistant principal and track coach of Lake City High, is the accused. A series of scandals slowly erodes Tony's confidence in Sam's innocence as Tony comes to terms with his own troubled past.

As with Patterson's previous work, Silent Witness is a novel with subtle characters who happen to be involved in a compelling (and authentic-seeming) criminal trial. For dedicated Patterson fans, some insight into the life of actress Stacey Tarrant is a special treat. She's Tony's wife in the present world of the novel but was the lover of Senator James Kilcannon before the senator was assassinated. James was the brother of Kerry Kilcannon, the enigmatic presidential candidate at the center of Patterson's 1998 blockbuster, No Safe Place. --Patrick O'Kelley

From the Back Cover:

"Marvelously plotted." ―Philadelphia Inquirer

After the murder of his high school sweetheart left him shattered, Tony Lord vowed never to return to his Ohio hometown of Lake City. Twenty-eight years later, Tony is a successful California criminal lawyer with a beautiful celebrity wife. He's living the good life...until long-buried memories come crashing down when he hears from an old friend, who needs his help.

"Enthralling." ―Los Angeles Times Book Review

Sam Robb is a track coach at Lake City High. He swears he is not responsible for the death of one of his female team members...even though forensic evidence reveals that he's the father of her unborn child.

"Chilling." ―The Washington Post Book World

Back when they were teenagers, Sam stood by Tony when he was a suspect in his young girlfriend's murder―and Tony desperately wants to do the same for him today. In doing so, Tony will have to revisit his troubled past and probe the darkest secrets of small-town life to get to the truth. And what he will find is more shocking than he ever could have imagined....

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Audio
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0679459286
• ISBN 13: 9780679459286
• Binding: Audio Cassette