Synopsis
Fresh from Yale Law, Ben Addison is a new clerk for one of the Supreme Court's most respected justices. Along with his co-clerk, Lisa, Ben represents the best of the fledgling legal community: sharp, perfectionistic, and painstakingly conscientious - but just as green. So when he inadvertently reveals the confidential outcome of an upcoming Court decision, and one of the parties to the case makes millions, Ben starts to sweat. Big time.
Ben confides in Lisa and turns to his D.C. housemates for help. They offer their coveted insiders' access - Nathan works at the State Department, Eric reports for a Washington daily, and Ober is an assistant to a leading senator - to help outsnake the blackmailer who holds Ben's once-golden future hostage. But it's not long before these inseparable pals discover how dangerous their misuse of power can be, even when accompanied by the very best of intentions. And when a suspicious leak develops from within their own circle, Ben and his friends find themselves pitted against each other in a battle of shifting alliances and fierce deceptions that strikes to the weaknesses in their friendships, threatens to ruin their careers - and ultimately may cost them their lives.
Reviews
Completely absorbing ...
Hip... summer's first big beach book.
Loose lips sink careers in this barn-burning first novel about a Supreme Court clerk who runs his mouth to a disastrously ill-chosen confidant. The Solicitor General is often called the Court's tenth justice, but don't tell that to the Court's 18 clerks, who are convinced the world revolves around them. So it's not surprising that Justice Mason Hollis's clerk Ben Addison, who knows the results of all the Court's decisions long before they're announced, mentions one of them to Rick Fagen, one of Hollis's old clerks. Alas, Rick is an imposter who never clerked for Hollis, but who's just wormed his way into Ben's confidence to get a tip that will allow him to make millions on the insider info. Worse, Rick seems to know everything about Ben's puny efforts to find out who he really is. Does he have an in with Ben's fellow-clerk Lisa Schulman? Or could he be getting the skinny from one of Ben's roommates--senatorial assistant William Oberman, State staffer Nathan Hollister, or Washington Herald reporter Eric Stroman--all of them childhood friends? Ben determines to nail Rick for his perfidy, but Rick simply responds by stepping up the pressure, demanding further tipoffs on sensitive cases and threatening to reveal Ben's involvement to the U.S. Marshals, who are already suspicious on account of a news story Eric filed on possible Court leaks. The more Rick's noose tightens, the more suspicious and shrill Ben grows about his old friends, whose fear of their bosses and parents and whose unfailingly juvenile dialogue (``Drop it'' and ``He's dead'' are Ben's stock responses to every new threat) suggest the Washington branch of St. Elmo's Fire. Meltzer spins a mean paranoid fantasy that'll have you turning pages in a frenzy to learn whether Ben and his equally strung-out buddies ever grow up. (Literary Guild super release; film rights to Fox 2000; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
YA. This story of friendship and betrayal is set in Washington, DC, where four young men who have grown up together become housemates, each with his first big job opportunity. One of them, Ben Addison, is a brand-new clerk for a Supreme Court justice. Ben and his co-clerk Lisa are two of the best and the brightest of the legal community, their intelligence only barely exceeding their egos. But early in the Court session, he is tricked into revealing the confidential outcome of an upcoming decision to a man posing as a former clerk, and one of the parties in the case uses the information to make millions. Ben is in danger of losing his job, his reputation, and any chance for a place on the ladder to legal fame and success. Desperate to find the man who tricked him, he enlists the help of Lisa and his housemates. When the elusive villain tries to blackmail Ben into revealing further Court decisions, the search becomes even more intense, and Ben realizes that one of his friends is leaking the group's plans to the blackmailer. The story builds to an action-packed and satisfying conclusion, but lives are shattered in the process and the fabric of friendship is torn apart. YAs will be confronted by issues of loyalty, integrity, and trust, and at the same time will learn much about the decision-making process of the Supreme Court.?Molly Connally, Kings Park Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Meltzer is a bit of a wunderkind. A young attorney and speechwriter for President Clinton, he managed to wrangle credit out of Columbia Law School for writing his first novel, a peppy, amusing, and suspenseful little thriller primed for major commercial success with film and foreign rights in the bag and a spot in the Literary Guild lineup. The story begins on Ben Addison's first day at work as a clerk for the Supreme Court. So crucial is the contribution of the clerks to the Court that they are referred to as the "tenth justice," and Ben, precocious and ambitious, is terrifically excited until he's taken down a notch by his brusque co-clerk, Lisa Schulman, a no-nonsense gal who quickly gets involved up to her skeptical eyebrows in Ben's troubles. Too eager to succeed, Ben foolishly breaks the Court's rule of confidentiality and soon finds himself under the thumb of a blackmailing mastermind. Ben enlists the help of his three roommates--a senator's aide, a reporter, and a State Department employee--and inadvertently stirs up a hornet's nest of distrust, fear, and anger. As Ben, his nearly alienated buddies, and intrepid Lisa try to establish the identity of their adversary and his inside source, Meltzer scrolls out dialogue worthy of a high-quality prime-time sitcom. This could be an action version of Friends or Spin City; in fact, picture Michael J. Fox as Ben, and you've got the flavor of this witty, almost violence-free, fresh, and satisfying page-turner. Donna Seaman
Hotshot young lawyer Ben Addison is on top of the world. Just out of Yale Law School, he's already landed the highly desirable top job of clerk to a Supreme Court justice, experiences instant chemistry with his new co-clerk Lisa, and shares an apartment with three lifelong friends. Then a misplaced trust leads Ben to reveal a confidential court decision, and his world begins to crash. With Ben's career in jeopardy and a blackmailer on his trail, his friends use their job connections at the State Department, a Washington newspaper, and a senator's office to aid Ben and Lisa in a plot to apprehend Ben's blackmailer. But when their own careers are threatened, allegiance fades and distrust sets in, turning Ben and his former allies against one another as events escalate and they find themselves struggling not to save their careers but their lives. The story flows smoothly in this engrossing legal thriller by lawyer Meltzer?and the plot is perfect for a blockbuster movie. A good purchase.?Lori Dunn, Montgomery Cty. P.L., Troy, N.C.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
