Bestselling author Phillip Margolin brings back Portland lawyer Amanda Jaffe for a repeat performance (after Wild Justice) in this mystery about a group of college killers who grow into a cadre of powerful political and business leaders bent on keeping their boyhood adventures concealed--as well as their present-day connection with a gang of cutthroat South American drug lords. There's big biotech money involved, enough to keep the so-called Vaughn Street Glee Club intent on making sure anyone who knows about their plans is silenced. Permanently, if necessary. It's up to Amanda to unmask the reason why the Glee Club is so anxious for her client Jon Dupre, the accused killer of a U.S. senator, to go down for murder. And what she learns about the lengths to which they'll go to keep their secrets, including killing members of their own family, threatens her life as well. Margolin strings a clumsy plot on a weak thread--why three affluent college boys become killers is never adequately explained--and the heroine, whose dogged perseverance is admirable, is otherwise too boring to capture the reader's interest. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Attorney-novelist Margolin's last feverish tale of Portland high crimes and low morals, Wild Justice, exposed defense attorney Amanda Jaffe to such brutal torture that this sequel finds her traumatized and withdrawn. Even rougher, the action is so convoluted and the cast of characters so large she nearly gets lost in the shuffle. Among the many vying with her for listener attention are Tim Harrigan, a popular state's attorney being groomed for "bigger things" but wallowing in self-loathing and sexual degradation; his overbearing father; a Hispanic gang lord with high-level protection; a drug dealer-pimp on trial for a murder he didn't commit; and that creaky pulp staple currently making a big fictional comeback, the secret society of evil power elitists. Amanda's cause is further thwarted by the choice of narrator on this unabridged audio edition. Guidall's seasoned voice has been put to excellent use on novels featuring male leads of a certain age (Lillian Jackson Braun's Cat Who... series [reviewed below] and Louis Bigley's About Schmidt). Here his mature tones work well for the cabal members and Harrigan's dad, but not for Harrigan, much less Amanda.-- and Louis Bigley's About Schmidt). Here his mature tones work well for the cabal members and Harrigan's dad, but not for Harrigan, much less Amanda.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
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.


From AudioFile
The "ties" of the title are the relationships between drug lord Pedro Aragon and three well-to-do and well-connected members of Oregon's upper crust. George Guidall tells the story, from their meeting at a drug house in 1970 to their rise to ultimate power in 2003. Guidall's style has a knowing quality, whether he's speaking from the perspective of Hispanic thugs, brazen yuppies, or national politicos. Upscale pimp Jon Dupre is accused of killing a U.S. senator, and then, in a locked interview room, witnessed by a police guard, Dupre brutally stabs his court-appointed lawyer. The case seems open and shut. But for Defense Attorney Amanda Jaffe, the pieces don't add up. Her investigations begin to uncover old secrets and illicit ties that put her in a bind that might prove fatal. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
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


Book Description

Phillip Margolin -- author of the smash New York Times bestsellers Wild Justice and Gone, But Not Forgotten -- returns with a thrilling tale of politics, secrets, and murder . . .

Amanda Jaffe was a rising star of Portland's legal community, until a run-in with a psychopath left her scared and craving anonymity. But her new case promises to keep her in the spotlight -- and in danger. Defending the accused murderer of a U.S. senator will place her and those she loves directly in the path of a deadly cabal with ambitions that extend all the way to the presidency of the United States . . .


Download Description
Lawyer Amanda Jaffe takes on a case no one else will touch - and uncovers a fiercely secret fraternity of powerful men hiding a political conspiracy that extends all the way to the Presidency of the United States.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Success is fleeting; nobody knows that better than lawyer Amanda Jaffe. She had been the 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.

SYNOPSIS

Lawyer Amanda Jaffe takes on a case no one else will touch -- and uncovers a fiercely secret fraternity of powerful men hiding a political conspiracy that extends all the way to the Presidency of the United States.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Attorney-novelist Margolin's last feverish tale of Portland high crimes and low morals, Wild Justice, exposed defense attorney Amanda Jaffe to such brutal torture that this sequel finds her traumatized and withdrawn. Even rougher, the action is so convoluted and the cast of characters so large she nearly gets lost in the shuffle. Among the many vying with her for listener attention are Tim Harrigan, a popular state's attorney being groomed for "bigger things" but wallowing in self-loathing and sexual degradation; his overbearing father; a Hispanic gang lord with high-level protection; a drug dealer-pimp on trial for a murder he didn't commit; and that creaky pulp staple currently making a big fictional comeback, the secret society of evil power elitists. Amanda's cause is further thwarted by the choice of narrator on this unabridged audio edition. Guidall's seasoned voice has been put to excellent use on novels featuring male leads of a certain age (Lillian Jackson Braun's Cat Who... series [reviewed below] and Louis Bigley's About Schmidt). Here his mature tones work well for the cabal members and Harrigan's dad, but not for Harrigan, much less Amanda. Simultaneous release with the HarperCollins hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 27). (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Amanda Jaffe, a successful Portland attorney, is fighting her way back from a traumatic experience with a previous client. She is asked to defend Jon Dupre who is accused of killing both a U.S. Senator and his previous court-appointed lawyer. Jon claims he is innocent, but the case against him seems open and shut-until Amanda is kidnapped. Her assailants want her to "throw" Jon's case, but she can only guess what it is that she knows that is keeping her alive and worrying her enemies. As the story unfolds, layers upon layers of intrigue are removed, leading the FBI to a brotherhood of powerful and influential community leaders who use murder, blackmail, and drugs to control their empire. Read by award-winning actor George Guidall, these two versions of Ties That Bind include drama, false leads, violence, human weakness, and a "happy ending"-all the marks of a successful thriller. Recommended.-Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

AudioFile

The "ties" of the title are the relationships between drug lord Pedro Aragon and three well-to-do and well-connected members of Oregon's upper crust. George Guidall tells the story, from their meeting at a drug house in 1970 to their rise to ultimate power in 2003. Guidall's style has a knowing quality, whether he's speaking from the perspective of Hispanic thugs, brazen yuppies, or national politicos. Upscale pimp Jon Dupre is accused of killing a U.S. senator, and then, in a locked interview room, witnessed by a police guard, Dupre brutally stabs his court-appointed lawyer. The case seems open and shut. But for Defense Attorney Amanda Jaffe, the pieces don't add up. Her investigations begin to uncover old secrets and illicit ties that put her in a bind that might prove fatal. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews