Daniel Ames, a blue-collar associate at a preppy, white-shoe law firm, gets snookered by a pretty colleague into reviewing thousands of pages of documents. The client, a pharmaceutical company, is charged with falsifying test results on a new drug that appears to cause horrendous birth defects. Daniel is sure the company didn't do it, but among all the documents he overlooks a letter that could destroy his client's defense. The opposing counsel gets hold of it, and the next thing you know, Daniel's smack in the middle of a murder as well as the attendant legal fraud and chicanery. Who else, besides its manufacturer, wants the truth about the drug trials covered up? Whose body, charred almost beyond recognition, was found in the lab along with a score of dead test monkeys? And what's the connection between a double kidnapping and murder that happened years ago in Arizona and the headline-grabbing lawyer that's trying to pin the blame on Daniel's client for the drug's terrible effects?
Phillip Margolin, author of seven previous bestsellers (including Wild Justice), is clearly venturing into John Grisham territory here. Although he rarely probes beneath the surface of his central characters, he spins an electrifying yarn in this provocative thriller. --Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
Another year, another young-attorney-in-peril story from Margolin (Wild Justice). This time, the attorney is Daniel Ames, an earnest, pink-cheeked associate at Portland's most prestigious law firm. Ames gets fired for a paperwork blunder that may force the firm's biggest client out of business. The client, Geller Pharmaceuticals, is being sued for its diabetes drug Insufort, which is believed to cause severe birth defects, much like thalidomide in the 1950s. Set up to take the fall by another lawyer in his firm, Ames mistakenly gives the plaintiff's attorney the results of a secret medical study documenting Insufort's shortcomings. Ames, however, suspects the story is a fake. To get his job back, he knows he has to prove that not only he, but also Geller Pharmaceuticals, has been scapegoated and hung out to dry. But who would do such a thing? The likely suspect is rich-but-sleazy attorney Aaron Flynn, who filed the lawsuit against Geller and has a history of backhanded tactics. Aided by legal investigator and love interest Kate Ross, Ames traces the case's roots back to a mysterious murder and disappearance in the Arizona desert nearly a decade earlier. Margolin's writing for the most part is unremarkable, his plot won't stand up to serious scrutiny and his characters engage only on a surface level. Yet the author of seven previous handsomely selling thrillers deserves credit. While his latest is eminently forgettable, the whole package light intrigue, good-looking, wealthy people under stress, a couple of ghoulish murders and a scattering of clever plot twists is undeniably entertaining and enjoyable if you don't think about it too hard. Major ad/promo; 25-city national radio campaign; 12-city author tour. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Daniel Ames agrees to help a fellow attorney by reviewing materials pertaining to a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer, before turning those items over to the plaintiff's lawyer the following morning. The plaintiff's lawyer then claims to have found clear proof in those materials that the drug company knew its product caused birth defects. When Daniel is fired the same day, he is convinced that the evidence was planted, and he sets out to clear his name. In his investigation, he uncovers a connection to a long-forgotten kidnapping and a series of murders, attracting the attention of the killer, who sets out to silence him. Margolin, author of seven New York Times best sellers, has created a complex web of circumstances and characters whose lives are all connected to one unknown individual. The story that unfolds is well crafted and intriguing and well read by Scott Brick. Recommended. Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
With each new release, Scott Brick's performance gets better and better. In this latest, and one of the best, legal whodunit by the dependable Margolin, Brick is called upon to portray a myriad of characters, and he glides from one to the other with ease. A young associate in a top-notch Portland, Oregon, law firm is fired by a partner for a costly mistake. Then, he is charged with the partner's murder. In an attempt to clear himself, the associate, Daniel Ames, stumbles upon a multi-faceted conspiracy with several more bodies littering the trail. As Brick's winsome voice leads the listener toward the surprise ending, one can only marvel at the almost perfect match of writer and reader. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
This eighth novel by the Portland, Oregon, criminal defense attorney has all the elements of a classic legal thriller: a rippedfromtheheadlines subject, an underdog hero, an assortment of shady characters, a suspicious death, the disappearance of a vital witness, and one very surprising plot twist. Daniel Ames is an associate at a large law firm; tricked into processing some paperwork in a case about a prescription drug that may be responsible for birth defects, he's then set up as a scapegoat to take the heat for a mistake he didn't make. Trying to clear his name (and, perhaps, get his job back), he discovers that the drug case is far more complicated, even deadly, than he suspected. Can he get to the truth before a killer gets to him? And is someone close to him not who he or she seems to be? Margolin's fans will be thrilled to discover that, like his previous novels, this one is intelligent, stylishly written, and exciting. Its only drawback--and this is a somewhat unusual criticism--is that the book is not quite long enough. The characters seem, at times, a little slick, as though they were in a particular scene merely to advance the plot. Some scenes, too, seem truncated, cut off just when they were picking up steam. A longer book would have allowed for fleshier characters and for more detailed examination of the prescriptiondrugs theme. This is a fine novel, and fans of legal thrillers won't be disappointed, but there are depths left unexplored. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Oregonian
"Multiple plot twists will keep you turning the pages."
Publishers Weekly (boxed review)
"Undeniably entertaining and enjoyable."
Booklist
"A classic legal thriller … intelligent, stylishly written, and exciting. … [A] fine novel."
Booklist
"A classic legal thriller … intelligent, stylishly written, and exciting. … [A] fine novel."
Book Description
A poster boy for the American Dream, former blue collar boy turned high-powered lawyer Daniel Ames is on easy street as an associate at Reed, Briggs, Portland's most prestigious law firm.
Until one man...and one case...changes everything.
When a charismatic lawyer sues the firm's biggest client, a pharmaceutical company, for manufacturing a drug that causes unspeakable birth defects, Daniel believes the case has no merit. But when information implicating company malfeasance surfaces, the intrepid lawyer doggedly scrambles to find the truth--an investigation that leads him into a vortex of greed, corruption, deceit, and murder. Suddenly caught on the wrong side of the law and in the crosshairs of a powerful enemy, Daniel must unmask an evil conspiracy that wants to bury a deadly secret...and Daniel with it.
About the Author
Phillip Margolin's compelling insider's view of criminal mind comes from his unique background as a longtime criminal defense attorney. Each of his seven novels to date has been a New York Times bestseller, including Wild Justice and Gone, but Not Forgotten. He is an avid chess player and lives in Portland, Oregon.
Associate FROM OUR EDITORS
Before he turned to writing, Philip Margolin was a criminal defense lawyer for 25 years. But don't think for a second that the novels of this crafty plotter are even distant cousins of dreary legal briefs. The author of the bestselling Wild Justice snaps out his stories with the assuredness of a career novelist. Which, thank heaven, he now is.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Daniel Ames is an associate at Reed, Briggs, Portland's most prestigious law firm, earning more money than he ever imagined possible.When a charismatic civil litigator sues the firm's biggest client for manufacturing a drug that he claims causes unspeakable birth defects, Daniel is certain the claim has no merit. But as he begins to investigate, his world comes tumbling down around him. His work is sabotaged, he's accused of professional incompetence, and he's fired. Twelve hours later he is arrested for murder.Daniel scrambles to clear his name and save his reputation — and in the process unearths a trail of deceit. But someone doesn't want this trail explored, and Daniel becomes the target of a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from being revealed.
SYNOPSIS
Daniel Ames is living the American dream. Though born into poverty and living on the streets by the age of fifteen, Daniel has overcome every obstacle ﾽ and now is an associate at Reed, Briggs, Portland's most prestigious law firm, earning more money than he ever imagined possible.
But when Aaron Flynn enters his life, Daniel finds himself caught between his towering ambition and his bedrock idealism. Flynn, a charismatic civil litigator, sues Geller Pharmaceuticals ﾽ Reed, Briggs's biggest client ﾽ for manufacturing a drug that he claims causes unspeakable birth defects. Daniel is certain the claim has no merit ﾽ until a memo written by a Geller scientist is found, detailing the shocking results of a study that implicates the company in a horrific lie.
FROM THE CRITICS
Oregonian
Multiple plot twists will keep you turning the pages.
Publishers Weekly
Another year, another young-attorney-in-peril story from Margolin (Wild Justice). This time, the attorney is Daniel Ames, an earnest, pink-cheeked associate at Portland's most prestigious law firm. Ames gets fired for a paperwork blunder that may force the firm's biggest client out of business. The client, Geller Pharmaceuticals, is being sued for its diabetes drug Insufort, which is believed to cause severe birth defects, much like thalidomide in the 1950s. Set up to take the fall by another lawyer in his firm, Ames mistakenly gives the plaintiff's attorney the results of a secret medical study documenting Insufort's shortcomings. Ames, however, suspects the story is a fake. To get his job back, he knows he has to prove that not only he, but also Geller Pharmaceuticals, has been scapegoated and hung out to dry. But who would do such a thing? The likely suspect is rich-but-sleazy attorney Aaron Flynn, who filed the lawsuit against Geller and has a history of backhanded tactics. Aided by legal investigator and love interest Kate Ross, Ames traces the case's roots back to a mysterious murder and disappearance in the Arizona desert nearly a decade earlier. Margolin's writing for the most part is unremarkable, his plot won't stand up to serious scrutiny and his characters engage only on a surface level. Yet the author of seven previous handsomely selling thrillers deserves credit. While his latest is eminently forgettable, the whole package light intrigue, good-looking, wealthy people under stress, a couple of ghoulish murders and a scattering of clever plot twists is undeniably entertaining and enjoyable if you don't think about it too hard. Major ad/promo; 25-city national radio campaign;12-city author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Daniel Ames agrees to help a fellow attorney by reviewing materials pertaining to a lawsuit against a drug manufacturer, before turning those items over to the plaintiff's lawyer the following morning. The plaintiff's lawyer then claims to have found clear proof in those materials that the drug company knew its product caused birth defects. When Daniel is fired the same day, he is convinced that the evidence was planted, and he sets out to clear his name. In his investigation, he uncovers a connection to a long-forgotten kidnapping and a series of murders, attracting the attention of the killer, who sets out to silence him. Margolin, author of seven New York Times best sellers, has created a complex web of circumstances and characters whose lives are all connected to one unknown individual. The story that unfolds is well crafted and intriguing and well read by Scott Brick. Recommended. Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
With each new release, Scott Brick's performance gets better and better. In this latest, and one of the best, legal whodunit by the dependable Margolin, Brick is called upon to portray a myriad of characters, and he glides from one to the other with ease. A young associate in a top-notch Portland, Oregon, law firm is fired by a partner for a costly mistake. Then, he is charged with the partner's murder. In an attempt to clear himself, the associate, Daniel Ames, stumbles upon a multi-faceted conspiracy with several more bodies littering the trail. As Brick's winsome voice leads the listener toward the surprise ending, one can only marvel at the almost perfect match of writer and reader. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Humdrum legal thriller about a young lawyer who trusts his firm way more than he should. You've heard that one before, have you? Well, if bright, industrious, wide-eyed Daniel Ames had been up on his Grisham he might have taken fewer lumps. Reed, Briggs, Stephens, Stottlemeyer and Compton of Portland, Oregon, oh-so-elite, employs and regularly victimizes the oh-so-willing Daniel. One night, predictably, he gets suckered into a grunt work task that has exploitation written all over it. The case happens to involve a huge Reed, Briggs client-Geller Pharmaceuticals, makers of Insufort, billed in a venomous supermarket tabloid as "Son of Thalidomide." Geller and Insufort are being accused of causing horrifyingly severe birth defects-a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in progress. In turn, Arthur Briggs, senior member of the firm, accuses Daniel of having made a stupid and costly mistake. Not so, but suddenly Daniel finds himself being fitted for a scapegoat suit. Summarily fired, he's told to pack and be gone instanter. Resentful but powerless, Daniel obeys. To his surprise, he finds a message the next day from Briggs on his answering machine, apologizing and asking for a fence-mending meeting, not at the office, but in a remote country cottage. Even a cursory reading of Grisham might have helped Daniel dodge that one, too, but innocent that he is he trundles off. Naturally, he finds Briggs murdered. Naturally, he's framed for it. Things are going from bleak to bleaker. Fortunately for him, however, Kate Ross, investigator extraordinaire, is there to befriend him. With her help he turns the tables on an assortment of villains, while refurbishing a tarnished reputation and redeeming a blightedcareer, though not, praise be, at Reed, Briggs. Bland people, implausible plotting. Here, Margolin, who has tilled the legal thriller field with no mean success (Wild Justice, 2000, etc.), does little more than go through the motions.
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