Editorials
Chicago Sun Times
The first Bramble-Nolan novel, Origin And Cause has just been reissued in paperback, offering a delightful introduction to the painstaking investigators. Anyone interested in old-car classics will be fascinated at how they sift evidence in a fatal Duesenberg conflagrationMeritorious Mysteries
When a family sues the company which restored a 1930 Deusenberg, a new type of detective is called to investigate. Retired NYC fire marshal Wylie Nolan works hand in glove with Max Bramble, attorney for the defense.While Nolan determines the facts about the fire, which destroyed the car and its owner, Bramble ferrets out the story behind the dead man and the ensuing complications from his findings.
This is an engrossing story, well written, and enlightening. If you find yourself looking for something to read while curled up in front of your first fire this fall, this would be highly appropriate.
Montgomery Alabama Advisor
Origin And Cause is a fascinating look into the intricacies of arson and murder seen through the unlikely eyes of a product-liability lawyer. Max Bramble, the lawyer, has been hired to defend the Courtland Motor Co., which is being sued by the family of Stanfield Standish. Standish's body had been discovered in his burning classic 1930 Duesenberg Arlington Sedan… Max…immediately hires Wylie Nolan, a retired New York fire marshal, whose dogged investigation into a suspicious office fire successfully staved off thousands of lawsuits. As Max says about Wylie, " he is the kind of guy that men want sitting next to them if their plane is hijacked by a guy wearing a turban and carrying an AK-47 and women just want."As Max and Wylie investigate, the reader learns intriguing details about arson investigation into car fires, the construction details of the Duesenberg and the numerous enemies of Stanfield…
Opposing them is attorney, Clyde Prouty, the man who had practically invented the "deep pockets" theory of civil litigation. "Deep pockets' means that at any accident or incident or crime scene, if an attorney stands in the middle of a room or street or building and does a 360 rotation, his eyes will fall on at least five companies that have enough money to pay large sums in either settlement cost or damages if he brings them to court and accuses their product of having caused the accident or incident or crime."
This book gives readers the excitement of the case as Max and Wylie investigate, the bonus of learning both about arson and product liability, the intrigue of courtroom drama, a fascinating plot, plus a large and varied cast of wonderfully drawn characters.
Murder Ink
Want to understand what is wrong with our courts these days? Check out Origin And Cause, the excellent new novel by Shelly Reuben. The heirs of an obnoxious Ted Turneresque billionaire file suit against an elite motor company; it seems that the dead man was found burned to a crisp in his expensive refurbished auto. Enter Wylie, a crackerjack arson investigator with a sharp tongue and patient manner in front of juries. Prepare to be educated on the finer points of product liability law, car fires, and arson. Don't miss this one — fabulous!NY Times Book Review
A fire investigation is just like an archeological dig," according to a crusty arson expert name Wylie Nolan. Wylie goes on a dig in Shelly Reuben's Origin And Cause when a 1930 Duesenberg sedan worth $2 million erupts in black smoke, along with the film and television magnate who inherited the magnificent relic from his dad. Max Bramble, a lawyer who specializes in product liability, gets the case when the company that restored the antique car is slapped with a suit by the dead man's heirs. Sniffing his way through the charred ruins, Wylie finds clear evidence of arson. But can Max salvage the scorched reputation of the classic automobile in court?Reuben, a licensed arson investigator with infectious enthusiasm for her profession, draws on solid technical expertise to take the reader through arcane forensic details like burn patterns and the relative volatility of flammable liquids. Like Max, we come to appreciate that "fire analysis…is a strange but coherent kind of detective work. It's subtle and it's cerebral." But nobody would call it noble, a designation reserved for the "perfectly designed, mighty hero of a machine" that is the real beauty here.