Ties That Bind

Amanda Jaffe was a rising star in Portland's legal community until her well publicized battle with a brilliant sociopath—ironically the trial that made her famous—left her traumatized, filled with self-doubt, and wary of the limelight. But now she's agreed to handle a case no one else will touch.

Her client, Jon Dupre, runs an upscale call-girl service and stands accused of murdering a high-profile U.S. senator. To Amanda, Dupre's story of an ultra-secret society of extremely powerful, dangerous, politically motivated men sounds like a criminal's desperate attempt to escape justice. But suddenly too many important people are pressuring her to drop the case . . . and too many people are dying.

But Amanda will not surrender again to her fear. To get her life back, she'll follow this deadly juggernaut of an investigation wherever it leads her: to the graveyard, into the depths of hell . . . or to the highest office in the land.

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.

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Wild Justice, exposed defense attorney Amanda Jaffe to such brutal torture that this sequel finds her traumatized and withdrawn.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.

While his love for Perry Mason novels inspired him to spend 25 years as a criminal defense attorney, Phillip Margolin eventually left the courtroom to pen his own authoritative, twist-laden legal thrillers, including Gone but Not Forgotten and Ties That Bind.