Tag Archives: Legal Thriller

Blood On Their Hands Blitz

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Legal Thriller

Published: February 9, 2022

Publisher: Precipice Press

 

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A lawyer defends a young Black man who was brutally assaulted by two
bigoted police officers and discovers a deeper conspiracy that endangers his
life.

Hiram Garbuncle is a veteran criminal defense attorney—as well as a
racist, miserly alcoholic. His life revolves around hoarding money,
following sports, pursuing sex, drinking—and the prideful practice of
law.

Alec Monceau is a Black man working to support his daughter’s family
in Trinidad. It is 2008, and his car carries an Obama bumper sticker. This
political advertisement leads to a superfluous traffic stop and a brutal
beating by police.

It goes against Garbuncle’s grain to defend a Black man from a charge
of violently resisting arrest, but he is so confident of winning that he is
negligent in the jury selection, and a mistrial occurs. He then discovers
incriminating evidence on the two cops, and his new challenge becomes how to
keep himself and his client alive pending a new trial.

BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS words) is a legal thriller that borrows themes from
the movies Gran Torino and My Cousin Vinnie. It relies on the author’s
experience as a newspaper reporter who once covered a Ku Klux Klan
meeting.

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Excerpt

The overhead lighting bounced off Garbuncle’s face, which glowed with
after-shave lotion. His straight, graying hair was slicked back from a
receding hairline. He wore a bright yellow leisure suit a la the
nineteen-seventies, pressed and neat except for a small red wine stain on a
lapel. A fire-engine-red shirt and royal-blue tied completed his ensemble.
Glistening black patent leather shoes competed with his face for reflection
of the ceiling lighting.

Garbuncle motioned for Alec to rise, and pointed to the witness stand. Alec
walked with a hesitant gait, glancing to his right at the six-member
jury.

“Now, Alec, I want you to tell the court what happened on the evening
of April eighteen that led to your arrest.” Alec wore an anxious look,
and Garbuncle said, “Go ahead, Alec. You may speak.”


“I drive west on Lake Worth
Road, go home from Computer Freak. I work dere.”


“Excuse me, Alec. What time
of day was it?”


“About forty-five minutes
after 7 o’clock.”


“Was it beginning to
get dark?”


“Yes, but not all da
way.”


“So it was about as dark as
you? Never mind, that was a joke.” A broad smirk.


Judge Crabtree jerked his head
back, staring with eyes wide. Alec had a blank look.


“Tell us what happened
next,” said Garbuncle.


“I see red light in back
mirror, den I hear police car.”


“You mean you heard a
siren?”


“Yes, dat it. I forgot what
it called. I know should drive right side of road, but no can move. Cars in
dat lane. I go slow, and when cars past, drive to right lane. Police car
come behind me. I turn onto road at corner, go past water on side, den park.
I get out. Police park car behind. One walk to me. He ask me why I no move
over quick. I say no can, cars dere. He hit me on head wid
stick.”


“Do you mean his billy
club?”


“Dat what it called? Yes,
club—long, narrow.”


“Tell me which of those two
men sitting at that table”—Garbuncle turned back toward the
defense table and pointed—“which one struck you.”


Alec pulled his shoulders in and
hesitated. Garbuncle could see the fear in his client’s face.


“It’s all right. He
can’t hurt you now. You need to tell us which one struck
you.”


“Dat strong man, tall.
Young.”


Garbuncle pointed to him.
“You mean that one? Larry Pickens?”


“Yes.”


The cop’s face
was impassive.


“Did Officer Pickens say
anything to you?


“Yes. He yell at me I
resis’ arres’, and he teach me lesson.”


“What happened
next?”


“Den oder policeman come
from police car, say I need fix back light, no put Obama sticker on bumper.
I try tell him get light fixed tomorrow. He hit me in stomach wid club. I no
can breat’. Oder policeman hit me wid club back of neck.” He
placed his hand just above his shirt collar.


“I fall on ground. Dey put
handcuffs on me, pull me up. Hurt very bad. Dey injure my shoulder. I wear
ting for arm two weeks.”


“Do you mean a
sling?”


“Yes, yes. Doctor call it
sling.”


“Then what
happened?”


“Strong policeman ask where
I from. I say Trinidad. He hit me wid club low on legs. He say I look like
Obama. He say monkeys take over country. I tink he mean Obama and me
monkeys.”


The judge, his dome shiny through
strands of white hair, noticed Garbuncle trying to squelch a laugh, but
allowing a smile to open. “Counselor, do you think that’s
funny?”


Garbuncle saw, peering over the
top of wire-rimmed glasses, a stern face. His grin vanished like a rabbit
disappearing at a magician’s snap of the fingers. “Oh, no, Your
Honor. A joke I heard last night popped into my head for some reason. I
apologize.”

 

About the Author

Bob Brink

Bob Brink is a journalist who worked with several large newspaper
organizations and a group of magazines. His byline has been on thousands of
news stories, features, and entertainment reviews.

He now is embarked on authoring books. His newest book, the legal thriller
Blood on Their Hands, follows Murder in Palm Beach: The Homicide That Never
Died, a roman à clef about a real, sensational 1976 murder that made
headlines for 15 years, and made news again a few years ago with a new
development in the case. The book became an Amazon best seller.

His other books are: Breaking Out, a coming-of-age novel; The Way We Were:
Short Stories and Tall Tales; and A Tale of Two Continents, a ghost-written
memoir. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction about a woman who led
an audacious life of crime and married a death row inmate who later was
beaten to death by guards; a search for a publisher is underway.

Brink has won numerous writing accolades and several awards, including
three for Palm Beach Illustrated, which won the Best Written Magazine award
from the Florida Magazine Association after he became copy chief and
writer.

Besides dabbling in short-story writing over the years, Brink immersed
himself in learning to play the clarinet and tenor saxophone. He performed
many years with an estimable, 65-piece community symphonic band, and played
a few professional big band gigs.

A product of Michigan and Iowa, Brink has a bachelor’s degree in
English and German from Drake University in Des Moines and completed
graduate journalism studies at the University of Iowa.

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You Have the Right to Remain Silent – Blitz

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Zachary Blake Legal Thriller, #8

Legal Thriller

Date Published 04-25-2022

 

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Conservative talk-show host Mia Folger is in therapy with Dr. Harold
Rothenberg. Mia and her husband, progressive Congressman Bradley Crawford,
are not getting along these days, personally or politically.

When Crawford is found brutally dismembered and murdered, the evidence
points to Mia as his killer. While the prosecutor pushes for a murder
indictment, Dr. Rothenberg, convinced of his patient’s innocence,
turns to an old friend—high profile attorney Zachary Blake,
Detroit’s self-proclaimed ‘King of Justice.’

Blake will do anything for Rothenberg, the man who successfully treated his
kids in their battle with a predator priest. Zack takes Mia’s case,
but has his work cut out for him because Mia has been hospitalized, shocked
into a catatonic state at the discovery of her husband’s mutilated
body, unable to assist in her own defense.

Sensing he must prove Mia’s innocence to avoid an eventual life
sentence, Zack enlists the aid of his crack investigator, Micah Love, and
Micah’s cyber-specialist, Reed Spencer to dissect and poke holes in
the case. But, for this case, Micah in convinced that Zack needs
more—he recommends beautiful, sharp, brash, foul-mouthed,
cocky-confident New York based jury consultant extraordinaire Shari Belitz
and her team of mock trial/focus group gurus.

Shari is the best of the best. Her assignment in the Folger case? Flyspeck
the evidence and unleash her arsenal of psychological techniques and
predictive skills—use focus groups or mock juries to determine what
evidence or circumstances would cause the real jury to declare Mia Folger
innocent of all charges. Zack wants no part of Shari; one cocky
lawyer-Zachary Blake-should be sufficient to prove Mia’s case. Blake
knows what he needs for an acquittal; a brash jury consultant from NYC will
only get in his way. But Micah persists and persuades Zack him to give Shari
and her team a try.

Zack, Micah, Reed, and the irrepressible Ms. Belitz join forces in an
all-out attack on the evidence, while evil characters lurk in the
background, engaged in a sinister plot to assure Mia’s demise.

Expect the unexpected in this whodunit legal crime thriller, the 8th
installment of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series, featuring all your
favorite series characters and one brash, exciting newcomer who gives Blake
all he can handle.

About the Author

Mark M. Bello

Mark M. Bello is an attorney and award-winning author of realistic fiction
and political-legal thrillers.

Retired from handling high profile legal cases, Mark now gives the public a
front-row seat watching victims fight for justice in our civil and criminal
justice systems. Mark’s award-winning Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers mirror
our times and the events that shape our country.

In addition to being an author and veteran attorney, Mark is a member of
numerous trial lawyer associations and a feature writer for the Legal
Examiner and other popular blog sites. He has written articles for numerous
publications and made guest appearances on radio and talk shows and multiple
podcasts.

In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.
He and his wife Tobye, have four children and eight grandchildren.

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Fresh Start Blitz

 

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A 3J Mystery, Book 1

 

Legal Mystery, Legal Thriller

 

Date Published: July 26, 2021

A secret family legacy becomes a ticking time bomb …

Skyscraper developer, Quincy Witherman, has continued his family’s two-hundred-year practice of hiding assets in Switzerland. Now, needing protection from his creditors, he hires bankruptcy lawyer Josephina Jillian Jones – 3J – but fails to disclose the Swiss assets to 3J, his bankers, the IRS, and the bankruptcy court … all felonies. 3J knows in her gut that something is wrong. So does Witherman’s banker, Stacy Milnes.

Will anyone catch Witherman?

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About The Author

Mark Shaiken

Mark Shaiken is a former corporate bankruptcy attorney, and the award winning author of “And . . . Just Like That – essays on a life before, during and after the law.” His latest book, “Fresh Start” is his first foray into fiction and legal mysteries, and a bankruptcy law mystery at that. It is the first in a series starring Kansas City bankruptcy attorney Josephina Jillian Jones, 3J. Mark lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Loren, and their dog Emily.

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Good Lookin’ Blitz

 

 

 

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Mystery, Legal Thriller

 

Date Published: May 24, 2021

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

From the gang-ravaged streets of inner-city Oakland to the rolling hills of Berkeley, California, attorney Joe Turner defends the most hardened criminals. Confronted with an unlikely murderer in a modern-day whodunnit, Turner’s latest case seems impossible to unravel. At its heart is a decade-old murder and a tangled web of family, loyalty, and devotion that has the trial hanging in the balance. Viewed through the prism of the unique bond of twins, Good Lookin’ asks how far each of us will go to protect the ones we love.

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Betrayal High Blitz

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A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller. Book 5

Legal Thriller

Release Date: August 1, 2020

Publisher: 8Grand Publications

 

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What does a kid do when it just won’t stop?

Kevin Burns has had enough. Today, the bullying stops. Today, he has easy
access to his father’s gun cabinet. Today, Kevin exacts his
revenge.

“You think I’m small? Maybe I am, but my gun is huge . . . Size
does matter—the larger the gun, the larger the . . .”

Jake Tracey’s phone buzzes. It’s a text from his brother,
Kenny.

Where are you?

English class.

Stay there. Someone has a gun. Lock the door.

Bloomfield, Michigan, an affluent Detroit area suburb, is home to trial
lawyer Zachary Blake. Other school districts envy Bloomfield, that is, until
Kevin Burns commits shocking, all too familiar, acts of senseless violence.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, everyone wonders ‘why?’.

Zack Blake seeks answers, justice for the victims, including his own
son.

How does a kid get a cache of weapons?

The sellers are politically powerful and cover up their role in the
bloodbath. The 2nd Amendment protects them, doesn’t it? And President
Ronald John, Zack’s old nemesis, is a friend.

Can powerful evildoers be brought to justice? Can Zack expose a dark web
weapons conspiracy and the abuse of absolute political power in court?

How does a broken community heal?

In Betrayal High, a Zachary Blake legal thriller, award-winning
author/attorney Mark M. Bello answers these questions and more in this fifth
installment of what many readers are calling the country’s best
courtroom drama series. Prepare to get Betrayed . . . again.

 

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Other Books in the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series:

 

Betrayal of Faith

A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller, Book 1

ISBN: 978-1732447196

Purchase on Amazon

 

 

Betrayal of Justice

A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller, Book 2

ISBN: 978-1732447189

Purchase on Amazon

 

Betrayal in Blue

A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller, Book 3

ISBN: 978-1734548907

Purchase on Amazon

 

Betrayal in Black

A Zachary Blake Legal Thriller, Book 4

ISBN: 978-1732447172

Purchase on Amazon

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About the Author

As an attorney and social justice advocate, author Mark M. Bello draws upon
over 40 years of courtroom experience in writing his Zachary Blake Legal
Thriller Series.

A Michigan native, Mark received his B.A. in English Literature from
Oakland University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
After 40 + years in and around the law, Mark turned to writing to provide
readers with real-life snippets of how our criminal or civil justice systems
might handle various “ripped from the headlines” topics. Combining
his legal experience and passion for justice with a creative writing style,
Mark brings captivating and thought-provoking novels to his readers.

When Mark’s not writing legal and political novels, he writes and
posts about fairness and justice in the civil justice system on his website,
Legal Examiner and Injury Board. In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling
and spending time with his family. Mark and his wife, Tobye, have four
children and 8 grandchildren.

Mark loves hearing from his readers! Drop him a line on the Contact page or
follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or Bookbub.

 

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