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Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Berhardt, W. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library | BERNHARDT Travis Byrne #1 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Travis Byrne, a smart Dallas cop who decided in mid-career to trade his badge for a law degree, has seen a lot of scum in his time -- but no one as low, mean, and vicious as Al Moroconi. Moroconi has been hauled in on the charge of orchestrating a monstrous crime against a young woman. The first defense attorney on the case disappears under highly suspicious circumstances. Now, appointed by a federal judge, Travis is obliged to speak for the defense. Much as he despises Moroconi, Travis is a professional: he'll do everything he can to get Moroconi off, even in the face of a death threat from the Mob. But just as the trial is getting under way, Moroconi shoots his way out of court custody, steals a car, and vanishes into the Dallas underworld -- taking Travis's reputation with him. No sooner does Moroconi disappear than Travis becomes ensnared in a web of corruption and betrayal, in which nothing is what it appears to be. The FBI is after Travis for a murder he didn't commit. The Mob wants to kill him for a secret hit list he doesn't have. Running for his life, Travis comes to the horrifying realization that the charge against Moroconi is just a cover for something much bigger and more foul . . . .
Author Notes
William Bernhardt is the author of many books, including Primary Justice, Double Jeopardy, Silent Justice, Murder One, Criminal Intent, and Death Row. He has twice won the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction, and in 2000 he was presented the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award "in recognition of an outstanding body of work in which we understand ourselves and American society at large."
A former trial attorney, Bernhardt has received several awards for his public service.
He lives in Tulsa with his children, Harry, Alice, and Ralph. (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Two lawyers on the lam from a rape victim's family, the mob, the cops and the FBI move this tale through Dallas neighborhoods and corrupt institutions faster than a hanging judge can bang a gavel. Forsaking his popular series hero, attorney Ben Kincaid (Perfect Justice), Bernhardt here gives fictional life to cop turned defense attorney Travis Byrne, who's aided by skip-chaser (one who tracks down people who have violated their bond) turned federal prosecutor Laverne Cavanaugh in a quest to spring Byrne from a crafty frame-up. When the court appoints Byrne to defend loathsome Alberto Moroconi against charges of having raped and mutilated a coed, the case seems merely routinely repugnant to the veteran attorney. Soon, though, Byrne is roughed up by mafia goons, leaned on by the FBI, abused by the judge, threatened by the victim's brother and smeared by the press. The capper comes when Moroconi kills a guard, bursts out of jail and spreads mayhem that gets blamed on Byrne, who goes on the run to clear his name. Soon he's joined by Cavanaugh, at first forcibly, as Byrne, who's gone to her for help, ties her up to keep her from turning him in; and later willingly, after they are attacked and Byrne's car is blown up. Cavanaugh's grasp of the information superhighway, her old skip-chaser connections and Byrne's street savvy keep the pair a half-step ahead of pursuers as they work their way through a puzzle that hinges on a mysterious list. Despite some minor flawsthe plot turns on a few weak devices, an important relationship between Travis and a young girl isn't solidified, the humor doesn't always workthis novel proves as engaging as Bernhardt's earlier work, with its appealing pair of heroes deftly set up for a sequel in the courtroom finale. $100,000 ad/promo. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A rookie Dallas attorney who's a whiz in the courtroom has to take his show on the road when his lowlife client busts out of jail and implicates him in a three-ring circus of mob violence. Handed the unenviable task of defending Alberto Moroconi on charges of rape and aggravated assault, hotshot ex-cop Travis Byrne burns the midnight oil preparing a defense, despite pressure from the victim's family and a beating from a pair of hooligans who want Moroconi to remain in jail. But Moroconi won't stay put, despite the promise of Byrne's clever defense. Following the blueprint drawn up by a turncoat FBI agent who's in his pocket, he breaks out, killing one of his guards. When Byrne gets a midnight phone call summoning him to a rendezvous with his client, he doesn't call the police, because he plans to turn Moroconi in himself (a little naïve there, maybe?), but the meeting turns into a bloodbath, and now Byrne has to take it on the lam too, hunted by (1) Mario Catuara, who's battling Moroconi for control of the local mob; (2) the enforcer who killed Moroconi's last lawyer; (3) the treacherous FBI agent; (4) a mysterious sniper loaded with high-tech killing gear; and (5) the client himself, who's not happy about the way the defense has been going. With his friends under scrutiny by the police, the mob, the FBI, rogue FBI agents under contract to the mob, guys just pretending to be FBI agents, and guys who just like to shoot, Byrne naturally goes to ground with Laverne Cavanaugh, the state's attorney he's been humiliating in court, and the two of them hunker down for a pleasantly interminable series of face- offs, impersonations, and double-crosses. Bernhardt (Perfect Justice, 1994, etc.) serves up a fine farrago of nonstop, nonsensical action evidently intended for audiences who think lawyers don't get enough exercise and fresh air. ($100,000 ad/promo)
Booklist Review
Author of successful legal thrillers featuring attorney Ben Kinkaid, Bernhardt introduces a new and promising central character, Travis Byrne. An ex-cop one year out of law school, Byrne is already a leading defense attorney in Dallas. On one day's notice, he is appointed by the court to defend one of the lowest crime figures around, Al Moroconi, who is accused of taking part in a gang rape. Disturbing facts are revealed, and bizarre occurrences ensue: Moroconi's prior attorney is found murdered; Byrne is beaten up in the courthouse men's room on the way to his first Moroconi hearing; Mr. Henderson, claiming to be with the FBI, threatens Byrne, encouraging him to botch his defense; Moroconi escapes from prison, killing a guard in his way; eventually, Byrne can't tell the good guys from the bad. Byrne is chasing Moroconi, but everyone else is chasing him; he eludes the Mob and the authorities once too often, though, making him the number-one enemy in the eyes of many. Fortunately, Byrne meets, quite by accident, a colleague from the prosecutor's office, a female lawyer whom he has beaten too often to count. But he is a sitting duck for the manhunt that's targeted him because he is paralyzed by the memory of the death of his fianc{{{{‚}}e}}Ee--a violent death he believes he could have prevented. A fast-paced thriller with enough twists to keep you guessing. (Reviewed Feb 15, 1995)0345386833Mary Frances Wilkens
Library Journal Review
After a string of paperback best sellers featuring attorney Ben Kincaid, Bernhardt's hardcover debut, Perfect Justice (Ballantine, 1993), sold 40,000 copies. His latest legal thriller is the first in a new series. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.