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Summary
Summary
Introducing an electrifying new voice in legal fiction--in a phenomenal thriller unlike anything you've read before...
Debut author Sheldon Siegel bursts into the legal arena with a riveting courtroom drama, exposing the world of big-time law firms and lawyers in a sharp-witted, wonderfully sardonic page-turner of a novel.
Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex-public defender. Ex-husband. And as of yesterday, ex-partner at Simpson & Gates, one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up a private practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder. Daley has his first client--and is instantly catapulted into a high-profile case involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him.
The victims are one of Simpson & Gates's most powerful partners and a beautiful young associate. There's a suicide note on the partner's computer, but neither the police nor the ambitious district attorney believe it's authentic--and they think the man they've arrested is the killer. It's up to Mike Daley to prove them wrong, but time is very short.
As Daley prepares his case, he begins to uncover the firm's dirtiest secrets--and dirty they are--but he also discovers that his friend, too, has a lot to hide. Even as the trial is under way, Daley and his investigators are still frantically digging for evidence that will clear their client. Against a chorus of morning press reports and nightly TV commentaries picking apart each day's session, Daley comes to realize that ambition, politics, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role in the outcome as truth and justice. This is the real world of law practice at work, and it's as ruthless as it is startling.
Brilliantly paced, witty, crackling with energy and suspense, Special Circumstances not only brings us to a stunning denouement; it zestfully reminds us why we love to hate lawyers--but can't get enough of courtroom drama when it's done this well.
In a stunning turn of events, Daley's best friend, an ex-colleague, is charged with the double murder of two lawyers at the old firm and asks Daley to defend him. Cobbling together a defense team composed of himself, his ex-wife, and a onetime courtroom fixture named Mort Goldberg who's been wished on him against his better judgment, Daley finds he's got more to defend than his friend's innocence. The newly elected media-hungry District Attorn- ey, also a former colleague, will prosecute the case himself. As court is called into session, it becomes clear that in this trial ambition, honor, friendship, greed, and longstanding grudges will play as important a role as truth and justice.
Rarely has a legal thriller debut so accurately depicted not only the inner workings of the legal system but the crack-ling energy it takes to build and defend a felony case. In SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES author Sheldon Siegel reminds us why we love to hate lawyers -- but can't get enough of courtroom drama when it's done this well. -->
Author Notes
Sheldon Siegel is an attorney in a San Francisco law firm. He lives in Marin County with his wife & twin sons.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
San Francisco attorney Siegel's debut pits a likable lead against a giant law firm run by villains and fools; the result is a well-made courtroom page-turner, skillful and taut right up through the surprise ending. Siegel's hero and narrator is the competent, low-key Mike Daley, former priest and onetime public defender, now a 45-year-old partner at San Francisco's glossy Simpson and Gates. Daley hasn't brought enough business to the criminal department, and the senior partners have asked that he resign. Also leaving the firm is Prentice Marshall "Skipper" Gates III, son of the firm's founding partner: Skipper has just been elected district attorney. "My partners are thrilled," says Daley of Skipper's departure. "They have never complained about his arrogance, sloppy work and condescending attitude.... What they can live without is his $400,000 draw..." On New Year's Eve at Simpson and Gates, Daley is packing up his office, Skipper is enjoying a glitzy farewell party and other lawyers are working to close a lucrative property deal. But when the deal falls apart, two of those lawyers--a slimy master litigator and an ambitious young female partner--are found shot to death. At first it seems to be a murder-suicide brought on by greed, sex and depression. Then one of Daley's few friends at the firm, the son of a prominent rabbi, is charged with the murders. Daley and Skipper clash in a high-profile court case with echoes of several recent real-life media circuses. If the trial itself takes up too many pages, Siegel redeems himself elsewhere by focusing on the flawed, often-desperate Daley: Siegel humanizes his hero by depicting Daley's charged, still-sexual relationship with his ex-wife, a tough lawyer who retains custody of their six-year-old daughter. With a winning protagonist and a gripping plot, Siegel's debut is sure to make partner at its first-choice firm: the expanding empire of Turow, Grisham, Lescroart, Wilhelm, Margolin and Baldacci. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
for a continuance.
Booklist Review
This may be Siegel's first novel, but the quality of his writing proves that he has been working on his chops for a long time. All the hallmarks of a superb legal thriller are here: smart, nasty lawyers; a juicy sex scandal; a shocking double homicide; and nail-biting courtroom scenes. Siegel also infuses the novel with subtle humorous touches and wry observations on human nature. Protagonist Mike Daley has been fired from a huge corporate law firm, S & G, and is about to set up his own practice in one of San Francisco's not-so-nice neighborhoods. He quickly gets his first client when his best friend, Joel, is accused of murdering two attorneys at S & G. With friendly ex-wife and fellow lawyer Rosie helping, Mike sets out to prove Joel innocent and find the real killer. Readers may not especially care if Joel gets off for his own sake--he's a lying whiner--but Daley's integrity and his faith in his friend make us root strongly for him to win. Courtroom scenes in novels often lack the impact they possess on TV, but Siegel can match the best of Law and Order. On the basis of this stellar debut, it shouldn't take Siegel long to join the best-selling firm of Turow and Grisham. (Reviewed December 1, 1999)0553801414Jenny McLarin
Library Journal Review
Ever met a lawyer you actually liked? You'll like Mike Daley. He has a sense of humor, a human-sized ego, and he's tenacious as a bulldog. He's also not afraid to mix it up with the big boys, frequently coercing cooperation with the phrase, "I'll be happy to come back with a subpoena." He represents his best friend, Joel Friedman, an accused double murderer facing the death penalty. His opponents are savage, archetypal lawyers sleazy, greedy, and overinflated to the point of caricature. Siegel's novel is a highly entertaining, dead-on account of the trial process and life in a big law firm, comparable to John Grisham's work. The meaty, blow-by-blow narrative of Joel's trial is enhanced by an unusually twisted finale. Audie Award winner Frank Muller does an outstanding job of making this procedural jump; highly recommended. Douglas C. Lord, Hartford P.L., CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.