Marked Man

Alex Sedaka #3

by David Kessler

Also published as "Hello darkness my okld friend"

SWITZERLAND - the Jungfrau Region: A wealthy young man dies in a skiing accident.

SAN FRANCISCO: A few months later, two homeless men stagger into a bar. One of them leaves his friend there, but minutes later the friend is stabbed by another homeless man: George Stone.

Arrested at the scene and charged with murder with special circumstances, Stone asks for Alex Sedaka to represent him. However, it soon becomes apparent that this is anything but a straightforward case of violence between homeless people. After all, how many homeless people have $2000 on them. And why would a homeless killer leave such a large sum on his victim? Also... why is the British Prime Minister taking such an interest in the murder of a homeless "John Doe" over five thousand miles away?

But when Homeland Security become involved and an attempt is made on the accused man's life, both Alex and the DA realize that matters are running out of control. And as powerful forces up the ante, Alex also has to face the fact that his client isn't the only one in danger.

Genres: Thriller, Legal Thriller

374 pages, ebook

First published July 8, 2012

About the author

I was born in the UK and grew up on a council estate in central London.

Reviews

[Robbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have rated this better, but the editing was horrendous. Hopefully it will be updated.

[Deboleena Mookerjee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good plot , a good book turned sour by horrible writing/editing. The thriller was great, the story-telling was not! Would you believe it, the book actually had a man called " Mr. Fixit"!! how blase can they get?

I had read "Mercy" by the author some time back , and it was a roller -coaster ride, which led me to pick up this book, featuring Alex Sedaka, but I have been sorely disappointed.

[Trish Bracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

for

One of the best books I have read in a long time as a serving officers t attitude wife for over 25 years a little too the bone at times.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex Sedaka, defence lawyer, gets embroiled in a case of murder where no-one is quite what they seem. Lots of action and transatlantic espionage.

[Lisa Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Hello Darkness, my old friend, the third installment in the Alex Sedaka series, Kessler takes us on a wild ride unlike anything we’ve seen in the first two novels. A simple pro bono case involving a homeless man accused of murder turns into an international incident. As Alex works the case, trying his damndest to protect his client’s best interest in spite of overwhelming evidence of George Stone’s guilt, powerful forces work behind the scenes to try to contain national security secrets. Alex has no idea what he’s gotten into. I really liked this one the most. Just like the other two, it is tightly plotted and extremely well-paced with complex characters you will become attached to—whose secrets will shock you. But this put Alex into a different situation. So while I still got all the things that I’ve grown to love about the Alex Sedaka novels—clean, elegant writing, page-turning suspense, scandalous secrets, multiple, intelligently drawn twists and turns, meticulously researched legal theory and computer tech stuff, well developed, interesting characters—this novel gives us something refreshing and different in terms of plot. Very original and as always, Kessler takes circumstances we read about all the time or see on the news all the time and puts both a unique twist on them and a very human face on them. You can read any one of these novels as a stand alone which is also great; although as always, certain things will mean more to you as a reader if you read them in order.

[Annette Gisby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read any of the previous books featuring lawyer Alex Sedaka, but that doesn't really matter. This is a novel that stands on its own with a few mentions of the cases Alex dealt with previously, but you don't need to know all about those to enjoy this book. And it is an enjoyable book. Alex is a very likeable character, he's very down to earth, has normal troubles like everyone else but does his job to the best of his ability.

What I liked best about this book was at no time did it turn into a soap opera. It wasn't about who was sleeping with who (or not), the main focus was on the crime and Alex's client's part in it. Yes, Alex and his law firm partner Juanita have a personal life (not with each other), but those parts were few and far between before we got back to the main meat of the story.

There are twists and turns, red herrings galore and you don't really find out what is really going on right till the end. It's a fast-paced, easily read book and you find yourself getting lost in it, wondering what the next revelation is going to be. It keeps you guessing right till the last and I was surprised by both twists near the end. A great read.

Review copy from author.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Christmas present to all readers, this ebook has not been reduced to $0.99 on Amazon... for the time being...

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Alex Sedaka novel, but it will not be the last. Amazing how one act can be like a ripple effect causing a waterfall of events.