A Fool for a Client

by David Kessler

WHEN IT'S A MUSLIM, IT'S A TERRORIST. WHEN IT'S AN IRISH NATIONALIST, IT'S A FREEDOM FIGHTER! That at least was the attitude of the American judge who refused to extradite Sean Murphy to stand trial for planting a bomb in a London shopping mall that killed an Indian doctor and a three-year-old kid. Now Murphy is dead and 23-year-old American medical student Justine Levy is on trial in New York for his murder - conducting her own defense and resisting all offers of help from her young, black standby-counsel. But the evidence is circumstantial and the beautiful but vulnerable Justine remains tight-lipped. Was she a vigilante or was it personal? Did she know the child or the Indian doctor? Is she guilty? For her lawyer it IS personal because he is falling for her. But who will ultimately decide her fate? The jury? The ruthless gunman who has come to New York to kill her? Or another man who has come in pursuit of the gunman with a ruthlessness equal to that of Justine? David Kessler's first thriller doesn't just excite and mystify, it also asks some tough questions about vigilante justice and the rights of the victim.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

238 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

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

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am the author, so I can't really review it. This was my first published thriller and it evolved and gestated over the course of about 15 years. It emerged out of several different story ideas, some of which I wrote in short stories. I am still quite proud of it although when I wrote it I was very naive about things like drugs and guns.

[Amanda Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still have an old, well-read copy of this book, signed by the author. It is one I pick up and re-read every few years. That is how good this book is.

[Lianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book - a well written legal thriller with a reasonably good pace to it. The novelty of someone conducting their own defence, vigilante justice, the beliefs of the terrorist and the forgotten victims and consequences of their actions all add up to an interesting mix. The only thing that stopped the book being really good for me was the fact there was no real structure to the bits where the story went back in time, it was a little confusing. Also, there were a few typos, I came across a few “¾” in the middle of sentences that I couldn't always make sense of? Otherwise, it'd have been a definite 4 star book for me.

[L.T. Fawkes · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Kessler $2.99 on Kindle *** A thorough edit would earn this clever legal novel another star. That's the nice thing about Kindle - the author has the option of fixing the problems.

Aside from the errors, this is a nicely paced novel with a compelling main character - a young med student, determined to represent herself at trial, accused of poisoning a terrorist who has escaped extradite via a friendly judge and a legal technicality. Nice twist.

[Alma]

Loved this as it is a very interesting topic. Well written tho some of the legal stuff was a bit boring and interesting sub plot

[Muriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, good storyline.Do not give 4 stars very often,almost a 5.