Best Intentions

by Julie Compton

Compton's portrait of an idealistic and ambitious prosecutor creates suspense the old fashioned through the relentless unfolding of character and its consequences. As we are swept up in the story much as Jack himself is, the novel deconstructs any easy moral superiority challenging readers to place themselves in Jack's shoes and then to say truthfully how and when they might act differently. - Alison Hicks

449 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Julie Compton is the internationally published author of TELL NO LIES, RESCUING OLIVIA, and the just-released KEEP NO SECRETS (a sequel to TELL NO LIES).

What reviewers say about TELL NO LIES:

"Compton's debut is a taut, tense cautionary tale complete with courtroom drama and a surprise ending." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Tell No Lies is "an absorbing account of an honourable man gradually yielding to multiple temptations," and "a strong debut from a writer who knows her law, and more importantly, can depict the ebb and flow of relationships, the conflict between love and desire and the irresistible urge to self-destruct of a 'man who has everything'." The Guardian (UK)

"Tell No Lies bears comparison to Turow's landmark 1987 debut, which has launched numerous imitations if few equals. The prose is solid, the plotting assured, and the characters believable. There's even a marvelous surprise ending." Fort Myers News-Press

"Compton proves she has real storytelling skills. Tell No Lies' final twist is as stunning as that classic surprise in Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"A real seat-edge thriller packed with the heady ingredients of power, passion, lies, lust and disaster." Peterborough Evening Telegraph (UK)

"A remarkably lucid writer . . . Verdict: Suspenseful and genuinely sexy." Orlando Magazine

"A promising debut." Booklist

"Readers will like this debut by a practicing attorney for its fluid prose and insight into the legal system." Library Journal

"Compton adds a very sexy pair of legs to Scott Turow legal thriller territory." Daily Mirror (UK)

Compton "does better in getting inside the mind of males than most male writers do in describing the thinking of females." St. Louis Post-Dispatch

What reviewers say about RESCUING OLIVIA:

"Compton's intense, entertaining second novel involves a horrifying coverup and a powerful new drug . . . [She] pulls off a super-satisfying resolution to this romantic thriller." Publishers Weekly

A "[m]odern-day fairy tale about a princely Florida lawn guy who must rescue his princess from a clutch of monsters. . . Compton burrows so deeply into Olivia's and Anders' troubled back stories and dramatizes in such psychologically compelling terms the swain's attempt to rescue his princess . . . that the result is a pleasing hybrid of fairy tale and contemporary thriller. . . [Her] increasingly pointed questions about what exactly it would mean to rescue Olivia make the journey worthwhile." Kirkus Reviews

"A page-turner." Booklist

"The intricate plot of this intense family drama unfolds layer by layer as a so-called accident forces two people to learn the harsh lesson that sometimes it's those closest to you that cause the most damage. Compton certainly knows how to spin an engrossing tale. Nothing is quite as it appears, which causes the suspense level to continually rise in anticipation of what's to come." RT Book Reviews

"Clearly over the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Rescuing Olivia is a terrific amateur sleuth thriller. . . Anders is a refreshing hero . . . His efforts to find and rescue Olivia make for a wonderful drama." Harriet Klausner