Keeping Secrets: A Legal Thriller

Warrick Thompson Files #3

by Deborah Hawkins

An innocent man is scheduled to die. A United States Supreme Court nominee holds the key to his freedom. Which will she choose? Her career or his freedom?For thirty years, Brendan Murphy has done the impossible. He has kept his client, Professor Edward Wynne Carter, III, alive on Virginia's Death Row. Three juries have convicted Ed of murdering his pregnant wife in 1983, but Ed continues to insist that the real killer is Allison Byrd, the law student who stalked him relentlessly and whose lies sent him to Death Row. Now Ed's execution is set for March 3, 2017, the day before his son Wynne's marriage to Claire Chastain. McKenzie Fitzgerald, a name partner in Hugh Mahoney's San Diego law firm, learns of Ed's impending execution on the day that she also learns she has been nominated to the United States Supreme Court. She has evidence of Ed's innocence, but her career will be destroyed if she reveals it. Determined to save her career, she stubbornly insists Ed is guilty. Claire enlists the help of Jeff Ryder to help her prove that Allison is the real killer. But when Claire is kidnaped on her wedding day, and Brendan has a heart attack, Jeff becomes responsible for saving Claire and Ed in the face of mounting evidence that Ed had both motive and opportunity to kill his wife.

Genres: Suspense

474 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2018

About the author

I was born in the South where everyone is a storyteller. I wrote my first story at age 11 and my first novel at age 13. I have been writing ever since. I have worked as a writing teacher, an editor, and as an attorney. In addition to writing I love music. I have played clarinet since I was almost too small to hold the instrument. Now that my three children are grown, I spend a lot of time with my Golden Retrievers, Melody and Rhythm.

Reviews

[Sandra Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I really enjoyed this book. It pulled me in from beginning to end. I Appreciated the detail descriptions of the characters, places and times frames.

[Cath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story about the death penalty procedure in the United States and its many outcomes. A man called Professor Edward Wynne Carter has been on death row for nearly 30 years and his lawyer Brendan Murphy has been doing his best to keep him from being executed all this time. Brendan believes his client is completely innocent and was elsewhere at the time his pregnant wife was killed, but no-one else believed it. He went through three separate trials and was given the death penalty in each. All his appeals have failed, even the last one which proved that the original witnesses had all been lying about his whereabouts.

To make matters worse, a person who could have proven his innocence, with a witness statement they were sent to take to take a woman’s statement, when she herself was just out of law school and didn’t realise until afterwards that she hadn’t turned on the tape recorder. She went back the next dy and the woman had cleared out of her apartment and disappeared! The new lawyer is called McKenzie Fitzgerald and now 30 years later she is being considered as a judge for the Supreme Court. Apart from this small error, early in her career, which she told nobody about, she has been ab exemplary lawyer.

Now McKenzie has to get real and decide if her career is more important than an innocent man’s life! She hasn’t spoken up for 30 years and Ed Carter has sat on death row all that time. The story goes back and forth between Carter and McKenzie’s stories and the other people involved in all manners. Whether that be as witnesses, those trying to see Ed executed, or those trying to save him. It was a good read, with lots to learn about the process from trial through to death sentence and the date of execution being set. Also a look at the law school scene and the work of a lawyer, from student, newbie lawyer and then onwards to a possible appointment as a judge and the background investigations for the candidates, much like an election for president.

You think that a simple error from your past will never come back to bite you in the back, even when you think your error made no difference in the outcome of the trial due to other witnesses evidence. How many so called ‘death row’ inmates are later exonerated, by justice groups taking their cases and proving them innocent. Whether this is originally due to inefficient legal representation, hiding of evidence, insufficient investigation of the original crime and just going for the easiest suspect, there are many faults with the system. Bring in the problems with soon to be outdated drugs used for the actual executions and the fact there have been some bad results, make many believe the death sentences should be stopped.

I really enjoyed reading this. You learn early on that a secret has been held, by someone that could have helped in Ed Carters case, right from the start. Yet, she is not the only person that was holding onto secrets and not wanting certain aspects of their lives to be made public. Tales of affairs and inappropriate behaviour all add to the twists in the tale. The book is a great length, giving it enough space to add in all the side stories required to make the case more complex and leaving you guessing as to who was actually responsible. A great who dun it! I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and thoroughly enjoyed the read. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so good!!!! Ed Carter has been on death row since 1983 for the brutal death of his wife and his lawyer, Brendan, has managed to keep him alive for 30 years. An execution date has now been handed down and the race is on to try to save him. With the help of many people, the story and the events of that night slowly come out. Truths are revealed that maybe should have just been kept quiet. This was a such a great book! I still wasn't sure if he was innocent or not until the end of the book. Great legal read!

[Ava M Bartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!

This book is so good. Grabbed me from page one to the very last page. This book in in my favorite genre and I have read a lot of books, but never one like this one. So many twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out, it went in a different direction. The characters were very well developed and believable. The storyline was incredible and so detailed. I felt like I was involved in this story and knew the characters personally. First book of this author but won't be my last. Highly recommend this book!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. I could see a lot of this playing out in real life and that is very scary. I did doubt my thoughts on the book for a bit and was glad that I was right about what happened but I loved the fact that I doubted myself. It makes the book more interesting. I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight but once I understood the connections it wasn't too bad. I got this book for free and I wanted to give my honest review. I will absolutely read more by this author!

[Susan Margaret Leedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and extremely moving novel

The characters are so well described that I felt their fears, losses and hopes as if they were part of my circle of family and friends! A descriptive writing dealing with mental health, the law, but of greatest importance the very essence of what makes us human!

[Dave N'renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

would make a good tv legal miniseries.

too many infidelities...to many “loves of my life”. thought it would work good for a tv season. but the death penalty issues and the execution stays and trials were interesting enough to hold the whole thing together. netfix or amazon should consider ...

[Michelle Strommen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! At first it was hard keeping all of the characters straight, but eventually it happened. I found the story interesting. I kept doubting who the real killer was and guessed wrong a lot. Great storytelling. Would’ve liked a little more to 5e ending but we can’t have everything.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is not referred to as part of a series, it has many of the same characters introduced in Mirror, Mirror. As a result, the author baldly outlines the characters assuming that you are familiar with them and their relationships. That said, it is a very entertaining “who done it”.

[kathy dooley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing

I needed a notepad to keep track of all the characters. This could have been a compelling mystery, but I spent too much time trying to connect the dots between the characters. In the end, the conclusion was out of left field. Not worth the effort

[Karen C. Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely hard to put down

Keeping Secrets - Like the other books in this series this is very hard to put down, somehow once you start and get engrossed in the story you just want to keep on reading through to the end. Definitely a good series and a good author

[paulette sarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great legal thriller

This story kept you on your toes until the end. Lots itof action and suspense. Loved the way the author dedicated a chapter to each main character. Would definitely recommend this author and can't wait to read the next book.

[Dorothy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

Lots of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. It gives new insight into how lawyers think and respond to their clients and how different personalities utilize their law school training in such different styles.

[Betty Strait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing and page turning

I am sad that I have finished book 3. Written with great detail and stories that push the minds reach. Very enjoyable. If you haven't read Book 1 and 2.....do yourself a favor and do so.

[Julie Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, suspenseful, though sometimes you need a cheat sheet to keep all the characters straight. Seems like some of them were superfluous and interfered with the flow of the story.

[Joyce Grossman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book was very good but the author is very negative about her reviwes

[megan wykle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and it won't be my last. Good plot with amaze detAiled characters. I couldn't put it down.

[Verdie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real twist in the end

I have read all 3 Warrick-Thompson Files books and enjoyed each of them. This one has a twist that I never saw coming! Keep up the good work Deborah Hawkins

[Sambasivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous two. But still a terrific read. The story moves at a crackling pace but the ending was not a big surprise. However well done.

[K-BRC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five star legal thriller with more twists than a mountain highway. This book will hold your attention from the first page through the very last. The characters are fully developed with multiple layers bringing them sharply to life.

[Vickie Poole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book I received for free in return for my review. So many twists and turns with a surprise ending. I recommend this book to mystery lovers like myself.

[Les An · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Book setting is Richmond, Va