Meet Tony Valenti. His high-flying corporate law career just cratered. His society marriage blew up in a bitter divorce. He’s returned to the Chicago suburbs to lick his wounds and regroup in the haven of the Valenti family home. But time to heal isn’t in the cards.
Tony’s elderly father inexplicably shoots a sheriff’s deputy on their front porch. Nobody knows why, and Papa isn’t talking. Then their house becomes an unlikely target for condemnation and expropriation by corrupt local officials and their cronies.
With money and hope dwindling, Tony steps up to defend his father and take on city hall, and quickly finds himself in peril when he unearths sinister connections between the cases. The audacity of the plot against them fuels a gritty determination to get to the bottom of what really happened—regardless of the risks and ultimate cost to himself. To win, Tony must earn his father’s trust and outwit his wily opponents.
A House on Liberty Street is the first book in the gripping Tony Valenti series. If you enjoy page-turning thrillers with compelling, complex characters battling to untangle twisted conspiracies, this series is for you.
Neil Turner is the author of the gripping and highly-acclaimed Tony Valenti Thrillers series. If you like underdogs battling for survival—John Lescroart’s Dismas Hardy, Greg Iles’s Penn Cage, Michael Connelly’s Micky Haller, or John Grisham’s Jake Brigance—it’s time to start reading Tony Valenti.
What a great, entertaining read. My first Neil Turner novel and his first of five Tony Valenti legal/crime thrillers. So I started at the beginning after reading his prequel novella Last Exit on the Road to Nowhere. With A House on Liberty Street, Neil Turner has proven beyond the shadow of doubt he’s an excellent writer and storyteller. This book grabbed me from the first scene and kept me turning pages through the suspenseful twists and turns to a satisfying end. He created a cast of likeable, compelling characters. Most notable is Tony Valenti, a father and lawyer way down on his luck trying to find redemption and renewed success in his old suburban Chicago village. To do that, he must come to the aid of his Italian immigrant father, accused of murdering a village police officer. From there, the story widens and deepens. Here is an example, to me, showing the power of Turner’s good writing: “I’ve wondered all my life what it is about me that makes people turn away. My own brother, for God’s sake. Even Papa slapped me around now and again after a little too much grappa. My wife ditched me. Twice. Hell, even my own daughter can’t stand to be around me. I reach out and touch Frankie’s picture. Maybe you were right all along. Michelle, too. I really am a worthless sack of shit.” Permit me to share one more excerpt I like, describing the neighborhood where Tony grew up: “We kids fought a lot, as well, the squabbles generally forgotten by the next morning, if not sooner. Our folks also did battle, often loudly over a beer or two on someone’s front porch—usually with an abundance of boisterous laughter tempering the verbal salvoes. Show me a neighborhood without petty jealousies, catty cliques, and silly squabbles, and I’ll show you a street of strangers. Not us. We ate at one another’s houses, had sleepovers, pitched tents in backyards, and went to plenty of weddings and the occasional funeral.” It’s a gripping story, wonderfully written.
I stayed up until 3 a.m. last night - I had to finish the book. I couldn't put it down, I just absolutely had to know what happened next!
It’s such a beautifully written and compelling story. The characters are very real and easy to connect with. You can’t help but empathize with Tony Valenti, as his life is pretty much falling apart with his father arrested for murder, his ex-wife threatening to take his teenage daughter from him, his once successful career ruined and now even his life possibly in danger.
This story reminds us of how strong people can be even when they feel extremely weak, of how there’s always a glimpse of hope, and that despite all the injustice and unfairness of today’s world, there will always be someone ready to offer their support, and true friendship will always exist.
Book 1 in the Tony Valenti series, A House on Liberty Street, sees Tony defending his father against a murder charge.
I enjoyed this believable and quirky legal thriller. I loved the psychology in the courtroom and the way the prosecution and defence tell the same story with such a different spin. There were so many cute relationships going on (Brittany and Pat’s being one of my favourites) and the way Mike and Tony worked with each other was spot on. I felt it was cleverly written, and with a couple of jaw dropping moments, it kept me turning the pages.
That closing argument was *chefs kiss*
I thought Amy’s story sounded interesting and was a bit disappointed that wasn’t explored further, it seemed to start gaining traction and then disappeared somewhat. Pat seemed to be up and about a little soon after what happened, but they’re my only criticisms.
Thanks to NetGalley and Relay Publishing for my advanced copy.
Great book. Keep me entertained throughout the book. Good verses evil. A corporate lawyer without a job. Has had to move back home with his daughter. To live with his father. He now has to help a court appointed attorney. To prove his father killed a police officer in self Defense.
It's been a long time since I've read a book in less than two days. But I found it hard two put this one down! It was easy to see the characters involved! I really wanted to see the outcome of this trial! It was easy to imagine being one of the jury tasked with the verdict!
A House on Liberty Street is the first book in The Tony Valenti Thrillers and is a great start to this series.
The story has characters who are well-developed and realistic. The story is well written and engaged my interest from the first page to the last with murder, suspense, danger, and intrigue. I really enjoyed this thriller and cannot wait for the next one in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This novel excited me and had me hooked from page one. The characters leapt off the pages to life, some larger than life. The legal issues facing underprivileged people couldn't have been closer to real life played out everyday in courts all over the globe. A definitely great read.
This is a story about a street with houses on that been there for awhile . Nice neighbors and homes. Valentin the son decided to go back home with his teen daughter to his father who lived there for many years after his wife passed away. But when they got there was a cop and ambulance was there. Whats wrong with PAP Brittany says to her Dad. Someone says a policeman was shot and killed. What? His father was charged with the murder of a policeman. Court case comes up then and we are walked thru the whole trial of his father. I guess I won't get in to the why it happened it may let to much info out about the story. The case goes to court, and he helps his dad's lawyers with the case. His father is not a murderer. We have to get to the what happened and the why it happened like that.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series
I like books that tell a story which has what I call realistically entertaining, this book has all the qualities of what I want to read. Neil Turner's main character, Anthony Venti a self described "screw up" has made numerous bad choices in his life that has led to him having to move back in with his father nearly bankrupt and having to raise a daughter as a single father. His father is accused of murdering a police officer. Anthony is also involved in trying to save the house and the neighborhood from corrupt developers. All this comes together to make a great read. The characters that Turner develops is intragel to the books enjoyment. I would recommend reading this book.
This was an enjoyable light read. I wouldn't consider it a 'thriller' but it does build likeable characters. This foundation is necessary for future reads.
It starts a little slowly but then it gets into a good pace. There is a lot to unpack in this book: relationships, childhood traumas and relationships, divorce, custody, murder, eviction, corruption. You seem to get more than 1 story.
I rarely pick up a book that surprises me, but Neil Turner’s A House on Liberty Street did. I’ve read a lot of thrillers and this one had the fast-paced feel that a lot of them get but put it in a courtroom. I still can’t quite figure out how Turner did that. It also had all of the twists and turns that I’ve come to love, and in some of them I might have said out loud “No way!”
A House on Liberty Street starts with a wild opening scene and after that launches into the legal battle that ensues when former corporate, now learning to be a criminal lawyer and a public defender puts up a battle against a slain police officer’s counsel. It turns into a wild ride that I didn’t think could happen inside of a courtroom.
It’s also weird going into a book that I know has more books in it and for about 98% of the book I couldn’t figure out how there was going to be a second book at all. When it finally clicked I started laughing and got excited to check out the next book.
I love it when I can pick up a new book by a new author I’ve never heard of before and enjoy it like this. It brings back that joy of finding a band that none of your friends have heard yet. A feeling that I feel like I’m honored to get to experience over and over again. And this book gave me that feeling. I enjoyed this one more than I expected and love that feeling.
I think what surprised me about A House on Liberty Street was the amount of heart it had. On the surface, it’s a story about a son helping his father. But under, it’s so much more. I love how much Turner was able to make me feel for these characters. When the final story was unfolding I was smiling and even shedding some tears. It has the right amount of payoff that you want out of a thriller.
Overall, I enjoyed this one a ton. Having Gary Bennett narrate it just launches this one into the stratosphere for me. He was able to perfectly match the pace that Turner was setting. The court battle goes up and down and is mostly at a frantic pace – and Bennett was able to take me on that journey that Turner intended. I love when a narrator can do that and Bennett has been quickly climbing into the echelons of my all-time favorite narrators.
I loved the story and I'm interested in the next adventure for Tony Valenti- Corporate Attorney forced to turn to Criminal Defense. If you are a go with the flow reader and you don't play Monday morning Counsel as you listen to the defense pull their case together, just read and enjoy. I, however like to really think through the defense and while I'm not an attorney, I felt frustrated at times that the author didn't really do his best in threading together the courtroom drama- Everything outside was great- just left me lacking a solid believable jury verdict.
This story picks up where the last one left off. Tony and his daughter have returned home and while Tony and Britany are attending orientation at the school that Britany will be attending, Tony's father is arrested and charged with murdering a police officer. When Tony arrives home he sees all sorts of emergency vehicles and tries to find out what happened. He is told that his father has been taken downtown to be charged and he wouldn't be able to see him. Tony goes down to the jail where he meets the public defender that will be representing Tony's father.
Tony at this time has been looking for a job and his options are bleak because of what his father did. In addition, the town is trying to foreclose on their house and because of this fact, an eviction notice was being issued and that is the reason that the police officer was at Tony's house. Tony makes arrangements with a law firm to look into what caused the eviction notice. Tony along with the lawyer assigned to the case, are able to get a delay on the eviction and Tony also gets involved in trying to stop a development in his neighborhood which would take by eminent domain the property.
Tony eventually gets a job, but the impact of his father's case along with his attempt to stop the development has caused him to lose his job. Tony now has time to assist the public defender with his father's case and also try to find a way to stop the development approval. Tony receives help from Pat, a classmate from school and also a journalist, in bringing public attention to the wrongdoings of the Town Mayor and Town Manager.
To discover how Tony made out with his effort to save his father's house and also what types of obstacles were set to impede him, how his daughter was adjusting to the new school and what facts Tony and the public defender, Mike, were able to uncover, then you must read this book. The details of Tony's father's trial are well portrayed and the ending will blow your mind. This book and author are well worth your time to look into.
Difficult to see the hero as a successful lawyer with all the self doubts built into the telling of the tale, but he demonstrates the fact in the last few chapters in a way that sparkled in its simplicity and search for the truth. Looking forward to others in the series.
Although the author refers to this book, as a thriller, I don't quite see it that way. I do think it is an enjoyable book, with well developed characters and asks the proverbial question, "can the little guy actually win?" In this case, the defendant must battle the criminal justice system and corrupt politicians. This is a formidable task, aided by his son, a corporate attorney, adjusting to life after a corporate scandal. Overall, a great read.
This is an enjoyable legal drama. The protagonist, Toni Valenti, is not the caricature of a cocky lawyer with super powers of persuasion and unique legal ability. He is, in many ways, an insecure man, barely able to survive, let alone support his teenage daughter. He is an underdog caught up in political forces, greed, and a wall of silence. The plot was very interesting and kept me engaged. My criticisms, hence not five stars, are twofold. First, some of the trial evidentiary discussions were a stretch. I checked to see if the author is a lawyer, apparently not, but overall, he did a good job. Secondly, it bothers me to portray prosecutors as corrupt or not caring about truth and justice. Sure, it can happen, but novels like these merely pile on what the public has perceived to be universal among prosecutors. The result- we create a distrust of the judicial system in general.
Maybe my title is an insult to the author. I watch what I read diligently. I don't want bad language, sex or immorality in what i read. Tony Valentine's seems to get knocked down a lot in his daily life. However, he is more than willing to stand up for his father as he gets kicked around by the local politicians and is accused of murder. Tony an, unemployed corporate lawyer, moves home to help himself and has daughter only to find dad needs his help. I enjoyed how the author led is through the upheavals in their lives and worked to help the family and supporting characters resolve the crimes and injustices in their lives. Couldn't put this down. Read it in a day.
Easy reading. This mystery-thriller is not your typical murder whodunnit (though that does wrap into the story). We start knowing a cop has been murdered and knowing who shot him, which set up the drama very differently. The clue trail was similar to other mysteries but the story was less gritty film noir which I enjoyed. Especially not having any overtly sexualized female characters. Overall, a great read but it was a little slow in places as parts of the story and characters are built. It made for a rich detailed read but less action than I typically find in thrillers.
A gripping, relatable legal thriller. Tony Valenti is a little down on his luck. His wife divorced him and left the country. The law firm that supported his very comfortable lifestyle imploded. Now Tony and his hurt and confused teenage daughter are headed to Tony's family home to regroup. But Tony finds his father sitting in jail, accused of murder. Nothing is what it seems, he's sure. But how can he help his father if he won't help himself? Tony embarks on an unrelenting quest for truth in a twisty eminent domain case that led to a homicide, much too close to home. A gripping and realistic legal thriller and a wonderful start to this hit series. Read it!
I couldn’t put it down. It’s a good combination of a court room procedural and thriller. This the first book in the series and is a bit of an origin story. Turner’s depiction of the court room drama felt plausible and accurate. While there is plenty of suspense in the legal wrangling, there is also plenty of action outside of the court room. As our protagonists fights city hall, he comes under physical threat from unknown sources. Characters are well developed and engaging. The plot is well paced and interesting. And the good news is that if you like it, there are other books in the series.