Wild Justice - Hardcover

Margolin, Phillip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060196246 ISBN 13: 9780060196240

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

The discovery of two severed heads and a mass grave leads investigators to the doorstep of a troubled surgeon, but when he disappears and the murders begin anew, attorney Amanda Jaffe must unravel the mystery. 113,000 first printing. $250,000 ad/promo. Lit Guild, Doubleday, Mystery Guild, & BOMC.

About this title

Review:

When a killing field is unearthed in the Oregon woods, it's linked to a Portland surgeon whose increasingly aggressive behaviour and explosive temper have already drawn the attention of his colleagues. Neophyte attorney Amanda Jaffe takes second chair to her father, a successful criminal lawyer retained by Dr. Vincent Cardoni when he is charged with multiple counts of murder. The victims have one thing in common: they are missing vital organs, which were clearly harvested by an expert surgeon. In this explosive and fast-paced suspense thriller, the forensic evidence against Cardoni is so convincing that even after his acquittal on a technicality, the reader, like Amanda, is sure of his guilt. And when a similar field of mutilated bodies turns up years later, Cardoni is again the primary suspect. But Cardoni has disappeared, and this time it's his former wife, Justine Castle, who's implicated in the new crimes, and Amanda who's retained as the lead attorney in the case.

The particulars of the killings are so similar to the first set of murders that Amanda is convinced Cardoni is involved. When he is found to be working at the same hospital where he was once a promising surgeon (this time as a custodian and under an assumed name), she draws the logical conclusion. But when she finds Cardoni's severed hand at the scene of the crimes, she is forced to rethink the assumptions on which her defence of the doctor's ex-wife is based. Could Justine, in fact, be the killer? Author Phillip Margolin's newest book moves at an almost frantic pace. Bodies pile up, evidence mounts, and everything points to Cardoni's guilt until the end, a stunner that surprises Amanda as well as the reader. This chilling, deftly crafted novel will hold the reader's attention to the last page. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com

Review:

The particulars of the killings are so similar to the first set of murders that Amanda is convinced Cardoni is involved. When he is found to be working at the same hospital where he was once a promising surgeon (this time as a custodian and under an assumed name), she draws the logical conclusion. But when she finds Cardoni's severed hand at the scene of the crimes, she is forced to rethink the assumptions on which her defence of the doctor's ex-wife is based. Could Justine, in fact, be the killer? Author Phillip Margolin's newest book moves at an almost frantic pace. Bodies pile up, evidence mounts, and everything points to Cardoni's guilt until the end, a stunner that surprises Amanda as well as the reader. This chilling, deftly crafted novel will hold the reader's attention to the last page. (Jane Adams, Amazon.com)

Easily challenges Grisham or Turow. (PUBLISHING NEWS)

Pages turn fast enough to make the perfect breeze for chilling beachside escapists. (PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY)

Choose to read if you're willing to twist and turn like a fish on a hook. (IRELAND ON SUNDAY)

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0060196246
• ISBN 13: 9780060196240
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 362