“ALMOST A MURDER” is a nonfiction novel of literary realism.
It is a starkly honest portrayal of a cub lawyer accepting a case no one else will touch in an attempt to cope with his recent grief and entrenched reflex of inferiority. He is up against powerful financial, social and political pressures in this epic legal battle.
Tension builds during the three trials that comprise this case: police procedures, crime scene investigations, legal jostling, and the defendant's relationship with the victim. “ALMOST A MURDER” is fraught with emotion and unflinching in its portrayal of abuse of power, human frailty and depicting the hypocrisy of "civilized" society turning away from the unincorporated because they do not warrant notice.
No doubt the authors can construct a compelling story, but it is the flesh-and-blood characters, the dead-on dialects, and the searing honesty that brings this story to life.
In a REAL-LIFE COURTROOM LEGAL DRAMA, “ALMOST A MURDER”, authors Jody Seay and Jim Lloyd recount how a wealthy “Son of Oklahoma” is slain by his delicate foreign wife. To police, the brutal facts are clear: she cracked his skull with a bat, shot him twice, she strangled him, dumped his body; lied repeatedly and then, when cornered, she confessed. Everyone believes it’s going to be a slam-dunk murder trial and a quick trip to lethal injection.
But cub lawyer, Lloyd, reluctantly comes to her defense in this completely lopsided contest. He puts his family and future in jeopardy to defend a killer with no friends, no money, and who barely speaks English. Together the defendant and Jim stand against powerful political and financial forces in an epic battle between retribution and truth in the Oklahoma legal system. Ultimately this TRUE CRIME THRILLER is one of the most studied legal clashes in US law today.
Written by an award-winning author and the lawyer who defended this case, “ALMOST A MURDER”, showcases their stunning ability to capture pivotal moments and to reveal vulnerability. This provides readers an unparalleled “you are there” view of the headline-making trial with personalities on display. And the regional tone is captured perfectly. It's a sensational battle... drama, humanity, moral dilemma and, yes, even painful self-examination as it happened in this great Oklahoma courtroom.
Jody Seay is an award-winning author whose first novel, THE SECOND COMING OF CURLY RED, won First Prize for Fiction at the Mendocino Coast Writer's Conference, and then went on to become a Finalist in the prestigious Oregon Book Awards. Her musical play (BUNKIN' WITH YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE) was professionally produced and performed in Portland, Oregon. Her numerous essays and short stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. Even though Jody swears she loves to write, she also maintains that writing makes her self-absorbed and grumpy for extended periods of time. Sometimes, she also breaks out in a rash, but, usually, that only happens when her computer crashes. Technology is hard for her, which brings her deep shame and makes her mean. She swears she'll get better at it, but, really, she never does. Luckily, she has other strengths, and, thank goodness for that! ALMOST A MURDER is Jody Seay's third book.
Co-author Jim Lloyd has been honored by the Oklahoma Bar Association, named in Who's Who in American Law, and is a member of the Missouri and Oklahoma Bar Associations, the Oklahoma Association for Justice and was invited by Melvin Belli to become a Lifetime Trustee of the prestigious Melvin Belli Society. The Oklahoma Bar Association honored Jim Lloyd as the Outstanding Young Lawyer for the State of Oklahoma early in his career. In part, he was recognized for his volunteer service to the community. He was asked to write an advice column, "Ask a Lawyer" in the Tulsa World newspaper which ran for years. Lloyd also ran booths at the Tulsa State Fair as part of a bar association community outreach program to let people know about their legal rights. Jim was also the chairman of the Tulsa County Speakers Bureau explaining to elementary school children through high school students what it is like to be a lawyer. Mr. Lloyd also performed critical work as an Oklahoma Commissioner tasked with investigating the race riots of 1921. He uncovered and saved important evidence before they were destroyed. Jim, his wife, Nancy, and their son, Buddy, run Lloyd & Lloyd, a "mom-and-pop" law firm in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
