Three of My Favorite Legal Thrillers

In no particular order ...

Presumed Innocent. Harrison Ford is cast against type as the lead that becomes really a supporting player. The backstabbing politics of a District Attorney's office and the professional, undying enmity between prosecutors and defense attorneys are incredibly well done here. Great book by Scott Turow turned into a good movie with a killer twist ending.

To Speak for the Dead. This novel by Paul Levine is a page-turner that also paints a quasi-realistic picture of what it is to practice both civil and criminal law. The first in a series, this one introduces readers to Levine's best-known protagonist, Jake Lassiter, and also Levine's witty, punchy sense of humor.

The Verdict. David Mamet wrote the script, Paul Newman plays one of his most complex roles to date, and James friggen Mason absolutely steals the show as the stone cold killer in the courtroom, the ultimate lawyer for hire who will do anything to win. Some well-done sequences outside the courtroom and behind closed doors that show what practicing law is all about. This film introduced mainstream audiences to the idea that you can't "unring the bell," i.e. once the jury hears something they can't forget it.

Did I Really Write a Legal Thriller?

I don't much care for attorneys, but I do enjoy a great legal thriller.

That's why I was so excited to hear about Eddie McCloskey's paranormal investigation in upstate New York, where he served as the defense's expert witness in a murder one trial ... it gave me the opportunity to try my hand at a legal thriller.

The Accused and the Damned is that book. I don't think anyone has ever written a novel like it before. If that's the case then that makes it the world's first paranormal legal thriller.

TATD is available for pre-order now and will be released on 10/31/14. I'll be putting an excerpt up shortly on this page. Or if you've already purchased The Lost, you'll be able to read an excerpt at the end of that book.

The Unearthed Trending on Amazon!

The Unearthed is trending right now among free ebooks on Amazon. Currently sits at #1 for Suspense - Occult titles, #3 for Ghosts & Haunted Houses, and #12 for all Suspense - Paranormal titles.

Thanks!

FREE COPIES of The Unearthed are flying off the proverbial shelf! Thanks to everyone who has taken advantage of this 3-day deal to get The Unearthed for free. I hope you enjoy it and even if you don't, please leave me an honest review on Amazon.

2 Great Paranormal Thrillers Available Now

The Unearthed is available for free for the next 3 days and the sequel, The Lost, just released. What does that mean?

It means, gentle reader, you can read two great paranormal thrillers for just $2.99.

GET THE UNEARTHED FOR FREE

GET THE LOST FOR $2.99

Can the US come back in Scotland?

It would need to be another historic charge, just like what we saw in '99 from the Yanks and '12 from the Euros. Go USA!

FREE Paranormal Thriller - The Unearthed

The first in my paranormal thriller series, The Unearthed, will be available for FREE ON AMAZON for three days beginning tomorrow, 9/28/14. This coincides with the release of the sequel, THE LOST.

It was sheer joy writing these books as they feature my favorite character, Eddie McCloskey. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

After you read them, I'd humbly request an honest review--be it good, scathing, or even indifferent--on Amazon. Reviews are what drives Amazon's algorithms and puts books in front of potential readers.

For those folks already reading, I wanted to say thanks. Thank you for letting me share Eddie McCloskey's personal journey with you.

Europe In Command at the Ryder Cup

10-6 lead going into the Sunday singles matches ... not looking good for the old U-S-of-A!

Ryder Cup Underway in Scotland

We Yanks are usually favored, despite Europe's always punching above its weight and enjoying the most success in recent competitions. This year, the Americans are actually underdogs which I think might serve as the kick-in-the-ass these players have needed for awhile. This year's Cup is going to be an exciting one.

The Lost Available for Pre-Order

UPDATED

The Lost is the second book in my paranormal thriller series featuring Eddie McCloskey. It's now available for pre-order on Amazon HERE. The book will be released on 9/28/14. Here's the blurb:

Fourteen years ago ... Tessa Lovsky and her friends played a dangerous game on an icy lake. When the ice broke, no one could save Tessa from drowning. Before she went under, Tessa said she would kill them all.

Five years ago ... Eddie McCloskey’s brother was murdered on their last paranormal investigation. Now Eddie, who swore off ghost hunting, faces the biggest case of his life.

Now ... Marty Kindler, heir to the local gentry, claims the whole town is haunted. Either this is the find of the century, or it’s all a hoax. Only Eddie can piece it all together.

But Eddie better hurry, because someone is trying to kill the people who were on that ice with Tessa all those years ago.

The Lost is approximately 80,000 words and is specifically formatted for Kindle, with an active table of contents.

Emergence

Every time I have a conversation with Eddie McCloskey, I learn something. This despite the fact that he barely made it out of high school. Eddie is a voracious reader, interested in just about everything, and when he's not ghost hunting he's got his nose in a book.

One of his favorite concepts is emergence. To me, it's the scientific label for the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. He came across this principle in dangerous action during his wandering daughter job in Oregon, which I'm chronicling in The Hysteria. I'd like to tell you all about the story but I don't want to give too much away at this point.

Except to say it's Eddie's most personal--and most violent--case to date. I hope to have it published before the end of the year.

To learn more about emergence, check out this this great podcast by Radiolab.

Expanded Universe

I wish I could put every fact and little detail into Eddie McCloskey's adventures, but story-telling requires us hack writers to kill our darlings. The great thing about the internet, though, it has enabled us to provide more content than ever before and expand the universe of our stories outside of the traditional text so readers can get a fuller, richer experience if they so desire.

One such nugget is this journal entry that Eddie's partner on his job in Pennsylvania uncovered during her research about her sister. In The Lost, I write about Eddie's first solo paranormal investigation, happening some five years after his brother's murder. 

“It haunts me, not just when I’m dreaming. It follows me. It dogs me. I can’t get away from it and now I don’t want to because it has opened my eyes. There is a world beyond ours and beyond that one and beyond that one. We see a fraction and know even less because we can’t trust our eyes, not completely. One day I will join it. One day I will surpass it. This town isn’t even a dot on the map, but a map is nothing. All these people, they are nothing. They don’t see. Even if I die, I will ...”

-Tessa Lovsky, writing in her diary three days before she died

Reverse Possession

“ … that the soul acquires new characteristics and enhanced abilities after separation from the physical embodiment. But what if it did not? What if those abilities were always ingrained in the fundamental essence? Then logic dictates that we the living have the same abilities. And you can begin to see how reverse possession is not only possible, but likely.”

(QUESTION FROM AUDIENCE: Have you seen it happen?)

“I’ve done it myself.”

-Mirlind Krizi,

presenting at the EU Paranormal Society Symposium

Prague, Czech Republic in March, 1995

Thermodynamics

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms.

-From the First Law of Thermodynamics

Coming Soon