The Trial of John Garrity - Hardcover

by Milton Bass (Author)

"BASS delivers a legal thriller that meets the American moment - a bold portrait of the twisted truths at the heart of even the most 'normal' of families... A literary whodunit!"

-- ERIN BURNETT, anchor, "Erin Burnett Out Front," CNN

"MILTON BASS and his fiction have always been criminally under-appreciated... What the guy needs is a good lawyer. The Doctor Who Made House Calls made me want to become a novelist. The Trial of John Garrity makes me want to stay one, just to be in his company."

-- BILL SCHEFT, author of "The Ringer" and "Shrink Thyself"

John Garrity is a wealthy Irish-Catholic attorney living the country club life in a small New England city with his wife, Rebeccah, and their six kids. The Garritys seem to have it all, but their picture-perfect family portrait belies the troubles within.

When a judge offers Garrity a pro bono murder case -- a young man from the opposite end of the social spectrum, Charles Cooper, is accused of murdering his 14-year-old half-sister - he takes it out of boredom, even though he has never worked as a criminal defense attorney. Garrity's bumbling attempts at investigating the murder mystery, and his frustrations with his client's family, put him on a path to potential failure for the first time.

The story unfolds as a both a legal thriller and a three-dimensional family drama, with Garrity having to confront unspoken truths about himself, his household and, especially, his relationship with his wife. As events in the courtroom approach a boiling point, he comes face-to-face with the harsh realization that the Garritys have a startling amount in common with the family of the victim and the young man he is defending.

Can he overcome it all to save his client, his practice, and, most importantly, his family?

Praise for the novels of Milton Bass:

"BASS lets it all hang out when he writes; a nice mix of stylish suspense... and slapdash action. He scares you, too."

--BOSTON GLOBE

"MILTON BASS has an extraordinarily good ear for language. He never misses a beat."

--CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"BASS succeeds from first to last in giving new twists to familiar characters and situations."

--NEWSDAY