false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175116633m/481372.jpg 481372 15 The core of Richard North Patterson's legal thrillers is characterization, and <I>Degree of Guilt</I>, the novel that relaunched his career in 1993, features two captivating individuals: Christopher Paget and Mary Carelli. Paget, the upstart hero of Patterson's 1979 Edgar-winning <I>The Lasko Tangent</I>, is now a sophisticated trial lawyer doing his best to raise a teenage son in San Francisco. He's a man to be admired: famous for bringing down the president in a financial scandal, he has settled into the comfortable life of a successful attorney. His life is transformed, however, when his former lover (and mother of his son), Mary Carelli, pays a visit.<p> The novel begins in a San Francisco hotel room as Mary, now an NBC journalist, surveys the torn landscape of author Mark Ransom's apartment. Ransom is, or was, America's most eminent writer. As she tells the police, Ransom had uncovered new recorded evidence of an affair between a long-dead starlet and a now-sainted senator (shades of Marilyn Monroe and JFK). While Ransom and Mary were listening to the tapes, she claims, he tried to rape her and she killed him in self-defense. Mary turns to Paget to defend her in what becomes a complex case of missing and conflicting evidence. Old emotions are stirred between the two just as Paget begins to doubt Mary's innocence.<p> The suspense of <I>Degree of Guilt</I> is grounded in the twists and turns of the trial at the novel's center, but just as compelling is the emerging history of Mary and Paget, and Paget's struggles to keep his son out of the media frenzy surrounding his mother's case. As well, Patterson addresses the deeper ethical questions that face many lawyers as they decide which cases to take and which evidence to use. Capturing archetypal characters and situations, <I>Degree of Guilt</I> becomes a parable of American law. <I>--Patrick O'Kelley</I> 103597 1992 Degree of Guilt total:450|5:93|4:201|3:129|2:23|1:4| 450 1706 592 17 4 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 16:08:13 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 29 16:11:43 -0700 2007 It is many years later. We learn that a child was born from the brief intimacy shared by Chris and Mary. Mary...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 24 18:25:03 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 18:25:18 -0700 2008
I enjoy courtroom drama and Richard North Patterson really knows how to get you involved in the drama. The author studied...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 13:37:48 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 26 12:11:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Sun Mar 01 16:35:38 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 16:37:12 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 1995 Mon Dec 08 20:48:04 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 20:51:23 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 20:39:32 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 20:42:57 -0700 2009 1 ]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 16:53:58 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 19:57:07 -0800 2009 Lasko Tangent and mother of Paget's son is accused of murder and the ensuing trial opens many wounds...okay read only]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 09:28:22 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 13:21:07 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995 Thu Aug 14 16:45:24 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 16:50:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 21 18:03:31 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 28 18:35:44 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Tue May 06 18:31:09 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 18:32:59 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jun 28 06:20:20 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 28 06:32:40 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Fri Mar 28 19:40:33 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 14:47:32 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Feb 01 16:49:57 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 16:50:17 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sat Feb 02 10:28:57 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 10:30:04 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Wed Jan 16 15:01:20 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 16 15:01:52 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Thu Oct 16 08:38:03 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 08:38:14 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Nov 22 19:28:49 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 19:28:56 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Thu Nov 19 10:20:30 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 10:20:30 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 11:08:25 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 11:08:25 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=481372