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Jack Swyteck #2
Beyond Suspicion
After six exciting thrillers in seven years, bestselling author James Grippando is at last bringing back the main character from his blockbuster debut novel, The Pardon. Criminal lawyer Jack Swyteck doesn't handle many civil cases. But this one is different. His client, Jessie Merrill, is a gorgeous ex-girlfriend who's being sued. At the trial, Jack pulls off a brilliant victory and Jessie gets a hefty settlement. But then Jack finds out it was all a scam. Two days later, Jessie's body turns up floating in Jack's bathtub. As the evidence mounts against him, Jack finds himself on a collision course with dark secrets from the past and a possible killer is beyond suspicion.
450 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 20, 2002
478 people are currently reading
1117 people want to read
About the author
James Grippando
50 books1,189 followers The first thing you should know about bestselling author James Grippando is that he is no longer clueless—or so they say, after “A James Grippando Novel” was a clue for #38 Across in the New York Times crossword puzzle. James is the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for legal fiction and a New York Times bestselling author with more than 30 novels to his credit, including the popular series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. His latest, "Goodbye Girl" (HarperCollins 2024), is the 18th in the Swyteck series. His novels are enjoyed worldwide in 28 languages. As an adjunct professor he teaches "The Law & Lawyers in Modern Literature" at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms, where he specializes in entertainment and intellectual property law, representing clients who have won more than 40 Tony Awards. He writes in south Florida with Atlas at his side, a faithful golden retriever who has no idea he’s a dog.
Series:
* Jack Swyteck
Series:
* Jack Swyteck
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
February 14, 2011
Just alright for me. Second book in the Jack Swytech lawyer series. A lot was going on in this book with lots of characters. Viatical insurance, blood harvesting, organized crime, money laundering, murder for hire and recurring dreams about child abuse. Jack starts out the book defending Jessie a former girlfriend on a viatical insurance fraud case. His wife, Cindy, seems fine with him doing this, but is she? When Jessie ends up dead in their bathtub, Cindy begins to think that Jack and Jessie were having an affair. Who really killed Jessie and why is Jack getting framed for the murder??? Not a great book.
good fast read - few too many characters not developed enough.
good story - interesting themes - blood harvesting / viatical insurance / organized crime / money laundering.
good fast read - few too many characters not developed enough.
good story - interesting themes - blood harvesting / viatical insurance / organized crime / money laundering.
March 27, 2019
2.8 stars
This is a case of a series where each book gets better. I listened to the first one & thought it was ok.
I listened to the 3rd book which I really liked.
This is the 2nd Swyteck book. It was a good bridge b/w those 2 books.
The tension isn’t as intense as previously. The mystery takes a little while to get started as the “dead body” doesn’t show up until about 1/3 of the way in.
And not a lot of courtroom drama either.
But it still kept my interest and I gave it a little extra .8 star b/c I didn’t guess the ending at all. It was a surprise.
This is a case of a series where each book gets better. I listened to the first one & thought it was ok.
I listened to the 3rd book which I really liked.
This is the 2nd Swyteck book. It was a good bridge b/w those 2 books.
The tension isn’t as intense as previously. The mystery takes a little while to get started as the “dead body” doesn’t show up until about 1/3 of the way in.
And not a lot of courtroom drama either.
But it still kept my interest and I gave it a little extra .8 star b/c I didn’t guess the ending at all. It was a surprise.
December 6, 2008
This book was advertised at "John Grisham meets Robert Ludlum" - I've not read the 'bourne identity' series but enjoyed the movie since I really like action/thrillers. This was supposed to be the perfect book per the marketing efforts. No such luck. James Grippando writes nothing like John Grisham. There goes my attempt at filling empty space between John's books. I hope John continues to write and entertain those thirsty for his written pleasures.
March 12, 2017
3.5 stars good audiobook.
January 12, 2016
REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK; OCT 1, 2015
Narrator: LJ Ganser
I was enjoying this until the story started to focus too much on Swytech's crumbling marriage and the ex girlfiend popping up. I wanted a murder thriller, not a romantic drama.
So I paused, listened to a lovely gay romance then came back to this. Since it was fast-paced, I got into the groove and began enjoying the book. I still think Swytech's a tad naive when it comes to women but at the moment he's faring better than Joe Pike in The Sentry. Beyond Suspicion is solid enough as a murder mystery featuring a criminal lawyer but I did find the whole scam thread a little too complex to follow. I could ignore that, though, and simply went along for the suspense ride as Swytech figures out who the killer is. Yes, there's a dead body and a murderer but saying anything more would spoil the story so, spoiler alert or not, I'm not even going to give the details.
I'm enjoying this series enough to start on the third book, Last to Die, narrated by Nick Sullivan.
Narrator: LJ Ganser
I was enjoying this until the story started to focus too much on Swytech's crumbling marriage and the ex girlfiend popping up. I wanted a murder thriller, not a romantic drama.
So I paused, listened to a lovely gay romance then came back to this. Since it was fast-paced, I got into the groove and began enjoying the book. I still think Swytech's a tad naive when it comes to women but at the moment he's faring better than Joe Pike in The Sentry. Beyond Suspicion is solid enough as a murder mystery featuring a criminal lawyer but I did find the whole scam thread a little too complex to follow. I could ignore that, though, and simply went along for the suspense ride as Swytech figures out who the killer is. Yes, there's a dead body and a murderer but saying anything more would spoil the story so, spoiler alert or not, I'm not even going to give the details.
I'm enjoying this series enough to start on the third book, Last to Die, narrated by Nick Sullivan.
July 13, 2012
Fair action book with lots of twists and turns. Unfortuneately I did not like the final twist. I felt it negated a great deal of the proceeding story. If not for that it would have been a much better book.
July 4, 2018
Good book. I started reading the series from the beginning so now I know what happened to his wife Cindy. Cindy was the murderer of Jessie Merrill but her mom took the blame. Good ending. Had me guessing until the end as to whom was th murderer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2021
My Review 4.5 Stars****
This novel marked the return of Jack Swyteck, the author’s protagonist from his well-known debut novel THE PARDON [1994]. The author published half a dozen books in between, and although this novel is technically a sequel it feels more like the introduction or kick-off to a new series featuring Jack Swytek, his buddy Theo Knight, and other characters from the colorful backdrop and big city lights of downtown Miami.
Some two decades later (2021) we all know how financially successful and critically acclaimed that the prolific Jack Swytek book series turned out to be. Back in the mid-90's (and well into the new millennium) I was renting stacks of audio books due to a career that necessitated driving throughout the week. I discovered a dozen or so authors whose works I really enjoyed, and I always scanned the shelves at the libraries for unabridged book titles bearing their names. One of these early favorites of mine was James Grippando. In 2019 I read the debut novel THE PARDON (1994) written by 36-year-old Grippando, a Miami attorney. It happened to be Jack's 25th birthday that year and I thought it might be interesting to read the novel that first introduced Swyteck.
THE PARDON [1994] was an excellent debut novel from an obviously very talented newcomer to the legal thriller genre. I promised myself I would continue to read (in cases re-read) the books in the series in order of their publication. I did read an outstanding standalone by Grippando in 2019 but did not follow up on my plans to follow the adventures of Jack. Now, a couple of years later, I intend to remedy that situation.
BEYOND SUSPICION delivered a complex crime fiction thriller that held my attention from the first page and it proved itself to be not only a highly enjoyable but also educational reading experience. It was perhaps more of a murder mystery and whodunnit than a courtroom drama, but the narrative was also punctuated by scenes of romance, drama, and adrenaline infused action scenes. Interestingly, at first blush what I expected to be a legal thriller from Grippando carried a genre designation as a “Medical Thriller” on Amazon.
That said, there definitely is a “medical thriller” component which was immensely interesting to a reader like me who has a medical background and has been engaged in varied areas of the health field over the years. As someone who remembers the horror of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s I was somehow unaware of the popularity of viatical settlements. “Viaticum” was the Latin term for the Roman soldier’s supplies for battle, which realistically might represent the final journey of his life. “Viatical” was therefore an especially fitting term to describe a type of settlement that provided a terminally ill AIDs victim cash monies for an existing Life Insurance Policy while he (or she) was still alive and could use the funds for expenses associated with their medical care or anything else they wanted. The viatical group of investors would essentially purchase the individual’s Life Insurance Policy for let’s say half of its cash value that would pay out at death. The holder of the policy was “a dead man walking” and after the disease ran its course, the viatical group would double their investment and cash in the entire face amount of the policy. In theory, this was an enterprise born of the free market which actually helped the terminal patient and was obviously an attractive and quite lucrative investment for the viatical groups.
The catalyst for this complex hand grenade of a plot is Jack’s agreement to handle a Civil Suit for his old flame Jessie. She had figuratively broken his heart in a zillion pieces several years ago but in the years that followed Jessie leaving him he had met and fallen in love with Cindy, presently his wife. Jessie is a sympathetic character when she approaches Jack and explains that she is being sued in civil court for 1.5 million dollars by the enraged viatical group. She had been diagnosed as terminal but later learned that a misdiagnosis had been made. Jessie is quite convincing and from Jack’s perspective the case looks like a slam dunk, and gee whiz, even his wife Cindy feels pity for the old girlfriend and encourages him to take the case. He wins the case handily in an entertaining bit of courtroom action, but then later learns that Jessie has used him as a pawn in an illegal insurance scam to rook the viatical group of investors. That isn’t a spoiler since it is disclosed in the book description. So is the fact that Jessie’s lifeless bloody body is later discovered in Jack’s bathtub.
There are several subplots in this novel all of which are interesting threads to follow as you find yourself with a fascinating page-turner. Elements of the narrative involve the activities of the Russian mob, the Red Mafiya which includes a number of colorful villains but also an especially vile, despicable, deadly psychopath, and if that wasn’t sufficient also a deranged contract killer named Fate. There is action, violence, and horrific realities such as the bad guys hastening the death of their clients when they are not dying in a timely manner to cash in on their policies. There is the cultivating of disease in human hosts, harvesting dirty deadly blood from homeless, diseased donors on the street with AIDs and Hepatitis, and that’s just the tip of the ice berg is this genuinely unputdownable thriller.
Grippando proves that he is adept at character development, misdirection, and the execution of genuinely surprising and ultimately shocking plot twists. There is Jack, his unforgettable sidekick Theo and a host of other colorful personalities in this one as well.
The theme of Jessie’s death runs through the entire narrative. I am a stickler for understanding the reason(s) for a book’s title (in this instance “BEYOND SUSPICION”). The author chose this catchy phrase because at one juncture in the story line it is postulated that Jessie may very well have orchestrated her own death to look like a suicide in the bathtub at Jack’s home he shared with Cindy. Similarly, Jessie could have manufactured the boatload of damming circumstantial evidence aimed like an arrow at one Jack Swyteck. In this case, “The real killer is beyond suspicion”.
Finally, I was frankly dazzled by the author’s ability to completely captivate me with this fascinating rollercoaster ride of a novel, but also to surprise the daylights out of me by the ending only to inject a final shocking plot twist for an exclamation point. A big part of Grippando’s outstanding talent and effectiveness as an author is his ability to write in such compact prose, and as a reader you are moving from one scene to another seamlessly, turning the pages quickly while simultaneously becoming more immersed in the plot line and the well-rounded characters he creates.
In one of the editorial reviews, I read something like that this book was easily a match for “big names such as Grisham or Margolin or Lescroart”. Let me say this about that. I stopped reading Grisham a LONG time ago. Insofar as Margolin and Lescroart, I like and read them both, but the former is inconsistent at best and Lescroart is not in the same league with anything I have read by him to date.
This one is a bit dated, only the 2nd installment featuring Jack Swyteck, but it is a truly gripping piece of crime fiction, and I highly recommend it.
This novel marked the return of Jack Swyteck, the author’s protagonist from his well-known debut novel THE PARDON [1994]. The author published half a dozen books in between, and although this novel is technically a sequel it feels more like the introduction or kick-off to a new series featuring Jack Swytek, his buddy Theo Knight, and other characters from the colorful backdrop and big city lights of downtown Miami.
Some two decades later (2021) we all know how financially successful and critically acclaimed that the prolific Jack Swytek book series turned out to be. Back in the mid-90's (and well into the new millennium) I was renting stacks of audio books due to a career that necessitated driving throughout the week. I discovered a dozen or so authors whose works I really enjoyed, and I always scanned the shelves at the libraries for unabridged book titles bearing their names. One of these early favorites of mine was James Grippando. In 2019 I read the debut novel THE PARDON (1994) written by 36-year-old Grippando, a Miami attorney. It happened to be Jack's 25th birthday that year and I thought it might be interesting to read the novel that first introduced Swyteck.
THE PARDON [1994] was an excellent debut novel from an obviously very talented newcomer to the legal thriller genre. I promised myself I would continue to read (in cases re-read) the books in the series in order of their publication. I did read an outstanding standalone by Grippando in 2019 but did not follow up on my plans to follow the adventures of Jack. Now, a couple of years later, I intend to remedy that situation.
BEYOND SUSPICION delivered a complex crime fiction thriller that held my attention from the first page and it proved itself to be not only a highly enjoyable but also educational reading experience. It was perhaps more of a murder mystery and whodunnit than a courtroom drama, but the narrative was also punctuated by scenes of romance, drama, and adrenaline infused action scenes. Interestingly, at first blush what I expected to be a legal thriller from Grippando carried a genre designation as a “Medical Thriller” on Amazon.
That said, there definitely is a “medical thriller” component which was immensely interesting to a reader like me who has a medical background and has been engaged in varied areas of the health field over the years. As someone who remembers the horror of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s I was somehow unaware of the popularity of viatical settlements. “Viaticum” was the Latin term for the Roman soldier’s supplies for battle, which realistically might represent the final journey of his life. “Viatical” was therefore an especially fitting term to describe a type of settlement that provided a terminally ill AIDs victim cash monies for an existing Life Insurance Policy while he (or she) was still alive and could use the funds for expenses associated with their medical care or anything else they wanted. The viatical group of investors would essentially purchase the individual’s Life Insurance Policy for let’s say half of its cash value that would pay out at death. The holder of the policy was “a dead man walking” and after the disease ran its course, the viatical group would double their investment and cash in the entire face amount of the policy. In theory, this was an enterprise born of the free market which actually helped the terminal patient and was obviously an attractive and quite lucrative investment for the viatical groups.
The catalyst for this complex hand grenade of a plot is Jack’s agreement to handle a Civil Suit for his old flame Jessie. She had figuratively broken his heart in a zillion pieces several years ago but in the years that followed Jessie leaving him he had met and fallen in love with Cindy, presently his wife. Jessie is a sympathetic character when she approaches Jack and explains that she is being sued in civil court for 1.5 million dollars by the enraged viatical group. She had been diagnosed as terminal but later learned that a misdiagnosis had been made. Jessie is quite convincing and from Jack’s perspective the case looks like a slam dunk, and gee whiz, even his wife Cindy feels pity for the old girlfriend and encourages him to take the case. He wins the case handily in an entertaining bit of courtroom action, but then later learns that Jessie has used him as a pawn in an illegal insurance scam to rook the viatical group of investors. That isn’t a spoiler since it is disclosed in the book description. So is the fact that Jessie’s lifeless bloody body is later discovered in Jack’s bathtub.
There are several subplots in this novel all of which are interesting threads to follow as you find yourself with a fascinating page-turner. Elements of the narrative involve the activities of the Russian mob, the Red Mafiya which includes a number of colorful villains but also an especially vile, despicable, deadly psychopath, and if that wasn’t sufficient also a deranged contract killer named Fate. There is action, violence, and horrific realities such as the bad guys hastening the death of their clients when they are not dying in a timely manner to cash in on their policies. There is the cultivating of disease in human hosts, harvesting dirty deadly blood from homeless, diseased donors on the street with AIDs and Hepatitis, and that’s just the tip of the ice berg is this genuinely unputdownable thriller.
Grippando proves that he is adept at character development, misdirection, and the execution of genuinely surprising and ultimately shocking plot twists. There is Jack, his unforgettable sidekick Theo and a host of other colorful personalities in this one as well.
The theme of Jessie’s death runs through the entire narrative. I am a stickler for understanding the reason(s) for a book’s title (in this instance “BEYOND SUSPICION”). The author chose this catchy phrase because at one juncture in the story line it is postulated that Jessie may very well have orchestrated her own death to look like a suicide in the bathtub at Jack’s home he shared with Cindy. Similarly, Jessie could have manufactured the boatload of damming circumstantial evidence aimed like an arrow at one Jack Swyteck. In this case, “The real killer is beyond suspicion”.
Finally, I was frankly dazzled by the author’s ability to completely captivate me with this fascinating rollercoaster ride of a novel, but also to surprise the daylights out of me by the ending only to inject a final shocking plot twist for an exclamation point. A big part of Grippando’s outstanding talent and effectiveness as an author is his ability to write in such compact prose, and as a reader you are moving from one scene to another seamlessly, turning the pages quickly while simultaneously becoming more immersed in the plot line and the well-rounded characters he creates.
In one of the editorial reviews, I read something like that this book was easily a match for “big names such as Grisham or Margolin or Lescroart”. Let me say this about that. I stopped reading Grisham a LONG time ago. Insofar as Margolin and Lescroart, I like and read them both, but the former is inconsistent at best and Lescroart is not in the same league with anything I have read by him to date.
This one is a bit dated, only the 2nd installment featuring Jack Swyteck, but it is a truly gripping piece of crime fiction, and I highly recommend it.
August 23, 2023
I listened to this one and it was a different narrator from the first. I really enjoyed this one.
This one has Jack under suspicion for murder of his ex-girlfriend. She has scammed him and was found dead in his bathtub in his home. Theo, one of his friends that he got off of death row, helps him unwind what has happened.
I especially liked the ending with Cindy and Jack and glad that part is over!
I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars.
This one has Jack under suspicion for murder of his ex-girlfriend. She has scammed him and was found dead in his bathtub in his home. Theo, one of his friends that he got off of death row, helps him unwind what has happened.
I especially liked the ending with Cindy and Jack and glad that part is over!
I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars.
April 12, 2021
Not as good as the first book in this series. Still, I like courtroom novels, and Swyteck seems to be a good lawyer. There is more action than in the courtroom—some harrowing experiences. Maybe I should give it 3.5 stars because I was captured enough to finish the book. And I will read more of this series.
January 31, 2025
3.5 ish, better than the first!
October 20, 2014
Another gripping instalment. Poor Swyteck, he thinks he's only looking at some dodgy business deals but is soon poking a stick at the Russian mafia. This raises the stakes and danger dogs his every move. The lengths criminals go to to rip people off is amazing, this book highlighted some plausible scams I've never heard of. Jack's involvement in this case comes at a high personal cost. Another good effort by Grippando.
January 30, 2008
A pretty gripping read. I finished it in a few hours and I felt like I had just watched a standard 90-minute thriller movie. I'm not sure that this warrants a second read.
November 30, 2012
Nice twist in the end, but too many characters and plot twists. I haven't read Jack Swyteck #1 so I didn't know his writing style.
May 22, 2013
This story has enough twists and plots but it did not hold my interest. I gave up at about page 200, no longer caring to know the facts, the ending.....etc.
March 22, 2022
Forgot to rate, so this is from my library rating.
April 18, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “BETTING ON DEATH… THEN DEALING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE DECK!”
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Jack Swyteck is a Miami criminal lawyer… the son of the former Governor of Florida… and is married to Cindy… who still has nightmares… after having been raped by one of Jack’s former clients. The “trigger-effect” of this entire fast-paced enjoyable thriller, is when Jack’s former girl friend Jessie Merrill comes back into his life as a client. Jessie… sensual… as well as conniving… was first diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) which meant sure death… and then the diagnosis was changed by Dr. Marsh to lead poisoning. When under the diagnosis of ALS… Jesse got involved with a Viatical company… which specializes in contractual arrangements in which a business buys life insurance policies from terminally ill patients for a percentage of the face value. Jessie collected one-million-five-hundred-thousand-dollars in advance against her three-million-dollar life insurance policy. When Jessie miraculously is re-diagnosed with a non-fatal illness… she is sued by the Viatical company… hence Jack’s defense. Seven years earlier Jessie had dumped Jack, but when she came calling, Jack’s wife Cindy felt sorry for the “dying” Jessie… and gave Jack the okay to defend her… putting jealousies aside.
When Jack wins the lawsuit all hell breaks loose… it turns out the “money” behind the Viatical company comes from some very bad men. Jessie winds up dead in Jack’s bathtub… Jack’s indicted for murder… and we have a pulse-pounding thriller that includes the Russian Mafia… blood being drained from dead bodies… AIDS infected blood being sold… undercover informants… scary “crunching” sounds in the leaves… and more. The author deftly keeps the reader on the edge of their seat throughout… and Theo Knight six-foot-five-inch-two-hundred-fifty-pound former death row inmate that Jack saved from execution in his first book “THE PARDON” has a great supporting role as friend… wise-cracking-sidekick… and muscle. This is the third James Grippando book I’ve read (“The Pardon and “Last Call”) and it is by far the most complete and action packed from start to finish.
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Jack Swyteck is a Miami criminal lawyer… the son of the former Governor of Florida… and is married to Cindy… who still has nightmares… after having been raped by one of Jack’s former clients. The “trigger-effect” of this entire fast-paced enjoyable thriller, is when Jack’s former girl friend Jessie Merrill comes back into his life as a client. Jessie… sensual… as well as conniving… was first diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) which meant sure death… and then the diagnosis was changed by Dr. Marsh to lead poisoning. When under the diagnosis of ALS… Jesse got involved with a Viatical company… which specializes in contractual arrangements in which a business buys life insurance policies from terminally ill patients for a percentage of the face value. Jessie collected one-million-five-hundred-thousand-dollars in advance against her three-million-dollar life insurance policy. When Jessie miraculously is re-diagnosed with a non-fatal illness… she is sued by the Viatical company… hence Jack’s defense. Seven years earlier Jessie had dumped Jack, but when she came calling, Jack’s wife Cindy felt sorry for the “dying” Jessie… and gave Jack the okay to defend her… putting jealousies aside.
When Jack wins the lawsuit all hell breaks loose… it turns out the “money” behind the Viatical company comes from some very bad men. Jessie winds up dead in Jack’s bathtub… Jack’s indicted for murder… and we have a pulse-pounding thriller that includes the Russian Mafia… blood being drained from dead bodies… AIDS infected blood being sold… undercover informants… scary “crunching” sounds in the leaves… and more. The author deftly keeps the reader on the edge of their seat throughout… and Theo Knight six-foot-five-inch-two-hundred-fifty-pound former death row inmate that Jack saved from execution in his first book “THE PARDON” has a great supporting role as friend… wise-cracking-sidekick… and muscle. This is the third James Grippando book I’ve read (“The Pardon and “Last Call”) and it is by far the most complete and action packed from start to finish.
Read
November 30, 2022They thought Jessie Merrill had ALS. She had all the symptoms. Prior to contracting the disease, Jessie bought a sizable life insurance policy. She sold her policy to a group of investors who paid her half what it was worth, but that would be enough for her to enjoy her remaining life. When she died, they would cash in her policy for its complete face value.
Oopsie, we have a slight problem. Jessie recovered fully. More accurately, they misdiagnosed her with ALS. She suffered from lead poisoning. The other teensy-weensy problem is, Jessie doesn’t want to give back the 1.5 million bucks she got when she prematurely cashed in her life insurance policy.
But not everything in her life is problematic. You see, before Miami’s legal Boy Wonder, Jack Swyteck, met his current wife, Cindy, he and Jessie compared sheet thread counts among other things. So much were they an item that when they broke up, she approached him a few months later in hopes of rapprochement. But Jack and Cindy were married by then, and there was no reunion. Some time later, when the investors expressed outraged that Jessie intended to keep the 1.5 million, everyone figured a court date would be the solution. It was. Jack managed to convince the court that Jessie could keep her money. It wasn’t her fault the doctors misdiagnosed her.
Ah, but the lovely Jessie duped our legal boy wonder. Turns out she and her doctor scammed the investors. That’s not a spoiler; it’s in every description of the book you’ll read. Now you have a lovely ex-girlfriend con artist facing off against some angry-as-heck investors including the Russian Mafiya.
Before this ends, Jessie Merrill will die presumably by her own hand in Jack Swyteck’s bathtub. Oh, but what if she didn’t die by her own hand? It isn’t long before the cops finger Jack for Jessie’s murder, and he’s on the run while trying to figure out who the real killer is.
There are some interesting subplots here. One of them was particularly poignant. It dealt with Jack and Cindy’s marriage and the strains put on it by Jessie’s untimely demise.
Oopsie, we have a slight problem. Jessie recovered fully. More accurately, they misdiagnosed her with ALS. She suffered from lead poisoning. The other teensy-weensy problem is, Jessie doesn’t want to give back the 1.5 million bucks she got when she prematurely cashed in her life insurance policy.
But not everything in her life is problematic. You see, before Miami’s legal Boy Wonder, Jack Swyteck, met his current wife, Cindy, he and Jessie compared sheet thread counts among other things. So much were they an item that when they broke up, she approached him a few months later in hopes of rapprochement. But Jack and Cindy were married by then, and there was no reunion. Some time later, when the investors expressed outraged that Jessie intended to keep the 1.5 million, everyone figured a court date would be the solution. It was. Jack managed to convince the court that Jessie could keep her money. It wasn’t her fault the doctors misdiagnosed her.
Ah, but the lovely Jessie duped our legal boy wonder. Turns out she and her doctor scammed the investors. That’s not a spoiler; it’s in every description of the book you’ll read. Now you have a lovely ex-girlfriend con artist facing off against some angry-as-heck investors including the Russian Mafiya.
Before this ends, Jessie Merrill will die presumably by her own hand in Jack Swyteck’s bathtub. Oh, but what if she didn’t die by her own hand? It isn’t long before the cops finger Jack for Jessie’s murder, and he’s on the run while trying to figure out who the real killer is.
There are some interesting subplots here. One of them was particularly poignant. It dealt with Jack and Cindy’s marriage and the strains put on it by Jessie’s untimely demise.
February 20, 2025
So far not becoming much of a Swyteck fan. The series has quite a bit of longevity so I am hopeful that it will get better with age. Right now I feel there is too much personal involvement for Jack in these cases.
In this outing he has agreed to help a former girlfriend. She was diagnosed with a terminal illness (ALS) she sold her life insurance for cash. The buyer of the insurance expects to recoup their payment (and then some) fairly quickly as the life expectancy of an ALS victim is brief. This is called viatical insurance.
Instead it turns out that his girlfriend, Jesse was misdiagnosed. She probably had lead poisoning and is in no danger of dying young. At least this seemed to be true until her dead body was discovered naked in Jack's bathtub!
Once again, Jack is suspected of murder. Once again his wife Cindy is having trouble dealing with the situation. It tears up their marriage.
In addition, it appears that the Viatical investors are actually Russian criminals. Assorted other crimes and the victims and the perpetrators become the focus (on a rotating basis) of the story.
There were just too many things going on for me to completely enjoy the story. Some of the characters I liked some I found tedious. What will keep me going back to this well (at least for another installment) is that I did not realize who the murderer of Jesse was until Mr. Grippando revealed it. That doesn't happen for me often so I am willing to give this series another try.
In this outing he has agreed to help a former girlfriend. She was diagnosed with a terminal illness (ALS) she sold her life insurance for cash. The buyer of the insurance expects to recoup their payment (and then some) fairly quickly as the life expectancy of an ALS victim is brief. This is called viatical insurance.
Instead it turns out that his girlfriend, Jesse was misdiagnosed. She probably had lead poisoning and is in no danger of dying young. At least this seemed to be true until her dead body was discovered naked in Jack's bathtub!
Once again, Jack is suspected of murder. Once again his wife Cindy is having trouble dealing with the situation. It tears up their marriage.
In addition, it appears that the Viatical investors are actually Russian criminals. Assorted other crimes and the victims and the perpetrators become the focus (on a rotating basis) of the story.
There were just too many things going on for me to completely enjoy the story. Some of the characters I liked some I found tedious. What will keep me going back to this well (at least for another installment) is that I did not realize who the murderer of Jesse was until Mr. Grippando revealed it. That doesn't happen for me often so I am willing to give this series another try.
October 18, 2019
I listened to this audiobook. Jack Swyteck is a criminal defense attorney in Florida. Jack doesn’t take civil cases, but he makes an exception for an ex-girlfriend who asks him to help her. She is being sued for 1.5 million dollars. She took out an unusual life insurance policy. She said she was dying of ALS disease. She takes out a $3 million dollar viatical policy - one that gives her half the money up front, and guarantees a return because she will likely be dead within 3 years. But she was misdiagnosed and is not terminal. But she has the $1.5 mil and the company that issued the policy is angry. Then it turns out she was scamming them all along, and scamming Jack. She and her doctor lied about her disease all along. Now the Russian mob, who is behind the viatical company wants the money back. She tells Jack about the scam and tells him she is afraid they want her dead. So when she turns up dead with a slit wrist in Jack’s bathtub he assumes who is behind it. But now it looks like Jack is being set up as the scapegoat. While he is scrambling to figure out who killed her, Jack is being investigated as the prime suspect. Jack’s wife is fragile emotionally and is lead to believe Jack was having an affair with his client. Tracking down the shady viatical company leads to Jack finding other illegal activity dealing with the selling of disease tainted blood, also by the Russians. The book is fast paced with some plot twists at the end. An enjoyable listen.
May 24, 2025
finished 24th may 2025 good read three stars i liked it no more no less 2nd from grippando and i have several more on kindle ready to go. that do it for you? no matter. entertaining story nice back and forth between theo who jack saved from death row. i'd read number six or eight or ten...and in that one i don't recall if mention was made of cindy jack's wife but she is in this one. some people can remember the stats for every sports hero, rock band, hollywood celebrity...but they're still assholes. me, i forget things...and i've learned long ago that people generally don't give a shit about you and will think what they will. anyway, i read this with the idea that cindy met with a bad fate. not quite but things aren't pretty. it's a story, like i said, entertaining. i wasn't exposed to fashionable ideology, every third character wasn't some poor down-trodden victim of modern society that ought to be heard and loved and swooned over. theo is a hoot. and i've got more from grippando on loan. enough for you? no matter. i enjoyed it.
November 14, 2025
I was slightly disappointed with this book having been impressed by the first book 'The Pardon'.
Jack Swyteck finds himself on the wrong side of the law again (not a very good position for a lawyer to be in) a gorgeous ex girlfriend is being sued, Jack defends her and wins a hefty $1.5 million. Jack finds out that it was a scam and they have words, soon after the ex's body is found floating in Jack's bathtub. Jack becomes suspect No1 when his name is found on a joint bank account with his ex Jessie, therefore he has a big claim to the said money.
His wife Cindy is not happy with the circumstances that Jack finds himself in and threatens to leave him and so he enlists the help of his friend Theo who has a criminal record himself. Things don't really get much better until we come to the very twisty, turny ending which, like I said, left me a little disappointed. Still I think that once again it deserved a meritable 4/5 because at times I found it quite gripping, so we go onto book 3 because there's something about Swyteck, apart from the name, that I like.
Jack Swyteck finds himself on the wrong side of the law again (not a very good position for a lawyer to be in) a gorgeous ex girlfriend is being sued, Jack defends her and wins a hefty $1.5 million. Jack finds out that it was a scam and they have words, soon after the ex's body is found floating in Jack's bathtub. Jack becomes suspect No1 when his name is found on a joint bank account with his ex Jessie, therefore he has a big claim to the said money.
His wife Cindy is not happy with the circumstances that Jack finds himself in and threatens to leave him and so he enlists the help of his friend Theo who has a criminal record himself. Things don't really get much better until we come to the very twisty, turny ending which, like I said, left me a little disappointed. Still I think that once again it deserved a meritable 4/5 because at times I found it quite gripping, so we go onto book 3 because there's something about Swyteck, apart from the name, that I like.
May 31, 2022
I had read the first book in the series almost 5 years ago and had forgotten a lot of the details. Thankfully this novel can be read as a standalone, although there are spoilers (including what happens to the man Jack defends in the first novel).
I really loved the opening of the novel. Jack is defending his ex-girlfriend, Jessie, who is being sued for cashing out her life insurance when she believed she was dying of ALS. Jessie is later found dead and Jack is the main suspect.
About 40% of the way through, I wasn't loving where the book was heading. I was interested in the Jessie storyline, not the Russian mafia, blood harvesting, money laundering plots that took place. Soon I had lost interest in the novel and just wanted to see how it would end.
The end did surprise me and I was shocked on multiple events that took place. I have heard that the series gets better so I will continue on, even though this novel has me guessing on how much I will like the series.
I really loved the opening of the novel. Jack is defending his ex-girlfriend, Jessie, who is being sued for cashing out her life insurance when she believed she was dying of ALS. Jessie is later found dead and Jack is the main suspect.
About 40% of the way through, I wasn't loving where the book was heading. I was interested in the Jessie storyline, not the Russian mafia, blood harvesting, money laundering plots that took place. Soon I had lost interest in the novel and just wanted to see how it would end.
The end did surprise me and I was shocked on multiple events that took place. I have heard that the series gets better so I will continue on, even though this novel has me guessing on how much I will like the series.
March 19, 2018
Truly enjoying the Jack Swyteck series. While these are classified as Legal Thrillers, this second book was pretty much a straight thriller. I don't mind.
With the Russian Mob, and AIDS, and stealing blood --we've got ourselves a clever plot that involves scams, money laundering and murder.
Once again Defense Attorney, Jack Swyteck, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation and is targeted as the prime suspect. After defending an ex-girlfriend during a legal battle where she cashed in on a life insurance policy prior to finding out she'd been misdiagnosed, the woman ends up dead, and the police believe Jack is responsible.
Full of gnarly twists, and turns, Beyond Suspicion was a fast, fun read!
Phillip Tomasso
Author of Absolute Zero
and Damn the Dead
With the Russian Mob, and AIDS, and stealing blood --we've got ourselves a clever plot that involves scams, money laundering and murder.
Once again Defense Attorney, Jack Swyteck, finds himself at the center of a murder investigation and is targeted as the prime suspect. After defending an ex-girlfriend during a legal battle where she cashed in on a life insurance policy prior to finding out she'd been misdiagnosed, the woman ends up dead, and the police believe Jack is responsible.
Full of gnarly twists, and turns, Beyond Suspicion was a fast, fun read!
Phillip Tomasso
Author of Absolute Zero
and Damn the Dead
April 27, 2018
I really enjoyed this suspense. I was pretty surprised by the ending. Cindy and Jack had some problems and her mother did not like Jack at all. But Jessie his old girl friend coming back into his life to help her save $1.5M in a medical scam and then finding her murdered n his bathtub and all the suspicion falls on him. There is a parallel story about the viacom investors who invest in people who are about to die and then get their life insurance, but that seemed to fissle. The real story was the jealousy of Cindy and her mom. They ending leaves it that most likely Cindy killed Jessee after her mom made Jessee drink a lot and pass out in the tub. James and his side kick are cleared. Good first novel, I will read more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2023
This is the 2nd book in the Jack Swyteck series. It starts with Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck has just won a case for his former girlfriend Jessie Merrill. She had sold her three million-dollar insurance policy for half that amount to a firm named Viatical Solutions. Jessie had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and given a short time to live. But her doctor later said his diagnosis was wrong, and that healthy Jessie was unlikely to die anytime soon. Viatical sued to retrieve its investment and lost. Jack suspects that Jessie and her doctor had scammed Viatical with fake records. Jessie turns up dead in Jack’s bathtub with her wrists slashed. Was it murder or suicide? Jack now attempts to clear himself and it leads him into his own past and present.
April 13, 2025
I had never read this author before, and had to start with the 2nd book in the series. I had a hard time reading it, it was not any kind of page turner. I was lucky to get through 1-2 chapters before I put it down. It had interesting themes, but it was all pretty shallow....it was like we were just skimming through the characters and what they were doing, not how they felt or thought. Also, Jessie was a little liar and yet there's a child and everyone just was like "well that's the truth" and no on questioned was she just making all that up too? Where's the paternity test? Doesn't matter to me that the "son" was a beneficiary--it just didn't ring right that no one questioned that at all. I'm not sure I'm going to read any more of the series.
April 22, 2019
I picked this off my dad's bookshelf one morning to read while I ate breakfast and was had finished it by the end of the day. I suppose that alone says something about the engagement factor of this book.
This book is an excellent crime, thriller, mystery story. It did not waste any words on meaningless descriptions or side-stories, everything was written to serve the plot. I have to say, the plot was fantastic, with many twists, turns, nooks and crannies. It kept me craving for more, pining for the truth. When it was divulged to me in the end, it satisfied me.
I read this not having read the first book in the series and will be certainly taking a look at that.
This book is an excellent crime, thriller, mystery story. It did not waste any words on meaningless descriptions or side-stories, everything was written to serve the plot. I have to say, the plot was fantastic, with many twists, turns, nooks and crannies. It kept me craving for more, pining for the truth. When it was divulged to me in the end, it satisfied me.
I read this not having read the first book in the series and will be certainly taking a look at that.
October 10, 2018
No. Way overboard. Having your MC accused of murdering a client in one book- sure. Having your MC accused of murdering a client in the very next book- way overboard. By then adding , Grippando committed an unspeakable act of book-murder. I'm glad I've read a later book in the series to know that it gets better; based on this book alone, I would never pick up another thing this author wrote.
June 18, 2020
Ok, technically I did not finish this book. I read to page 170 of this second book in the Swytek series and just couldn't keep reading.
The protagonist is such a wus! No swagger whatsoever. Also, the way the relationship is written is so "high school".
The only thing Grippando's books had going for them was the fast pace. Could that be why there is so little character development? The story ideas are good but there's something so vanilla about his writing. I have to say I'm taking a hard pass on the rest of this series.
The protagonist is such a wus! No swagger whatsoever. Also, the way the relationship is written is so "high school".
The only thing Grippando's books had going for them was the fast pace. Could that be why there is so little character development? The story ideas are good but there's something so vanilla about his writing. I have to say I'm taking a hard pass on the rest of this series.
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