Masterful storytelling. . .gripping legal drama . . .relentless
suspense - these are the hallmarks of Perri O'Shaughnessy's work.
Critics hail her legal thrillers as "terrific . . . will keep you
turning the pages into the night" (USA Today) and "a real puzzler. .
.with twists diabolical enough to take to court" (The New York Times
Book Review). Now the New York Times bestselling author of Move to
Strike returns with Writ of Execution, an electrifying tale that plunges
attorney Nina Reilly into a shadowy world of high-stakes gambling and
cold-blooded murder. In the mountain resort town of South Lake Tahoe,
Nina Reilly is known for taking on the underdog cases, the kind that can
make - or break - her one-woman law practice. Her latest case begins in
the middle of a summer night when she is called away from a very
personal visit to her investigator Paul Van Wagoner's hotel room to meet
with a desperate new client at her office. The frightened young Washoe
Indian woman gives her name as Jessie Potter. She has just hit one of
the biggest jackpots in Nevada history, and the men in suits are waiting
to hand her the million-dollar first installment when they know her real
identity. With time running out, Nina helps her client devise a
brilliant plan to collect the money while keeping her true identity a
secret. The check's due to clear in ten days-and Nina's got her hands
full as powerful interests line up to grab the money. The Nevada Gaming
Control Board is looking into allegations that the jackpot was rigged.
The man sitting on the seat just before the jackpot hit says it's his,
and he doesn't mind going outside the law to get it. And the wealthy man
stalking Nina's client has managed to attack the jackpot winnings with
the help of an unscrupulous local lawyer, Jeff Riesner, using a legal
maneuver called a writ of execution. To fight it, Paul Van Wagoner flies
to Hawaii and digs up a dark moment in Jessie's past. The odds of Jessie
ever collecting are starting to look hopeless. For Nina, what began as a
fight for an underdog in federal court soon escalates into something
very different and far more dangerous. Jessie has a secret, and she
needs that money for a very good reason. By the time Nina discovers that
Jessie is withholding vital information, it might be too late for her
client and even for Nina herself. Because somewhere in the darkening
Tahoe night, people are dying. A killer is exacting chilling vengeance
in a case where the writ of execution has become more than a legal
maneuver; it's a death warrant.
