A Death in Live Oak (Jack Swyteck Series #14)

by James Grippando

Overview

From New York Times bestselling author James Grippando, a riveting, timely story ripped from the headlines. Defense attorney Jack Swyteck defends a white college student charged in Florida’s first racial terror lynching in more than a half century. 

When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the pre-eminent black fraternity at the University of Florida, is discovered hogtied in the Stygian water swamps of the Suwanee River Valley, the death sets off a firestorm that threatens to rage out of control when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime.

Contending with rising political tensions, racial unrest, and a sensational media, Towson’s defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, knows that the stakes could not be higher—inside or outside the old Suwanee County Courthouse. The evidence against his client seems overwhelming. Then Jack gets a break that could turn the case. Jamal's murder bears disturbing similarities to another lynching that occurred back in the Jim Crow days of 1944. Are the chilling parallels purely coincidental?

With each twist and turn, Jack is convinced that his client may be the victim of something even more sinister than the case presented by the state attorney. For Jack, it’s about the truth. And he’s determined to find it, no matter what the cost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062657800
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Series:	Jack Swyteck Series , #14
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	538,452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

James Grippando is a New York Times bestselling author with more than thirty books to his credit, including those in his acclaimed series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck, and is the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. He is also a trial lawyer and teaches law and literature at the University of Miami School of Law. He lives and writes in South Florida.

Hometown:

Coral Gables, Florida

Date of Birth:

January 27, 1958

Place of Birth:

Waukegan, Illinois

Education:

B.A. with High Honors, University of Florida, 1980; J.D. with Honors, University of Florida, 1982

Website:

http://www.jamesgrippando.com

Editorial Reviews

12/11/2017
The lynching of University of Florida student Jamal Cousin, the president of a prominent black fraternity, kick-starts bestseller Grippando’s gripping 14th novel about lawyer Jack Swyteck (after 2017’s Most Dangerous Place). When Mark Towson, the head of a white fraternity, and two of his fraternity brothers become suspects, Mark’s father turns for help to his old friend, Jack’s father Harry, who gets his son to take the case. As Jack does his best to defend Mark and determine the truth, Andie, his FBI agent wife, goes undercover to investigate white supremacist terrorists who might be linked to the murder. Meanwhile, the news is reminding at least some locals of a case from 1944, in which a black teen was lynched in a similar manner. Grippando skims over this timely topic, providing no insights, for example, into how the community will deal with the racial fallout, but those looking for a legal thriller heavy on action will be rewarded. Agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Tackling racism, white supremacists, and a generations-old lynching, the book is admirably heartfelt and humane.” — Kirkus

“Engrossing and unflinching...a timely look at issues of race and hatred...action-packed and involving...” — South Florida Sun Sentinel

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
When the president of a Florida university's top African American fraternity is found hog-tied and drowned in a Suwannee River Valley swamp, his counterpart at a white fraternity is accused of the crime. Defense attorney Jack Swyteck finds uncomfortable parallels to a 1944 lynching and suspects a nasty conspiracy. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2017-11-28
Racial tensions come to a murderous boil at the University of Florida, Jack Swyteck's beloved alma mater, in this ripped-from-the-headlines thriller.Soon after Jamal Cousin, the head of the Alpha fraternity, is found hogtied and hanged in a nearby swamp, suspicion falls on Mark Towson, the president of Theta Pi Omega, because of a text message he'd sent Jamal using the N word and concluding: "Strange fruit on the river." Mark swears he never sent the text. He never uses that word, he doesn't know what strange fruit is, and he thinks Billie Holiday, who made the song famous in 1939, is a man. But he can't explain how it was logged in as having originated with his cellphone, and soon the evidence begins to mount that he knew what he was doing and meant to threaten and perhaps kill Jamal. Luckily for Mark, his father, Tucker Towson, is an old friend of Jack Swyteck (Most Dangerous Place, 2017, etc.), who's soon on the case. That's about the only bright spot, though. Mark's mother is stricken by a return of her cancer; he's expelled from the university after a hearing that's mishandled at every turn; and his fraternity buddy Baine Robinson, whose phone sent another message to Jamal, turns against him. As Jack, battling to find out what really happened while keeping Mark from getting railroaded, finds that the burden of proof in a college disciplinary matter is a lot lighter than in a court of law, his wife, FBI agent Andie Henning, is asked to go deep undercover with the Aryan National Alliance in a case that's even more explosive.Tackling racism, white supremacists, and a generations-old lynching, the book is admirably heartfelt and humane. But the forces of evil are cartoons, the subplot feels tacked on, and the conclusion is unsatisfying on every level.

Kirkus Reviews

Engrossing and unflinching...a timely look at issues of race and hatred...action-packed and involving...

South Florida Sun Sentinel