Against the Wind

by J. F. Freedman Narrated by David Colacci

Overview

"A rip-snorting, full-throttle novel . . . It kept me up late into the night." -Stephen KingForced out of his firm, a hard-living attorney takes on one final, highly charged case-defending a notorious gang of bikers against murder charges
A few years ago, Will Alexander was the top criminal lawyer in Santa Fe, with a thriving practice, a famously flamboyant courtroom style, and a marriage that landed him on the front page of the society section. Now, though, his wife has left him, and his constant boozing and womanizing have put his career in jeopardy. When Will's partners ask him-forcefully-to take a leave of absence from the firm, his life in law seems finished. He has only one client: a gang of men who call themselves the Scorpions.Four rogue bikers are accused of committing a gruesome murder, and Will is the only one they want for their defense. Although all the evidence points toward their guilt, Will believes them, and it's time for these outlaws to stick together.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

This provocative tale of a renegade lawyer and his outlaw-biker clients exults in nonconformity. Will Alexander, a womanizing, booze-guzzling Santa Fe, N.M., lawyer, is sent by his legal partners on indefinite if not permanent leave with a warning to dry out. Furthermore, his ex-wife announces she's moving to Seattle, depriving him of quality time with his 10-year-old daughter. He finds a raison d'etre in the case of four menacing Harley-riders accused of murder. Convinced of their innocence despite colleagues' opinions and his at-stake reputation, Alexander pursues evidence that the group spent so much time gang-banging an arguably consenting motel maid on the night of the crime that homicide and mutilation before breakfast were out of the question. Unfortunately, crooked cops biased against the freewheeling outcasts brainwash the maid, who becomes their key witness. Despite a few convenient coincidences and macho posturing--for which Alexander's deep-down vulnerability overcompensates--movie and TV director/writer Freedman delivers irresistible legal wranglings and entertaining lawyerly theatrics. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection. (Sept.)

Library Journal

Superstar criminal lawyer Will Alexander is an alcoholic and a womanizer. As his problems begin to interfere with his work, his partners ask him to take an extended leave of absence. His ex-wife informs him she is moving from Santa Fe to Seattle, taking their daughter with her. In the midst of this personal chaos, four bikers hire him to defend them against a questionable murder charge. It is painfully obvious that Freedman is no attorney as he omits major steps in trial preparation in order to further the plot, making the defense team look incompetent. This flaw does nothing to detract from the fast-paced story, which includes an unforgettable prison riot, a vivid portrayal of bikers as both outcasts and outlaws, and poignant moments between Alexander and his child. This book is impossible to put down. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/91.--Ed.-- Jo Ann Vicarel, Cleveland Heights-University Heights P.L., Ohio

Kirkus Reviews

A powerhouse legal/action thriller—about an alcoholic lawyer defending outlaw bikers charged with murder-one—that roundly reflects the story-telling skills and commercial instincts that first-novelist Freedman evidently developed as director-writer of film and TV melodramas (Kansas City Bomber, Borderline, Night Gallery, etc.). Hero Will Alexander's wry, humane, energetic narration (intercut by action-oriented third-person passages) immediately earns our sympathy for this appealingly flawed 40-year-old: Santa Fe's top defense attorney, twice-divorced father of ten-year-old Claudia, whom he adores, high-strung Will is canned for excess drinking and womanizing by the law firm he founded—and then is told by Claudia's mom that she's moving to Seattle with Claudia. Hard knocks: but cushioned by a headline case that falls into Will's lap, the defense of down-and-dirty biker Lone Wolf and his three comrades, accused of the mutilation-murder of a local drug-dealer—and convicted by the press before trial. Hinging on some weird forensic evidence and on testimony of a whore the bikers raped, the likely outcome of the trial seesaws as the prosecution and Will—sated with self-doubt, drinking, and wenching—razzle-dazzle the jury; but the inevitable verdict comes in: guilty. Months later, however, the whore recants: her testimony was perjured, she claims, extorted by the police. Will, who's meanwhile been caring for Claudia and pursuing a hot affair, turns back to the case—only to see Lone Wolf swept up in a violent prison riot that Will is asked to mediate. And matters become complicated further when a stranger confesses to the crime, calling Will toWest Virginia to meet him at a rousing snake-handling religious revival. But it all winds up back in the courtroom—and in a slam-bang ending. Will's incessant self-absorption begins to grate near the end, but, long before, the narrative's storm surge of courtroom duels, gritty crime action, twisty plotting, and technicolor characters has irrevocably swept the reader up in one of the most extravagantly entertaining thrillers of the year.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172591235
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	11/20/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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