Product Description

Amanda Jaffe, the heroine of Wild Justice and Proof Positive, is back—in this twisting tale of international intrigue and murder that leads her deep into the past . . . and into the crosshairs of a killer.

Charlie Marsh, a petty thief and con man, becomes a national hero when he rescues the warden of a state penitentiary during a prison riot, but it doesn't take long before he is wanted again, suspected of killing a United States congressman. After twelve years of living in the African nation of Batanga, at the mercy of Jean-Claude Baptiste, a sadistic, power-mad dictator, Charlie flees for home to face his murder charge, when Baptiste learns about Charlie's affair with the tyrant's favorite wife.

But it's not just the state of Oregon that's got it in for the philandering con. Criminal lawyer Amanda Jaffe has her work cut out for her. She must keep Charlie off death row, protect him from the head of Baptiste's deadly secret police, and prevent him from being caught by a shadowy killer who will stop at nothing to keep the truth about a decade-old crime buried forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42661 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Released on: 2009-06-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25" h x 6.40" w x 9.30" l, 1.13 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061236235
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
When the editor-in-chief of World News magazine offers Amanda Jaffe a $500,000 retainer to defend Charlie Marsh, an ex-con turned bestselling spiritual guru, in bestseller Margolin's entertaining fourth thriller to feature the Portland, Ore., lawyer (after Proof Positive), Amanda can't say no. Marsh, who fled the country in 1997 after being accused of murdering Congressman Arnold Pope Jr., has spent the 12 years since in the African country of Batanga under the protection of its benevolent ruler, Jean-Claude Baptiste, whose threat to kill Marsh for sleeping with his favorite wife has prompted Marsh to return to the U.S. to stand trial. Toss in Pope's revenge-seeking father, several homicidal maniacs and the evil head of the Batanga secret service, and you've got a plot set on full boil. While some readers will figure out the identity of Pope's real killer early on, all will enjoy following the resourceful Amanda as she puts the puzzle pieces together. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Oregon attorney Amanda Jaffe—star of three other Margolin thrillers, including Proof Positive (2006)—takes on the case of a lifetime when she is tapped to defend Charlie Marsh, aka Guru Gabriel Sun. Marsh’s past is legend: he was a prisoner whose freedom came abruptly when he saved the life of a guard during a riot. He then changed his name and published a book, The Light Within, in which he spoke of how you, too, could achieve personal transformation. The public, especially women, ate it up, helped by Marsh’s good looks, dangerous background, and newfound sensitivity. One of those swooning women was the wife of a U.S. congressman. After the congressman’s murder, both his wife and Marsh stood trial for the crime. Before the verdict was read, though, Marsh escaped, landing in Batanga, Africa, where the U.S. has no extradition treaty and a heartless dictator rules the country. When Marsh finds he might be caught for bedding one of the tyrant’s wives (sense a pattern here?), he realizes that a trial in the U.S. bodes better for him than punishment at the hands of Batanga’s cruel ruler. With the exception of Jaffe and Dennis Levy, a reporter who covers the Marsh case, Margolin’s characters and premise this time are a little too larger than life to be believable. Let’s hope he brings back both Jaffe and Levy in a novel a bit more grounded in reality. --Mary Frances Wilkens

Review
"Great pace, clever plot . . . all followed by a surprise ending. What more can you ask for?" (BookPage )

"Entertaining . . . A plot set on full boil. . . . All will enjoy following the resourceful Amanda as she puts the puzzle pieces together." (Publishers Weekly )

"[Margolin's] knowledge of the criminal mind give his novels a credibility not often found in legal thrillers. . . . You'll be captivated by Amanda Jaffe and the way she handles this case." (Aptos Times (CA) )

"A smart and skillfully written murder mystery, with solid characters, a terrific setting and a lot of witty dialogue. . . . Fugitive is Margolin at the absolute top of his game." (The Globe and Mail )

"The pages fly in this violent, twisty tale of one man's journey through the legal system, and legal thriller fans will snap up Margolin's latest for their summer beach reads." (Library Journal (starred review) )

"A clever plot and surprise ending make this a fine read." (The Oklahoman )

"Margolin smoothly moves between the plots and the time lines. . . . The novel's characters are nicely fleshed out." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette )

"Margolin has written believable characters you can care about, and a meticulous plot that keeps the reader guessing until the very end. This is a highly recommended read." (Crimespree Magazine )

"[Margolin] outdoes himself in this new one. As always, his great strengths-characters of enough depth and complexity to believe in and like a lot, and creative, fast-moving plotlines-are on display, and so is his superbly clean, fluid style." (The Sullivan County Democrat )

"A lively courtroom drama to savor . . . that pays tribute to the great detective fiction of old. Phillip Margolin has written a blockbuster with more than just a healthy dash of Hammett to please has reader." (Daily News (Michigan) )

"Margolin specializes in plot . . . his new novel Fugitive speeds along well over the posted limit. . . . This is a book to take to the beach." (Portland Oregonian )

"Phillip Margolin's Fugitive is the latest in his string of reliably exciting and fast-moving legal thrillers." (Seattle Times )

"A sizzling international thriller." (National Examiner )

Customer Reviews

PULSING WITH DANGER, BAD GUYS, AND EXCITEMENT
Remember those popular boxes of Cracker Jack, the sweet popcorn-like snack? We bought them because we liked the taste, of course, but the big come-on was the prize inside. We were never quite sure what we were going to get but it was going to be an extra something, a surprise, a prize. That pretty much encapsulates the way I feel about Philip Margolin's books - I'm never quite know what I'm going to get but I'm pretty sure I'll like it, and so I keep reading.

If you remember Amanda Jaffe, the young whiz-bang attorney from Wild Justice and Proof Positive, you'll welcome her back as she faces even greater challenges and higher hurdles in Fugitive. The Fugitive of the title is Charlie Marsh a small time con man who manages to parlay a prison incident into big time payola - he convinced a fellow prisoner to release the warden he had taken hostage and further claimed that during that moment he was visited by the Divine and even given a new name, Gabriel Sun.

What comes next, why just what any thinking con man would come up with - a book deal, an appearance on Oprah, and an ardent following. Of course, it didn't hurt Charlie one bit that he was also GQ good looking.

While riding the tide of public acclaim Charlie becomes involved with a politician's wife whose husband is murdered and, of course, Charlie's the No. 1 suspect. He takes off for the African country of Batanga where he lives off his royalties for a comfortable dozen years and woos and wins Batanga's dictator's favorite wife. Not one to take this lightly the dictator goes after Charlie who promptly exits for the U.S.

Back on American soil he still has to account for the death of the politician, and Amanda is called upon to champion him. That's more of a chore than she ever dreamed as Batanga's secret police also want Charlie.

Leave it to Margolin to cook up a page-turner like this, rich with danger, bad guys, and excitement.

- Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke

As Good As Ever and Better Than Most
I go all the way back with Phillip Margolin and he has yet to disappoint me.

In this, his latest Amanda Jaffe novel, he creates a masterful whodunit
that remains unresolved, until the very interesting ending.

Congressman Arnold Pope, Jr is shot during an altercation at a posh Oregon Country Club. Two of those at the shooting are put on trial. One flees to an African country with no extradition treaty with the United States, the other is acquitted. The one who fled is Charlie Marsh, a celebrity author who has been sleeping with the wife of the Congressman who was shot. The unfaithful wife was the co-defendant.

Twelve years later, Charlie who could never resist the blandishments of the opposite sex, has made the near fatal mistake of bedding the favorite wife of the country's dictator. In a harrowing escape he returns to face trial on the murder charge and that is when things really get interesting.

That is as far as I will take you on this story line. Buy the book and let Phillip Margolin weave his special magic. He is very good at it.

exhilarating thriller
In 1997, con man Charlie Marsh is a few weeks from being released from prison when his best friend Crazy Eddie holds three visiting female librarians and the penitentiary warden as hostages. He saves a guard's life getting accidentally stabbed in the process and that of the other hostages. Eddie blows himself up. Charlie is a hero and hooks up with agent Mickey Keys as they claim "The Light Within You" guided him. However, on tour in Oregon, Charlie has a tryst with local host Sally Pope, wife of a Congressman. When the spouse Arnold Pope Jr. attacks Charlie, all hell breaks out and Arnold is killed. Charlie flees for Africa while Sally stands trial for abetting a murder; attorney Frank Jaffe gets her acquitted after some shenanigans from her father-in-law Arnold, Sr.

However after a dozen years in Batanga under the ruthless rule of Jean Claude Baptiste, Charlie needs to escape as the cruel dictator knows he had an affair with his favorite wife the tortured and now dead Bernadette. Charlie arranges for World News to fund his return to the States where death row is safer than Batanga. Frank's daughter Amanda heads the defense while Baptiste sends killer Nelson Tuazama to kill Charlie but not before he retrieves diamonds the expatriate snuck out of the country.

This thriller is clearly over the top especially the last third current day trial, but no one will care as the reader is hooked from the opening sequence in Batanga, through what happened a dozen years ago, and finally the present day legal thriller. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and the cast solid especially the title character and his lawyer. With a terrific full circle spin, fans will appreciate Phillip Margolin's exhilarating thriller.

Harriet Klausner