and Mike Trigani for their on-the-spot advice.
Thank you to the detectives of the Homicide Division of the Philadelphia Police Department, who continue to help me in so many ways and gave me the coolest sweatshirt ever. Thanks to Mark McDonald of the
Thank you to Richard Clark, Jr., a farrier who answered all my stupid questions while trying to reset the shoe on a cranky mare. Thanks to all at Thorncroft Equestrian Center, for all of their good work, and especially to Diana Johnson, who teaches me about horses and life.
Thank you to Kevin Sparkman of the DVTO, who helped me a great deal. Also, thank you, Chuck Jones, for your friendship, hunting advice, and general expertise. I also want to acknowledge a fascinating translation of Sun-Tzu by J. M. Huang, which served as a source for
Equally important as the research is the writing, and I had experts to help with that, too. Heartfelt thanks to president and CEO at HarperCollins, Anthea Disney, to my editor, Carolyn Marino, and to my agent, Molly Friedrich of the Aaron Priest Agency. I marvel constantly at the brilliance, talent, and generosity of these women, who are like literary Power Rangers. They improved this manuscript in countless ways, and supported me throughout all. I am the luckiest author in the world to be able to tap their time and expertise. I can't thank them enough and won't bore the rest of you by going on longer here.
Thanks, too, to Paul Cirone, Molly's assistant, for his hard work and terrific sense of humor, and to Carolyn's assistant, Robin Stamm, who understands the importance of the comma. Special thanks to production editor Andrea Molitor, who cared enough to get it right.
Thank you to Gene Mydlowski, associate publisher, for his efforts and eye, and to Laura Leonard, publicity manager, who, besides being a dynamo on her job, is one of the sweetest people in the world. Thanks to Laura's assistant Caroline Enright, too.
Personal thanks and love to my family and friends, as well as my husband, Peter, and daughter, Kiki. They had to put up with pizza for dinner while I wrestled with this book and, worse yet, they had to put up with me.
About the Author
Lisa Scottoline is a New York Times best-selling author and former trial lawyer. She has won the Edgar Award, the highest prize in suspense fiction, and the Distinguished Author Award, from the Weinberg Library of the University of Scranton. She has served as the Leo Goodwin Senior Professor of Law and Popular Culture at Nova Southeastern Law School, and her novels are used by bar associations for the ethical issues they present. Her books are published in over twenty languages. She lives with her family in the Philadelphia area and welcomes reader email at www.scottoline.com.
Also By Lisa Scottoline
Acclaim and Praise
Nominated for the Edgar Award
'What fun! Lisa Scottoline brings something new to the lawyer-mystery— a brilliant sense of humor.'
—Susan Isaacs
'Lisa Scottoline has done the impossible: creating a first novel that is an irresistible page-turner and is also teeming with unforgettable characters.'
—Eric Lustbader
'[A] page turner that whips through legal labyrinths and emotional mazes.'
—Nora Roberts
'A gripping novel embracing a wide range of characters and human emotions.'
—
'A fast-paced, fast-talking legal thriller…. There's an intelligent sense of irony at work.'
Winner of the Edgar Award, the premier award in crime fiction
'Lisa Scottoline's greatest skill, and it is a remarkable one indeed, is to make the domestic incident, the small characters, and moments come to life and ring absolutely true…. [She] knows the simple yet magical secret at the heart of compelling suspense fiction.'
—
'Lisa Scottoline has been added to my story list for must-read authors. Her stories are filled with teeth- gnashing suspense, her characters are compelling, and her humor cuts to the heart of the issue with laser-like accuracy.'
—Janet Evanovich
'A fresh, fast-paced, irreverent writing style.'
