Book details

An American officer has been murdered on the base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and his soon-to-be-accused killer, the dead man’s wife, wants Miami criminal attorney Jack Swyteck to represent her. Swyteck knows nothing about military law, and he can sense that the hypnotically beautiful Lindsey Hart is a liar, a blackmailer, and possibly worse. But if he doesn’t agree to defend her, he will never get to see his biological son, a child Swyteck never knew existed. Taking on the might of the U.S. military legal machine on hostile foreign soil could prove to be far more than a bad career move, because the shocking, sordid truth will take no prisoners. And no one, especially Jack Swyteck, will escape unscathed.

From Publishers Weekly

Miami lawyer Jack Swyteck is in for one hell of a roller coaster ride in this lapel-grabbing thriller, Grippando's ninth (Last to Die; etc.). Lindsey Hart, about to be charged with the murder of her husband, Marine Capt. Oscar Pintado, comes to Jack because she believes he is her last, best chance—and also the biological father of her adopted son. Stunned, Jack thinks he recognizes the picture of the 10-year-old she shows him ("he knew those dark eyes, that Roman nose"), but he still isn't sure whether he should take the case. What if he doesn't and she's innocent? She could be convicted. But if she's guilty—and he takes the case and wins it—he doesn't want to see the child raised by a murderer. Thanks to Grippando's devious mind, that's just the beginning. Plot twists, doled out with perfect timing, include the story of the murder victim, who's the son of a rich and powerful anti-Castro activist; the prosecutor's connection to Swyteck's family; and the testimony of the defense's prime witness, who is a private in Castro's army—the murder took place on the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It's manipulative Lindsey, however, who proves to be the book's most unpredictable element. This character-driven, intricately plotted thriller will keep readers guessing up to the end.
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From Booklist

The latest Jack Swyteck mystery finds the Miami defense lawyer in unfamiliar territory. When a woman asks him to defend her against the charge of murdering her husband, Jack is initially reluctant: the victim is a U.S. naval officer; the crime took place at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay; and Jack has almost no experience with military courtroom procedures. But the woman has a very persuasive reason for Jack to take the case (all right, it's a little far-fetched, but it works), and soon Jack finds himself fighting for his client's life in an arena that is brand new to him. Grippando, a former Florida trial lawyer, started his writing career with a Swyteck novel (The Pardon in 1994) and then rested the lawyer hero for eight years while producing a string of stand-alone thrillers. This fourth Swyteck novel is a tight, smartly constructed mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. The military overtones should appeal to fans of the television series Navy NCIS and JAG. David Pitt
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