William Manchee Pens Stan Turner Mystery--Disillusioned

Stan stepped into the house, and his stomach twisted as he observed the outline of Maureen Peters' body on the tile floor. She was facing away from the staircase like she'd been running for the front door and was tackled from behind.

"How'd Maureen die?" Stan asked.

Jenkins pointed to the fireplace in the den. She was hit with a fire poker the perp got from over there. Stan walked over to the fireplace and looked around the large room. There was a large TV cabinet on one wall and two blue leather sofas facing it.

"I wonder why she wasn't shot in te head like the others," Stan asked.

Jenkins looked around the room and then said thoughtfully, "Maybe she ran to the fireplace, got a poker to use as a weapon, but the perp caught her and wrestled it away from her."

"And then used the poker on her?" Stan added.

"Right."

Stan shrugged. "That's possible...Okay, let's go upstairs."

Jenkins turned and started up the staircase.

"Don't touch the banister. I'm not sure if they're finished dusting for prints yet."

"Right," Stan said, putting his hands in his pockets.

When they got to the top of the stairs, there was a strong odor of blood and chemicals. Stan felt sick as he saw the blood-soaked carpeting where Rob had been found.

"So, did they recover the gun?"

"Yes. It was in Rob's hand."

"How many rounds were fired?"

"Six."

Stan frowned. "Six? Five killed by gunshot but six rounds missing? That doesn't add up."

"Right. Detective Moore thinks maybe Cindy was struggling and Rob missed the first time he shot at her." 

"Hmmm. Or, a third party wanted to make sure Rob had powder burns on his hand and forced Rob to fire a wild round after he was already dead."

Jenkins shrugged. "I don't know. That's a possibility, I guess, but you could never prove it.

"Maybe, maybe not," Stan said, moving on to where Cindy's body had been lying.

Star felt nauseous and struggled to keep from vomiting as he didn't want to be kicked out of the crime scene before he'd had a good look around.

"What was the order of the killings?" Stan asked.

"They were all killed about the same time. I doubt you could conclusively determine the exact order."

"What was the murder weapon?

"Rob's .38 special," Jenkins replied.

"Rob kept that gun in his car," Stan said. "He's shown it to me before. The killer probably waited until Rob and Cindy came home and went into the house, and then he went into the garage, got the gun, and entered the house."

"That also means the killer knew Rob had a gun in his car, so Rob must have known his killer."

"Or the killer was hired by someone who knew Rob pretty well..."

~~~

Disillusioned

A Stan Turner Mystery

By William Manchee

Having your best friend and his family murdered had certainly grabbed Stan Turner's attention. Fortunately, he was close to the local police staff and they were willing to have him go over the crime scene right after it had happened. His interrogation during that time was based upon what he was being told. Already in his mind, he was considering  how best to at least clear his friend's name. Murder and suicide was not what had happened, even if it had been staged to appear that Rob had killed his entire family as well as the baby sitter. At least that was what Stan would be trying to prove!

I met Stan Turner through his books Deadly Dining and Deadly Blood. Check out my reviews before you leave! Turner has definitely become a legal thriller character that I fully enjoy and endorse. With Manchee, you get not only a main character, but you get his office and the activities in which they are involved. His books are complex, diverse, and definitely intriguing!

In Disillusioned, Stan, who loves politics, gets involved in working for the republican party for Gerald Ford for the presidency as well as local activities of the party. Among the other things happening, I was especially interested when Turner, instead of running himself, talks his competent assistant into running as the first woman who would be elected, and Stan was willing to be her campaign manager to ensure that happened! Given the constant bombardment of political issues based upon the Trump administration these days, it was fun to read all that was happening in 1976... Like today, there is an investigation going on by the FBI regarding financial dealings of a local party contributor. As a result, the murder-suicide of Stan's best friend's family as well as the resignation of two republican candidates for the district's state representatives. And, of course, Turner's office responds to all of this. I must say that, for me, reading Disillusioned at this time proved to be a intriguing counterbalance to today, since Nixon had just left office and Ford would have been his replacement. Does history merely repeat itself in one way or another?

Disillusioned portrays a more personal side to Stan. Just by being the type of man he is, he discovers that, especially in politics, truth and integrity are important to him and it is revealed in his legal activities. But when he is played for selfish reasons, he finds it hard to deal with, especially if he thought the individual was a friend...For me, another reason to love the character!

Lots of investigations, cases, thrills and danger, including multiple murders for various reasons... But the most important one for Stan, that of his best friend's case was the one I was most interested in and was quite satisfied with its ending... And a new female lawyer just might be continuing with Stan in future books...His desire to support females, even if disappointed sometime, also deserves kudos from me...

Black Monday drew my attention with its trailer with its spooky house, along with many other issues! So watch for my review sometime in the future! I'm enjoying the series and highly recommend you check at least one out...They are all free-standing, but do have some character carryover... Enjoy! 

GABixlerReviews

William Manchee is an attorney by trade who practices consumer law in Texas with his son Jim. Originally from southern California, he lives now in Plano, Texas. In 1995 he began writing as an escape from his stressful law practice. Since then he has written over twenty-two novels. He is the author of the Stan Turner Mysteries, inspired by actual cases he has been involved in over the years, the Rich Coleman Novels, the Tarizon Trilogy & Saga, as well as other stand-alone works

William Manchee Presents Deadly Dining...

Chopin's Nocturne is the theme song for the Stan Turner Mystery Series - Cool!

..."This is Nikki Lane at Emilio's Italian Restaurant in Dallas where four patrons apparently have become violently sick from food eaten at the popular north Dallas restaurant. Police and ambulances are on the scene where witnesses say four customers eating a variety of entrees all got sick at about the same time. Three of the four customers have been rushed to Medical City Hospital and the fourth is being loaded into an ambulance as we speak.

"Now if you have a young child watching you will probably want them to leave the room before we show this video taken by a customer at a nearby table. It's quite graphic."

The restaurant's interior appears where a man at a table is holding his throat and coughing uncontrollably. Then the woman across from him turns pale and starts to throw up. The man next to her stands up, grabs his throat and then collapses to the ground. The final woman at the table screams and then begins to convulse. Two waiters come over to try to help but there is little they can do. The woman's convulsions finally stop and her head falls forward onto the table, her eyes wide-open. There are screams and general panic then as people flee the restaurant. Sirens can be heard in the background and then the video ends.

"Well, that image will probably keep many of us awake tonight. We apologize for showing it but it's our commitment to bring you the latest news no matter how unsettling it might be," Nikki Lane said. She hesitated, listening to something being said to her in her earpiece. "We just got word that two of the victims were DOA at Medical City Hospital. No word on the other two victims. The police on the scene have advised us that many customers at Emilio's Italian Restaurant fled the scene shortly after the fur victims got sick. Police are requesting that anyone who ate at the restaurant tonight go to the local emergency room to be checked out. No one knows right now what caused these terrible reactions, so it's imperative that anyone who ate at the restaurant see a doctor immediately.

"To summarize: two people have died tonight while eating at Emilio's Italian Restaurant and two others have been admitted to Medical City Hospital in Dallas. We'll keep you updated as new information is learned about this terrible tragedy. This is Nikki Lane for Channel 4 News."

"Oh, my God!" Rebekah said. "We've eaten at that restaurant haven't we?"

Stan nodded, Yes, we have. I did some estate planning for Emilio Bellucci and his wife. I took you to lunch there about a year ago. He's a really nice guy and everybody loves his restaurant."

~~~

Deadly Dining:

A Stan Turner Mystery

By William Manchee

This is the 11th in the series and I must say that I was impressed by the quality of the book. Although my first reading of this author. I enjoyed the novel immensely. When we read legal fiction, most of the time we are learning about a major case. However, Manchee takes readers into his legal office, where he works with two additional lawyers as well as their administrative assistant.  And with three lawyers, you get three cases! Wow!

The setting is wonderful as most of the time we are in the office, as cases are discussed, planned for, and individuals are interviewed. Stan has Paula as a partner, and a new associate, who proves herself as she takes on her first live trial... I loved each of the characters and how they worked to help each other even though one individual was responsible...But, really, when they decided on an intervention for Stan...LOL...I knew exactly what they were going to find... Not so, with the legal cases...

Paula thought about the victims.
She needed information on them
in case one of them was a target
of the killer. A smart murderer
might kill several people so it
would be difficult to determine a
motive for the crime.
~~~

The major case is related to four individuals in Emilio's Italian Restaurant becoming sick and then three of them dying...It was determined that rat poison had been placed in the Parmesan cheese which each of the individuals had accepted to be added by the waiter... Of course, the waiter was accused! Although Stan had worked for Emilio before, he turned the case over to Paula who was the only lawyer with criminal defense experience. Emilio had agreed to pay the legal fees for Ricardo, not believing his long-time employee was guilty.

A compelling case was being built up for a local mobster and this men. They were known and already under investigation by the FBI so everybody hoped that the murders would be the final action they needed to finally put them in jail.

And then there was the Pakistani couple who had gathered up $250,000 to buy into a store in America...Then the part owner stopped working but still demanded half of the income...Stan suggested several legal options to him, including bankruptcy...but while he was getting things back in order, the owner started to harass him...and burned down the store!

In the meantime, the really incongruous case began, when Jodie Marshall's first trial case was to defend a young ex-MP who had stopped a robbery at a jewelry store and during the struggle, the gun accidentally went off and hit the store owner in his leg... He was suing "the hero" for damages, medical expenses and stress...

One of the things I hadn't thought about in small legal offices, was that the lawyers themselves might have to do the investigations and actually get into dangerous situations... And in all three cases, no matter which one, there was the involved criminal(s) who didn't care about the people they were hurting...only that they wanted what they wanted and aimed to get it! The level of legal expertise for each of these cases was high and the writing of the story was well-done since readers are watching, yet seeing the results of each case during the trials.

I do wish I had the time to go back and start right at the beginning of this legal series. It is different enough, by the setting being in a law office, that, after reading this one, I can just imagine the kind of cases that Stan and his group would potentially handle. Though serious cases, the read was fun, moving from one issue to another, making sure I was remembering which case I was now working on... Fun, yes, but in not one case did I successfully project what the ending would ultimately be.  That's my kind of book! If you are a legal fiction fan...you need to check out this series! Highly recommended...


GABixlerReviews

Manchee was born in the small Southern California coastal town of Ventura in the late 40's. Bicycling, hiking, camping, fishing, traveling, baseball and tennis occupied the bulk of his time when he wasn't attending school. He attended Buena High School, graduating with honors in 1965. During this time he became an Eagle Scout, earned the God and Country Award and was a Congressional Intern for Congressman Charles M. Teague. Determined to become a lawyer and go into politics, Manchee attended UCLA majoring in political science. It was a tumultuous time with the Vietnam War raging and anti-war protestors running rampant on most U.S. campuses. During the California primary elections in 1968, Manchee went to the Ambassador Hotel to see Bobby Kennedy. Although a Republican, he was intrigued by the Kennedy mystique and wanted to see it first hand. Instead, he witnessed the aftermath of Kennedy's assassination, watching Sirhan Sirhan's arrest and seeing Kennedy loaded into an ambulance. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Janet Mello, in 1969 he moved to San Diego for one year while he attended the University of San Diego School of Law. After a brief duty in the United States Marine Corps which was the inspiration for his novel, Undaunted, he moved to Plano where his wife and two children were staying with his in-laws. He immediately transferred to SMU Law School to complete his legal training. While in law school he and Janet both worked full time to support their family that had grown by then to six. In his spare time, Manchee was active in the Republican Party becoming Collin County Chairman in 1974-1976. This was the era where the Texas Republican Party was a small but growing minority party. During his tenure, the party elected its first county officials including the Sheriff, a JP and county commissioner. Disillusioned by political backstabbing and opportunism he withdrew from politics in 1976, deciding instead to concentrate on starting his new law practice and raising his children. After graduating from SMU Law School and receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1976, Manchee worked for an insurance company for about six months before starting his law practice in Carillon Towers in North Dallas in 1977. His practice started out primarily in estate planning and business but soon bloomed into a general practice catering to the needs of the small business owner. After practicing in North Dallas' Park Central area for 40 years, he moved his offices to Plano, Texas where he now practices consumer law with his son, Jim.  Manchee's literary career began in 1995 when he started writing as a diversion from his stressful law practice. It wasn't long before he realized writing was his true passion in life. Since then he has written twenty-two books. At first, he wrote mysteries and legal thrillers inspired by some of his own cases, but after writing a dozen or so, he branched out into science fiction as well. He enjoys both genres and plans to continue writing in each. Shortly after moving to Plano, Janet died after a long illness. Manchee has no plans to retire from either practicing law or writing novels, but he does make time to be with his four children and five grandchldren.

Linda Rocker's Casey Portman Series Just May Be the Real Inside of the World's Legal System... Let's Play the Blame Game!

Luke Anderson and Casey Portman had been a couple for nearly two years and it would be safe to say that just about everyone who worked in law enforcement or in the court system in Palm Beach County knew about the relationship. So far, no one other than a mean-spirited woman in the Clerk's office had taken offense at the notion that the Sheriff was involved with a bailiff at the courthouse, a situation that could give rise to some "pillow talk" about pending cases. But then everybody knew that this particular clerk, Maggie, was a bitch on wheels. Casey knew this better than most, having had a run-in with her that culminated in Maggie taking over her job for a few days...

Starting this review with the main character seemed like the thing to do, especially since she is, herself, caught up in the sights of a hired killer who decides he likes the looks of Casey and wants a little action... When she doesn't agree, he does some major damage that puts her in the hospital in critical condition...

She and Luke had an argument that had not been settled before he had to leave town... Well, let's just say that things smoothed out between them by the end!

Blame

A Casey Portman Novel

By Linda Rocker

I think one of the most used feelings we human have is the need to place blame. I know I am just as guilty as anybody... To balance that out, I have through the years done my best to "know thyself" and, ultimately, even if not immediately, accept when I have been at fault or partially to blame. When we are able to stop and do this, we are able to settle situations in our minds and accept... But given the role of the legal system in today's world, we all know that Blame is, perhaps, the ultimate issue behind most law cases.

IT IS NOT true, as some observers of the human drama postulate, that blame is the handmaiden of punishment. The two are barely on speaking terms, especially in a court of law. The on-again, off-again connection between fixing responsibility for bad behavior, and devising a suitable punishment for such conduct, has bedeviled scholars of criminal law for centuries. It has also perplexed more than a handful of theologians and philosophers. It is not surprising, therefore, that the death of a young man, ostensibly in his prime, and for no apparent reason, has aroused the passions of residents of the Palm Beaches as they cast about searching for the source of this villainy...

~~~

Linda Rocker hooked me on her first novel so I was very happy to have the opportunity to read her again. While this novel has a much more serious set of issues, there is still the underlying humor that Rocker displays--you can almost see her sitting back with somewhat of a smirk and whispering, "OMG, will it never end???"

She also has a little tidbit which I came to look forward to. At the end of each chapter, she baits the reader with some hint of what's coming:

Myrna wasn't clairvoyant, but this time her premonitions were pretty good...

I immediately got in the habit of trying to guess what was going to happen...Soon each chapter flies by and you realize the book is finished! LOL Wonderful!

Sooooo, we're going to play the Blame Game, because if I'm right, nearly every character is this book is playing...

First, we have a young man who is involved with a young woman. They are in love and plan to get married... He is prescribed medication for pain and gets hooked... His girlfriend finally gets tired of his sleeping all day, doing drugs, and calls him on it, walking out... Said young man decides to kill himself, drinking and drugging to do it. Before he goes completely out, he realizes that he didn't write a note blaming his girlfriend for not supporting him in his time of need...

When they find him, the girlfriend blames herself for not being there for him... yeah, right, keep up the codependency he was demanding...

Because he, of course, was getting support from his mother. So when he died, Mrs. Klausner, starts blaming just about everybody... Finally, through legal advisers, she hones in on the doctor who prescribed the pills...

"Hey Guys, heads up.
This is Luke Anderson's
girlfriend and she's hurt
bad.
"Luke Anderson," was all
Casey heard, but it was
enough to make her cry out
in pain, an emotional pain
so deep that it hovered at
the edge of her rib cage, at
her very center. I'll never
see him again she thought,
and it's just as well. Who
would want me after this?
~~~

Now, of course the first individual she blamed was the girlfriend! And, of course, the girl's mother blamed him...

Once the detectives arrived, Simon could go back to the station and write the incident report, a seemingly benign name to describe an event that ended in someone's death. He looked over at Mrs. Klausner and immediately regretted it. The woman returned his gaze and said in response to no one. "I knew it> I knew it and I begged him to end it. That girl was poison. Just like the mother. Vipers! They killed my son." Her husband reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Be Quiet, Myrna, don't talk like that. That's crazy talk. Couples break up all the time and they don't kill themselves over it."

Then we find out that said viper is pregnant. Her mother immediately blames her for getting pregnant and sends her away from home, even though it will soon become openly known. So while she's living with relatives, going to college and babysitting once in awhile. Mrs. Klausner finds out and files another legal case demanding that they be given rights to the child--who, at this moment in the planning, is supposed to be given up for adoption...

Meantime, our main character Casey has blamed her lover, Luke, for, frankly, being very clumsy in hoping to propose to Casey and take her with him while he is scheduled to teach in Australia. Casey gets all hyped up when he's saying the wrong things first and she blows up, blaming him for leaving her without first talking... ! Luke walks out the door and prepares to leave on his trip...

"Unless we advertise for some very
dumb, very naive jurors, nobody is
going to swallow this horseshit,"
pronounced his assistant, Monica
Whitehead. "This will be my first
murder One case and if my reading
is right, it's likely to be my last.
Whoopee, Charlie, and thanks for
nothing!"...
She was right, of course, he conceded
to himself. The case had smelled from
the start. In fact, his predecessor
had taken the courageous step of
calling in the mother of the victim
and telling her point blank that there
was no case..."
This by the way, is an assistant
blaming the prosecutor...LOL
~~~

Casey's Judge boss blames Casey for being depressed and missing work--after all she wasn't there with her first cup of coffee to which she is addicted...and of course for working along with her...

Then there's Pleasure, a local "house-mother" who is expected to testify on behalf of the court, with, of course, the criminal blaming her...And when he blames somebody, he sends somebody else to ensure she doesn't testify... Which is up to Flip Spezia, the scumbag who is in town to kill Pleasure... And, while trying to set that up, he's the guy that puts his grimy hands on Casey! Casey and Pleasure are both looking to place their blame right where it belongs!

Then it really gets bad, because the prosecutor is thinking of running against the Judge and he's taking Mrs. Klausner's case very seriously against the doctor...whether the doctor deserves the blame or not!

There you have it readers...Lots more action but you can't get around it... Laying Blame on somebody takes a lot of time and effort... Doing something about it sometimes leads to murder! And, thankfully, we have some good judges, such as the author, who works hard to make sure that blame is not placed on the wrong individual! This overview doesn't even begin to tell you about the chaos, disorder and insanity, albeit, temporary sometimes, that surrounds each of those who dare to play the Blame Game....

If you think the legal system is a farce, read Rocker--she might not entirely disagree with you but she's quite willing to allow us into that inner realm and help see the humor behind the very real efforts to make the system work... Highly recommended!

GABixlerReviews

Linda Rocker has been in the center of the action since she graduated college with a degree in English. When she wasn’t teaching, she was leading “teach-ins” against the war, writing and publishing poetry and music and joining the fight for civil rights and women’s access through politics. Law school and practice opened the door to professional success and to new opportunities, including arguments before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed to Ohio’s Common Pleas Bench, she served as a trial judge for a number of years and has continued to hear cases as a retired Judge. A prolific writer, many of her legal opinions have appeared in print, along with articles in local bar association magazines.

Rocker has been honored as a leader, a fighter for equal rights, and an advocate for the homeless. She has been recognized by Who’s Who in American Women, Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People and The Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame to name just a few.
Rocker’s first novel, Punishment (2012), began her trilogy of legal thrillers about Casey Portman, a bailiff in West Palm Beach, Florida. A well-received collection, Clean Margins and Other Stories, followed in 2013. Blame, her second Casey Portman novel, was published on November 1, 2014.
Rocker and her husband travel widely and spend time in Cleveland, Florida and Chautauqua, New York.