Try Fear by James Scott Bell

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Center Street; 1 edition (July 16, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1599956862

About the Book:

For Ty Buchanan, defending a suspected drunk driver named Carl Richess seems routine enough. But when his client ends up dead, an apparent suicide, there's nothing routine about it. Because the cops suspect it's murder, and arrest Eric Richess, Carl's brother, for the crime. Now Ty, at the desperate urging of Eric's mother, agrees to defend him. But it won't be easy. Because there's DNA on the gun that matches Eric's, and a history of conflict between the brothers.

Then Ty, assisted by Sister Mary Veritas, begins to uncover tentacles of corruption that reach into the citadels of city power. But he's being watched. Because somewhere in the dark labyrinth of LA is someone who will do anything to keep from being found out, someone who believes that when warnings don't work, try fear.

My Review:

Try Fear is book three of the Ty Buchanan Series. I have been eagerly waiting for this book. The first two books were really good and Try Fear wraps up the plot lines. It is hard to describe this series but I will try. James Scott Bell is a lawyer so he knows the law but the books are not heavy on it no dryness. A master at dialogue the book is full of witty lines with a dry humor. Short chapters combined with suspense make the story fly by.

Setting and characters are great. I am sad to see the series over. This is a series he wrote for a secular publisher but there is nothing overtly offensive to me in them and I think both Christian fiction and secular audiences will enjoy this mystery/suspense novel. I highly recommend the whole series. :)

Author Bio
A former trial lawyer associated with one of L.A.'s top law firms and later working out of an independent office, James Scott Bell has written over 300 articles on trial law, as well as six books for trial lawyers. Now a prolific fiction writer, he applies his in-depth knowledge of the justice system to his legal thrillers. His Web site is www.jamesscottbell.com.

Try Darkness by James Scott Bell

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Try Darkness
(Center Street - July 30, 2008)
by
James Scott Bell


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

JAMES SCOTT BELL is a former trial lawyer who now writes full time. He has also been the fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine and adjunct professor of writing at Pepperdine University.

The national bestselling author of several novels of suspense, he grew up and still lives in Los Angeles. His first Buchanan thriller, TRY DYING, was released to high critical praise, while his book on writing, Plot and Structure is one of the most popular writing books available today.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Ty Buchanan is living on the peaceful grounds of St. Monica’s, far away from the glamorous life he led as a rising trial lawyer for a big L.A. firm. Recovering from the death of his fiancée and a false accusation of murder, Buchanan has found his previous ambitions unrewarding. Now he prefers offering legal services to the poor and the underrepresented from his “office” at local coffee bar The Freudian Sip. With his new friends, the philosophizing Father Bob and basketball-playing Sister Mary Veritas, Buchanan has found a new family of sorts.
One of his first clients is a mysterious woman who arrives with her six-year-old daughter. They are being illegally evicted from a downtown transient hotel, an interest that Ty soon discovers is represented by his old law firm and his former best friend, Al Bradshaw. Buchanan won’t back down. He’s going to fight for the woman’s rights.
But then she ends up dead, and the case moves from the courtroom to the streets. Determined to find the killer and protect the little girl, who has no last name and no other family, Buchanan finds he must depend on skills he never needed in the employ of a civil law firm.
The trail leads Buchanan through the sordid underbelly of the city and to the mansions and yachts of the rich and famous. No one is anxious to talk.
But somebody wants Buchanan to shut up. For good.
Now he must use every legal and physical edge he knows to keep himself and the girl alive.
Once again evoking the neo-noir setting of contemporary Los Angeles, Bell delivers another thriller where darkness falls and the suspense never rests.

If you would like to read chapters 1 & 2, go HERE

“Bell has created in Buchanan an appealing and series-worthy protagonist, and the tale equally balances action and drama, motion and emotion. Readers who pride themselves on figuring out the answers before an author reveals them are in for a surprise, too: Bell is very good at keeping secrets. Fans of thrillers with lawyers as their central characters—Lescroart and Margolin, especially—will welcome this new addition to their must-read lists.”
—Booklist

“Engaging whodunit series kickoff . . . Readers will enjoy Bell's talent for description and character development.”
—Publishers Weekly

“James Scott Bell has written himself into a niche that traditionally has been reserved for the likes of Raymond Chandler.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A master of suspense.”
—Library Journal

“One of the best writers out there, bar none.”
—In the Library Review

My Review: I loved this book. This series keeps getting better and better. And a cliffhanger of a last sentence. I can't wait to read book three (which is coming mid 2009). This is a great legal thriller/suspense all around neat unusual book/series. The author has inspiration partly from the film noir of 1940s and crime fiction of the 1940s and 50s. Plus these books have awesome cover art to go with the great characters. Kim has a great interview with James Scott Bell at her blog www.berlysue.blogspot.com

I love this whole series and I highly recommend them. Here is the link to my review of the first book Try Dying. http://abookloverforever.blogspot.com/2007/11/try-dying-by-james-scott-bell.html

"Try Dying" by James Scott Bell

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
TRY DYING
(Center Street October 24, 2007)
by
James Scott Bell

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:







James Scott Bell is a former trial lawyer who now writes full time. He is also the fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine and adjunct professor of writing at Pepperdine University.His book on writing, Plot and Structure is one of the most popular writing books available today. The national bestselling author of several novels of suspense, he grew up and still lives in Los Angeles, where he is at work on his next Buchanan thriller.

ABOUT THE BOOK:



















On a wet Tuesday morning in December, Ernesto Bonilla, twenty-eight, shot his twenty-three-year-old wife, Alejandra, in the backyard of their West 45th Street home in South Los Angeles. As Alejandra lay bleeding to death, Ernesto drove their Ford Explorer to the westbound Century Freeway connector where it crossed over the Harbor Freeway and pulled to a stop on the shoulder.Bonilla stepped around the back of the SUV, ignoring the rain and the afternoon drivers on their way to LAX and the west side, placed the barrel of his .38 caliber pistol into his mouth, and fired.His body fell over the shoulder and plunged one hundred feet, hitting the roof of a Toyota Camry heading northbound on the harbor Freeway. The impact crushed the roof of the Camry. The driver, Jacqueline Dwyer, twenty-seven, an elementary schoolteacher from Reseda, died at the scene.This would have been simply another dark and strange coincidence, the sort of thing that shows up for a two-minute report on the local news--with live remote from the scene--and maybe gets a follow-up the next day. Eventually the story would go away, fading from the city's collective memory.But this story did not go away. Not for me. Because Jacqueline Dwyer was the woman I was going to marry.In Try Dying, this fast-paced thriller, lawyer Ty Buchanan must enter a world of evil to uncover the cause of his fiancee's death--even if hie has to kill for the truth.

"Bell is one of the best writers out there...he creates characters readers care about...a story worth telling."~Library Review~

Brittanie: I really enjoyed this book. I had my apprehensions at first but now I cannot wait for the sequel. Expect twists and turns and in the end a spectacular finish. The characters are well developed and the plot interesting. The author's personal experience as a lawyer adds to the feel of the book. :)
I looovvved this cover!