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Zusatztext "A legal mystery for thoughtful readers . . . The surprise twists are wonderfully effective."— San Francisco Chronicle "Ingenious . . . Move over! Kinsey. Nina's come to town!"— Monterey County Herald "Gripping courtroom drama . . . Heart-stopping . . . Riveting."— Booklist A Selection of the Mystery Guild Informationen zum Autor Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pen name for two sisters, Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy, who live in California. Pamela, a trial lawyer for sixteen years, graduated from Harvard Law School. Mary is a former writer and editor for multimedia projects. They are the New York Times bestselling authors of four other Nina Reilly thrillers, Acts of Malice , Obstruction of Justice , Invasion of Privacy , and Motion to Suppress . Klappentext Broken hearts. Broken promises. Deadly consequences. In glitzy Lake Tahoe! couples break up every day. But few are as successful as Lindy and Mike Markov! who built a $200-million business together—before Mike took up with a younger woman. Now he's claiming he doesn't owe Lindy a dime since they never married. Attorney Nina Reilly! struggling to make a living in her one-woman office and raise a young son alone! agrees to take Lindy's case. Nina knows winning is a long shot! even with a brilliant jury consultant and a palimony expert on her side. It's the kind of case—full of passion and explosive secrets—that could make a fortune for a young lawyer. Or drive someone to commit murder—for love! money . . . or the right verdict. New York Times bestselling author Perri O'Shaughnessy has created a wonderfully unique and unpredictable character in Nina Reilly! a tough! tenderhearted attorney and single mother who has been hailed by critics as "one of the most interesting heroines in legal thrillers today" (the San Jose Mercury News). Nina Reilly opened the window in her office in the Starlake Building on Highway 50. Warm air smelling of toast and dry grass drifted in to mingle with the brittle cool of air-conditioning. Outside, every shade of rust and gold shimmered in a hot October wind that rustled papers on her desk. In the distance, brightly colored sails waved against the blue backdrop of Lake Tahoe. She could sense a shift in the weather. The sultry air held a tang in it, like the end of something sweet, lemons in sugary tea. Leaning through the opening to catch a ray of sunshine, Nina watched as a man and a woman in spotless white athletic shoes, plaid shirts tied around their waists, dropped hands so that the woman could stoop and gather some carrot-colored leaves from the ground. She held her little pieces of autumn like a bouquet, dancing a quick step or two in front of the man on the sidewalk. The man continued walking, apparently unwilling to play the game. Giving up, she resumed her place beside him, dropping her leaves one by one as they went on, like Gretel casting off a trail of crumbs. "Way to keep this place energy efficient," Sandy said, standing in the doorway to Nina's office, hands on her womanly hips. Today she wore a fringed blouse and a shiny silver concha belt that jingled like coins when she moved, khaki pants, and cowboy boots, which made her look like an over-the-hill rodeo rider. Sandy enjoyed dressing for the office but she would never look the part of a legal secretary. Two years earlier, she had worked as a file clerk at Jeffrey Riesner's law firm, a couple of miles west on Highway 50. In spite of Riesner's dissatisfaction with her work, her character, her looks, and her air of superiority, Nina had hired her when she had begun her solo practice in South Lake Tahoe, one of her more astute moves. Sandy knew everyone in town and had a titanic strength of purpose that co-opted or crushed everything in its path. A lawyer starting up a practice in a new place needed to get clued in fa...
