Hear No Evil (32 page)
Authors: James Grippando
A
ugust 2004 marks the tenth anniversary of the publication of my first novel,
The Pardon.
I’m old school, and I think relationships matter. So, nine novels later I feel lucky to say that they were all published by the same publisher (HarperCollins), represented by the same agents (Richard Pine and, now in spirit, Artie Pine), and shaped by editors I like and respect (the last seven by Carolyn Marino, who adopted this orphan).
Even more important, 2004 marks the tenth anniversary of marriage to a woman who was willing to take a ride with a lawyer who wanted to be a writer. I probably never would have had the guts to quit my day job, so thank God that the love of my life turned out to be an English literature major who simply said “Go for it, honey.” So I did. And so did you, Tiff. I’d say “All’s well that ends well,” but this will never end.
I’m also grateful to many others who answered my cries for help in writing and researching
Hear No Evil
, including the American Speech Language Hearing Association; the Cuban-American National Federation; Carlos Sires (interviews and translation); Steve Sawatzky (Mustang expert); Tito at Galiano’s Market (Cuban food); Dr. Gloria M. Grippando and Eleanor Rayner (manuscript comments); and Michelle Starke, M.D. (obstetrics). Others prefer to remain anonymous, but I’m equally grateful to them.
In support of a good cause, I’ve named a character in
Hear No Evil
after Janis Wackenhut, the winner of a fund-raising auction for the
Gold-Diggers, Inc. The Gold-Diggers is a nonprofit organization that has raised over one million dollars for the benefit of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, Inc., Southern Florida Chapter, and the Food for Life Network. It’s a beautiful thing when the arts can feed the hungry and fight disease.
JAMES GRIPPANDO is the bestselling author of eight novels—
Last to Die, Beyond Suspicion, A King’s Ransom, Under Cover of Darkness, Found Money, The Abduction, The Informant, and The Pardon
—which are enjoyed worldwide in nineteen languages. He lives in Florida, where he was a trial lawyer for twelve years. Visit his Web site at www.jamesgrippando.com.
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Last to Die
Beyond Suspicion
A King’s Ransom
Under Cover of Darkness
Found Money
The Abduction
The Informant
The Pardon
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
HEAR NO EVIL.
Copyright © 2004 by James Grippando. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition July 2004 ISBN 9780061746581
FIRST EDITION
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