Single Jeopardy (33 page)

Peter’s ex-wife, District Attorney Myra Scot, makes a mistake when she subpoenas little Suzi to come and testify as a prosecution witness against the defendant, Suzi’s friend Tony.

After what Suzi does to solve the mystery and destroy Myra’s case in court, everyone knows that the District Attorney’s office will never subpoena Suzi again.

*****

#6:
The Common Law

Peter Sharp encounters a client with amnesia, who not only can’t tell Peter what his own name is, but who also has absolutely no recollection of the crime he is charged with committing. In lieu of his memory, Peter’s obtains video surveillance footage that establishes his client’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The usual crew also gets involved, including Peter’s close friend Stuart, Jack Bibberman the investigator, Laverne the ‘amorous houseboat lady’, and Stuart’s employees Vinnie and Olive – who are having some disagreement as to whether or not they’re legally married; and last but not least, little Suzi B. and her big Saint Bernard.

The law firm is still operating from their 50-foot Grand Banks trawler yacht in Marina del Rey, California… the vessel that Peter still doesn’t know how to drive. As in past adventures, all involved continue to visit the local haunts.

One way or another each of Peter’s cases winds up being a conflict with his ex-wife Myra, who is the county’s chief prosecutor. He also may be more closely involved with FBI Special Agent in Charge Bob Snell than before, as they share a dangerous high-speed situation on a winding road.

Suzi’s new friend Lotus and her mother also play an interesting part in this adventure as Peter finds that he is fighting a ring of credit-card fraud experts.

*****

#7:
The Magician’s Legacy

Suzi has decided that she wants to study magic in this eighth legal adventure she participates in. Unfortunately, her teacher is the main suspect in what appears to be an ‘impossible’ crime… the shooting of a man in his completely locked ‘safe room.’

In order for Suzi to clear her magic teacher of liability for this crime, she must convince Peter to handle the case, which he does under one condition: Suzi must help him by solving the mystery of this locked-room murder.

Her task is made difficult because all events took place in a secure ‘panic room,’ with steel doors in place, and no windows. Somehow, the alleged murderer is believed to have committed the crime and successfully escaped from a room that could only later be opened by a crew using blowtorches.

Suzi is especially motivated to solve this enigma when she learns that an attorney who she dislikes may be involved.

*****

#8:
The Reluctant Jurist

There’s a mini flu epidemic going around in Los Angeles and it has especially taken its toll among Superior Court Judges in Santa Monica, who all seem to have been infected at the same conference they attended.

Peter has been ‘drafted’ to fill in as a temporary judge for some civil matters, but winds up getting stuck hearing a big criminal trial involving a previous attorney as the defendant… the same attorney who Peter crossed swords with in a previous situation.

Suspense enters the picture when Peter’s legal ward Suzi fails to appear as guest of honor at her own birthday party, and every local state and Federal peace officer in California wants to locate her.

This is the second adventure that Peter and Suzi B. have been involved where Suzi’s Saint Bernard may be partly responsible for a successful conclusion.

*****

#9
:
The Final Case

Suzi dislikes a certain devious attorney who Peter keeps coming up against.

When Peter’s new romantic interest invites him to a cocktail party, Suzi and the other guests are shocked by a loud noise down the hall, coming from their host’s study.

Other guests at the party include the chief of police, mayor, and district attorney, who unanimously conclude that the dead body they discover is the result of a suicide.

Even Suzi is inclined to go along with their conclusion… until she learns that the devious attorney she dislikes may be involved in handling some legal matters for the deceased.

Suzi won’t let go of this one. Against everyone’s advice, she keeps working to prove her suspicions about that devious attorney and his connections to what Suzi believes must have been murder.

*****

#10:
an Element of Peril

In this tenth and newest Peter Sharp Legal Mystery, Peter faces a double task: defending a person who is charged with murder, and also trying to locate the missing victim, who was allegedly killed in a completely locked room.

Somewhere behind the tangled mess of a down-ward-spiraling celebrity starlet, a battling married couple, a missing currency trader and a dis-appearing corpse, attorney Peter Sharp and his legal ward Suzi must find where the truth lies.

As in the past, while Peter’s client’s trial nears, Suzi has failed to come up with any workable solution that can save Peter from certain defeat and humiliation in court.

You’ll be sitting on the edge of your chair as you see the courtroom drama that takes place during the last few minutes of the trial.

*****

#11
:
A Good Alibi

In Latin, the word “alibi” literally means “somewhere else,” and to any person charged with a crime, it is an extremely valuable asset to have because it can mean the difference between an acquittal and a conviction.

However, just having an alibi isn’t enough: it has to stand up to scrutiny, because any good prosecutor knows that breaking an alibi and proving it was fraudulently concocted can lead a sure-thing conviction.

In this eleventh adventure of the Peter Sharp Legal Mysteries, Peter is drawn into a role he never thought he’d be playing – that of a prosecutor, being brought in as for the singular purpose of trying to break a defendant’s apparently ‘airtight’ alibi.

*****

#12:
Legally Dead

Nobody likes a killer, but sometimes you have to put your personal feelings on hold when you’re a trained professional called upon to do a job.

When attorney Peter Sharp’s former wife Myra calls to ask a favor, he finds it difficult to refuse her, because any occasion to work with her is always a pleasure for him.

The favor that District Attorney Myra asks is for Peter to represent a client in court who wants to plead guilty to a crime. A plea bargain the defendant agreed to is already in place.

Peter agrees to the contemplated one-hour of work as a court-appointed defense attorney and makes the court appearance. But when the case is called, the surprises start, and don’t stop until the unexpected end of this twelfth of the Legal Mystery series, during which time Peter gets his first opportunity to defend a dead person charged with murder.

*****

#13:
How to Rob a Bank

There are many types of mysteries, but one kind stands out over all the others: the ones involving a
Locked Room
.

Over the years, every mystery writer worth his salt has tried to come up with one that tops all the rest: the secret compartments, doors locked from the inside, confused timelines, etc., etc. It's all been tried over and over.

Jacques Futrelle set the standard with his
Problem in Cell 1
3, and John Dickson Carr raised it a bit in his
The Hollow Man
, but there haven't been many fine stumpers since then... until now.

Mystery writer Gene Grossman has been a fan of locked room mysteries for many years, so when he created this 13th Peter Sharp Legal Mystery, it was natural for him to want to include what may be one of the most baffling locked room mystery of them all – but maybe with exception of Book #7:
The Magician’s Legacy.

In this story, a magician is writing a book entitled “How to Rob a Bank,” and to get publicity for its upcoming publication, the author decides to show the public that he really knows of what he writes – so he plans to rob the bank he regularly does business with.

Unfortunately, things don’t work out the way he planned, and it takes little Suzi to solve this baffling mystery for all of the adults.

*****

#14:
Murder Under Way

Similar to the ‘locked room mystery’ genre, author Gene Grossman has created the locked boat genre with this book, in which attorney Peter Sharp’s dock neighbor Ed Sinclair is found dead in his boat, from a single gunshot to his head.

What makes this incident a mystery is that the death occurred while Sinclair was alone, driving his boat back from Catalina Island and doing over 20 miles an hour… and Peter Sharp’s legal ward Suzi in convinced that the death was not a suicide, but a murder.

You will enjoy trying to keep up with the crime-solving procedure of this 12-year-old girl as she amazes all the adults involved in this case with her conclusion

*****

#15:
The Sherlock Holmes Caper

Some not-so-nice people are aware of the fact that attorney Peter Sharp is a devout fan of Sherlock Holmes, so it is quite normal for the district attorney’s office to ask for Peter’s assistance when some clues are being left around town that appear to be related to some of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.

Peter’s task is to decipher these clues and determine whether or not they are being left by pranksters, or if they are actually serious clues meant to mislead the authorities about some crime that is being planned.

*****

How to Write a Mystery Novel

There has never been a shortage of how-to books that purport to teach the secrets of becoming a successful author, but this may be the first one actually written by a successful author of mystery novels.

It is not a how-to book, but instead gives you the thought process that Gene Grossman when through during the creation of his popular 15-book series of Peter Sharp Legal Mysteries, including selecting names for characters, creating personalities, adding suspense, and many other challenges that any mystery novel author must overcome.

*****

All fifteen of the
Peter Sharp Legal Mysteries
are now available in print version and as- eBooks, and will soon appear as audiobooks.

For more details, please visit
http://
www.LegalMystery.com
.

Editor’s note
:

If you happen to notice any blatant typographical errors in the text of this book, we suggest you bring them to the attention of the author, who was the last person to sign off on the manuscript. We feel quite comfortable shifting the blame onto him for any errors he may have missed. He can be reached through the publisher:
[email protected]

*****

About the Author

Gene Grossman worked his way through high school, college, and law school as a shoe salesman, welder, process server, bail bondsman, tire changer, saloon piano player and ‘extra,’ appearing in seven motion pictures. He then spent 20 years as a trial lawyer, during which time he served as Dean of a small local law school, and taught several classes.

The film and video company he started while working in the motion picture industry produced over fifty special interest DVD titles on everything from boating, to bankruptcy. Now retired from the practice of law, Gene writes aboard his yacht in Marina del Rey, California.

You can see pictures of attorney Peter Sharp’s boats, yellow Hummer, Suzi’s e-cart, and Laverne’s houseboat at
http://
www.PeterSharpBooks.com