"Killer Lawyer" by Mark Nolan

EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY

Killer Lawyer
(Jake Wolfe Book 3)

by Mark Nolan

Killer Lawyer is the third book in the Jake Wolfe series by Mark Nolan. Also available: Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie (read my blog post) and Vigilante Assassin.

Killer Lawyer is currently on tour with Reading Addiction Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.

Description

Attorney by day, assassin by night.

Jake Wolfe is a young lawyer who leads a secret life. Trained by the CIA, he now wants peace and quiet, practicing law and living on a boat with his war dog. But when his city is shocked by a serial killer and he’s framed for the murder of a friend, Jake must race against time to find the killer before he strikes again.

Drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse; at every step Jake and his loved ones are being hunted by the clever, twisted madman. As the city is gripped in fear of the seemingly random shootings that could strike anybody, Jake investigates and uncovers ominous clues until a shocking reversal of fortune changes everything.

With the clock ticking and lives at stake, will Jake be able to find and stop the killer in time, or will he become the next victim?

Buckle up for a wild ride as Jake Wolfe and his exceptionally intelligent dog, Cody, return to action in this page-turning thriller in Mark Nolan’s bestselling series that has earned thousands of 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.

Excerpt

At half-past midnight, newly-licensed attorney Jake Wolfe lay in bed staring at the ceiling and waiting for orders … orders to kill.

Resting on top of the covers, fully dressed except for his boots, he was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Beneath him, he felt his sixty-foot power yacht, the Far Niente, rock gently on the water, where it was berthed at his boat slip.

In the stillness, he listened as small waves lapped at the hull, the boat creaked in a familiar way, the rigging from a nearby sailboat flapped in the breeze, and a passing seagull called to another. He knew every sound of the boat, as if she was an old friend with her own personality.

Closing his eyes, he wondered how it was possible that he’d become an assassin. After serving four years in the Marines and later doing secret black ops missions for the CIA’s Special Activities Division, he’d received an honorable discharge at his end of active service. Coming home and studying law online he’d passed the bar exam and started a solo law practice. The fighting should all be behind him now, but Uncle Sam had come calling again, in need of a patriot to help protect the homeland.

His girlfriend, Sarah Chance, should be in bed with him, but she’d accidentally witnessed Jake assassinate three terrorists. Now she was afraid to spend the night.

* * *

Sarah Chance lay awake in bed, thinking about Jake and worrying about being late with her monthly period.

Getting out of bed, she tied back her long dark hair with a scrunchie, put on her glasses, walked to the bathroom and tore open a pregnancy test kit.

She had absolutely no plans to have a baby at this stage of her life, and yet for some strange reason she felt torn, half-fearing and half-hoping she might be pregnant.

As she waited for the test result to be revealed, she thought about how she’d fallen so hard for Jake. That scared her a little. His secret life of covert ops had almost gotten her killed recently. How could she live with a proverbial sword hanging over her head?

If only Jake would tell the government he wanted out, that he’d done his duty, served with honor and now deserved to enjoy a normal civilian life. It was time for others to step up and take his place so Jake and his war dog, Cody, could live in peace.

A tear rolled down Sarah’s cheek, and her eyes were wet as she watched the result show up on the test stick, plain as day and undeniable.

[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]

Praise for the Book

“This book grabbed my attention from the beginning and held me hostage until the last page was read.” ~ Gabi Rosetti

“I enjoyed the plot and even subplots of this thriller. […] This is a good book for those long flights or drinks by the pool.” ~ V. John Palicka

“Mark Nolan's 3rd book in the Jake Wolfe and Cody series was another great page turner! Can't wait for Mark's book number four to come out. This author tells a great story and you come to love in his characters. He keeps you wanting to start the next chapter when you think you need to put the book up for the night. Definitely a page turner!” ~ Marsha Emmons

“If you're looking for a great page turner that will keep you guessing with lots of twists and turns look no further. Can't wait for the next episode.” ~ Mikej52

“I have enjoyed all of Nolan's books. Character development and smooth flow of the stories intertwined make for an exciting time on the couch with my feet up and a fireplace sparking. Looking forward to another thrilling detective/ agent thriller soon.” ~ Kindle Customer

About the Author

Mark Nolan is the author of Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie, an Amazon top 20 bestseller, along with Jake Wolfe book two titled Vigilante Assassin and book three titled Killer Lawyer. He tries to make time every day to answer emails from readers.

Giveaway

Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win $25 PayPal cash.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Books featured in this post:

"Dead Lawyers Don't Lie" by Mark Nolan

ON SALE for $0.99

REVIEW and EXCERPT

Dead Lawyers Don't Lie
(Jake Wolfe Book 1)

by Mark Nolan

Author Mark Nolan stops by today to share an excerpt from Dead Lawyers Don't Lie, which is celebrating its one-year book birthday. To commemorate this special day, the book is currently ON SALE for only $0.99, so grab it at this bargain price while you can. You can also read my review.

Description

A mysterious killer who calls himself The Artist is assassinating wealthy lawyers in San Francisco. When war veteran Jake Wolfe accidentally takes his picture during a murder, The Artist adds Jake to his kill list and he becomes a target in a deadly game of cat and mouse that only one of them can survive. How far would you go to protect your loved ones from a killer? Jake wants to leave his top secret, violent past life behind him. But the reluctant, flawed hero can't ignore his duty and his personal moral compass.

This gripping thriller is full of suspense, plot twists and surprises. It features a cast of interesting characters, including several strong-willed women, two wise-cracking San Francisco Police Homicide Inspectors, one highly intelligent dog, and a philosophical killer who shares Jake's admiration for Van Gogh paintings but still plans to kill him anyway. As Jake gets closer to unraveling a merciless conspiracy, his life gets turned upside down and the danger level increases, adding to the growing suspense. This entertaining page-turner starts out as a murder mystery and then shifts gears into a high-speed action thriller that takes you on a roller-coaster ride to the riveting ending. A good read for those who enjoy mysteries, suspense, action and adventure, vigilante justice, unique characters, witty dialogue, and a little romance.

Music Video

Listen to "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who, a song whose lyrics are significant to the killer in Dead Lawyers Don't Lie.

Excerpt

SFPD Homicide Inspector Beth Cushman drove through San Francisco, on her way to follow up on a lead in the attorney assassin case. She arrived at an old apartment building, parked her car and went inside. The stairs creaked, the carpet was worn thin, and the walls hadn’t seen a coat of paint in years.

On the second floor, the overhead light bulbs were burned out. One of the apartment doors had several bullet holes in it. She heard angry yelling from behind another door and then the sound of a heavy object hitting a wall. Beth placed her right hand on the pistol in her hip holster. She found number 213 and knocked on the door. Her training told her this could be an ambush, so she stood back from the door and off to one side, ready to draw her weapon.

The door opened slowly and a woman looked out. She had her hair in curlers and she was drinking red wine from a chipped coffee cup. The woman confirmed that yes she’d called the police because she had information about the golf course murder.

As Beth listened to the woman talk, it became obvious that she was a crackpot.

“You keep your eye on that boy Curtis, he’s no good, I’ve always said so,” the woman said. “I heard him complaining about his public defender lawyer, and he was plenty mad too. I’m sure he’s the attorney assassin, right here in our building.”

“We’ll be watching him, thank you for your time ma’am,” Beth said.

Beth went down the stairs and exited the building. She noticed there were now several gang-banger types of young males loitering around the steps. The men looked her up and down and one of them stepped forward to block her path. Beth was wearing a plainclothes pants suit and she didn’t have her police badge on her belt or on a lanyard around her neck at the moment. Her suit jacket concealed the pistol on her hip. The young man didn’t realize Beth was a cop, and he started catcalling her.

“Hey Red,” the man said, referring to her red hair. “I bet twenty bucks the carpet matches the drapes.”

He waved a $20 bill, and looked over at his friends and laughed. Beth punched him hard on the jaw and he went down like a bag of dirt, leaving him sprawled on the sidewalk and groaning in pain. As Beth walked past his prone body, she leaned down and plucked the twenty dollar bill from his hand and said, “You lose, genius.”

All of the man’s friends started howling with laughter. One of them said, “Oh you got owned.”

Beth had to admit that she was still angry about her husband’s affair, and she’d taken out her anger on that man. Oh well, he could have kept his mouth shut, but he’d disrespected a female cop and now he was paying the price. She smiled at the thought as she drove away.

[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]

Praise for the Book

"One of the most enjoyable books I have ever read."

"I found it riveting and could not put the book down."

"A life and death ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I stayed up half the night so I could finish this book."

"An action packed thriller from beginning to end! A cross between the action in the Die Hard movies, and the joking relationship between partners in the Lethal Weapon movies."

"I wish I could have given this book 10 stars - it is that good. If you like playing detective, you will love this book."

"This is the best action mystery book I have read. Mark Nolan is a hidden treasure."

"This book caused me a few sleepless nights, unable to put the book down, unwilling to wait to see how the twists and turns would end up!"

"There is non-stop pandemonium, international intrigue, twists and turns, secrets and lies... with an ending that that will shake you to the core."

"What a great story and thrilling ride! So well written. Jake Wolfe kicks ass."

"This author knows how to keep the reader intrigued. Highly, highly recommend."

My Review

By Lynda Dickson

Jake Wolfe is a photojournalist trailing a criminal lawyer in the hope of getting a story, but he gets more than he bargains for when he witnesses a murder and becomes a target of assassin Ivan Zhukov. Also known as The Artist for his creative and artistic kills, Ivan has been contracted by a mysterious international organization to kill several lawyers. But what is their real agenda? Will Jake be able to stop him in time?

While the story is good, the book is overly long and needs a severe edit. Problems include: too many physical descriptions of characters; irrelevant scenes, information, and conversations; constant over-explaining; unnecessary translations of basic phrases; numerous editing errors, including punctuation and poorly phrased sentences; back story told as dialogue; reports that read as narratives; unbelievable dialogue; multiple viewpoints, even those of the dogs, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph; too many coincidences, e.g., everybody seems to know everybody and they keep bumping into each other even though the action takes place in San Francisco; questionable character behaviors, e.g., Jake gets out of a long-term relationship and immediately sleeps with one woman and lusts over at least two more, and Ivan is always talking to himself and (conveniently) letting us know what's happening.

That being said, the story maintained my interest to the end. A nice touch is the way that music features throughout, with particular songs setting the tone for different scenes. Despite its flaws, this is still a good read for those looking for non-stop action, interesting characters, a touch of humor, and a bit of romance.

About the Author

Mark Nolan began his writing career as a successful entrepreneur who created news stories for businesses that were featured in The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Parade, Reader's Digest, and The Associated Press. Nolan was born in San Francisco, grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has also lived in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. He has raised two great kids and one very smart retriever dog. Right now he's busy writing the next book in the Jake Wolfe series.

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