Reckless
Disregard
Robert
Rotstein
Prometheus/Seventh
Street, Jun 3 2014, $15.95
ISBN 9781616148812
Hollywood power broker William “the
Conqueror” Bishop sues video game maker Poniard for libel; He claims the latter’s latest hit “Abduction!” based on the disappearance of
actress Felicity McGrath in 1987, accuses the Conqueror’s hired hands of
abducting the bipolar performer.
Choosing to remain unrecognizable, Poniard hires
Judicial Alternative Dispute Solutions attorney Parker Stern to represent him
in the defamation case, but insists the matter go to court not arbitration without
his appearance. To insure a hesitant
Stern’s cooperation Poniard blackmails the lawyer with the threat of revealing
Parker’s past stint as a child movie star.
However what sells Stern to represent a client he never met in person is
Bishop’s attorney turns out to be his former girlfriend ex–porn star Lovely
Diamond. Stern’s defense is simply that
it can’t be libel when the Conqueror’s Reckless Disregard of others included abduction and murder that really happened.
The second Stern legal thriller (see Corrupt Practices) is an entertaining
Hollywood drama that contains a fascinating enigmatic client and several other
eccentric characters. Although Reckless Disregard contains too many
improbable coincidences, this is a fun entry due to a dynamic weird cast.
Harriet
Klausner
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