|
| A Cure for Night: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Justin Peacock
Publisher: Doubleday
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $8.44
You Save: $16.51 (66%)
New (42) Used (15) Collectible (6) from $5.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  53 reviews
Sales Rank: 88321
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 038552580X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385525800
ASIN: 038552580X
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
“That’s what the criminal law is: it’s how the day tries to correct the night’s mistakes. Most of my cases, people have done something they never would’ve dreamed of doing in broad daylight.”
“What does that make us?” I said. “The night’s janitors?”
“We’re absolutely that,” Myra said, sipping her cosmo. “What else do we do but clean up after it? That’s why we’ll never run out of work. Not unless someone invents a cure for night.
In Brooklyn’s criminal courts, justice often depends on who has the better story to tell.
After a drug-related scandal ejects Joel Deveraux from his job at a white-shoe law firm, he slides down the corporate ladder to the Public Defenders’ office in Brooklyn, where he defends the innocent and the guilty alike, a cog in the great clanking machine that is the New York City justice system. When his boss offers him the second chair to the savvy Myra Goldstein in a high-profile murder case, he eagerly takes it. The defendant is Lorenzo Tate, a black pot dealer from the projects who is charged with the murder of a white college student in a street shooting; and the tabloids have sunk their teeth into the racially tinged trial.
In this twisty and overwhelmingly authentic journey through the real Brooklyn, Justin Peacock paints a portrait of the law as a form of combat where the best story wins—but who’s telling the truth and who’s lying are matters of interpretation. And of life and death.
This compelling debut novel announces Justin Peacock as a writer who enters the territory of Richard Price and Scott Turow with a fresh new take on urban crime and punishment.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 48 more reviews...
 A courtroom procedural with some punch..... December 28, 2008
In the world of high stakes corporate law firms, it's not surprising that overworked associates might turn to hard drugs; that's what Justin Peacock's hero, Joel Deveraux did. Caught when a paralegal he is dating dies from an overdose at the firm, Justin does his mandatory drug awareness program, spends most of his savings surviving a six months' suspension of his law license, and lands a job at the Brooklyn Public Defender's office for approximately one quarter of his previous pay.
He's lucky to land there. Plucked from the arraignment pool to second chair a murder trial with an older, female PD, Joel can finally start to find his way around the criminal court system, something he hadn't encountered in his 4 years of corporate lawyering. He begins to live again, sort of.
The procedural parts of the murder case ring authentic. The law is served, although justice not necessarily so. Peacock, who has worked as an attorney (another lawyer writes still another book!) has a good sense of pace and timing. Unintended consequences of a trial are another good theme that Peacock explores. Other readers have mentioned the heavy use of street slang in the dialogue, some praising, some critiquing. I can't tell you if it was authentic, only that there was too much of it. It dragged the story down...Peacock needs to revisit the concept of paraphrasing, or summarizing parts of his tale in second or third person.
Recommended for an entertaining, fast read.
 Flawed but Interesting December 24, 2008
This was a compelling story for the most part, but lacked accuracy and areas that didn't suspend disbelief which always slows down a story. The reader is lead to believe that a savvy, ex-heroin addict, PD attorney with courtroom experience doesn't know that there's no such crime as "B&E" (it's burglary), and that he didn't know the reason why his defendant should not take the stand in his own defense, and had to have this Law 101 principal explained to him by the first chair defense council. Things like this smack (pardon the pun) of amateurism.
The protagonist, Joel, comes across as wimpy at times, sharp and in control at others. The author's use of street language is right on the money, but this reader wonders why every black character in the story speaks with the same level of unsophistication. It would have been nice to see at least one black character not fit the stereotype of black urban city dwellers.
On the plus side, it was an interesting story and a good beginning for this first-time published author. I can see his writing becoming more compelling as his career progresses.
I recommend this book if not only for the fact that you can say you read the author's first book,recognized a budding talent and stuck with him.
Guilty or Not Guilty? December 15, 2008
Another attorney turned novelist has provided us with an intriguing courtroom drama-cum-mystery. At the same time, he has written about real people, their daily lives, foibles and problems, ranging from white shoe law firms to low-paid public defenders, from eating and working on the streets and avenues of Manhattan to the gentrified Park Slope and projects of `Black Brooklyn.'
The flawed protagonist is Joel Devereux, graduate of a top Ivy League law school, associate at a leading New York law firm, who falls prey to demon dope. He is asked to resign after his girl friend, a paralegal, OD's in the ladies room. His law license is suspended for six months, and, of course, he finds it difficult to get a new position. He "sinks" to a public defender job in Brooklyn, representing the dregs of the borough: drug dealers and the like.
Eventually, he is promoted from just handling arraignments to second seating a high profile murder case in which the defendant is accused of shooting a drug dealer in the back and murdering a white college student. This gives the author the opportunity to demonstrate his extensive legal knowledge of trial tactics. His command of street level jargon is impressive as well. The story also gives Mr. Peacock, a first-time novelist, the opportunity to raise the age-old question: Are trials a setting for seeking the truth, guilt or innocence, or who can sell a jury the best story? Read this tale and be surprised. Recommended.
A Quick, Moderately Entertaining Legal Drama November 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A Cure For Night is an entertaining, quick read, but it breaks no new ground in the world of novels - think of it as John Grisham lite. It is a crime drama that focuses on the perspective of the defendant/defense. The plot centers on Joel Devereaux, a former high profile corporate lawyer who hits bottom after a dalliance with heroine ends in the death of his paralegal coworker, Beth. After serving a six month suspension of his license to practice law, he finds employment as a public defender. Joel spends his first six months advising small time criminals to plead out their cases until he lands second chair to Myra on a high profile murder case involving a drug dealer accused of gunning down a while college student from Brooklyn College. The majority of the story traces their research and preparation for the trail along with the trial itself. The plot moves in a very linear fashion, and there are few surprises for the reader. The book relies heavily on dialog so it moves very quickly. I would recommend it to anyone looking for some light reading for an airplane ride or vacation. Joel is the only character that is really developed in any detail. His struggles with putting his life back together run throughout the entire book, but he is the only one that really comes to life off of the pages. Peacock does a fair job of trying to distinguish the vernacular of the projects; however, one could argue if it is too stereotypical. In terms of potentially objectionable content, readers should know that A Cure For Night contains a fair amount of language (lots of f-bombs from all characters), gratuitous sex, and one scene of fairly graphic heroine use.
Overall: C
Will Cure Your Legal Thriller Withdrawl October 29, 2008
Justin Peacock has written an engaging and entertaining legal thriller that will satisfy even the most jaded legal thriller fan. While some of the characters are stereotypical, and others are underdeveloped, Peacock's ear for urban dialogue rings true (I teach in an imoverished urban area), and his courtroom scenes are entertaining. This novel could have been great, but falls short of that level due to a lack of any real personality from our lead character.
I look forward to Mr. Peacock's next outing.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
