Killer Lawyer by Mark Nolan Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Killer
Lawyer
Jake
Wolfe Book 3
by
Mark Nolan
Genre:
Thriller
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.
At
half-past midnight, newly licensed attorney Jake Wolfe lay in bed
staring at the ceiling and waiting for orders. Orders
to kill. He
lay on top of the covers, fully dressed except for his boots, ready
to go at a moment’s notice. Beneath him, he felt his sixtyfoot
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. He’d come home and studied law online, had passed the bar
exam, and had 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, and now she
was afraid to spend the night. Jake
cursed and thought about the liquor cabinet in the galley. A few
drinks of Redbreast Irish whiskey could help him forget about life
and get some sleep. It was only natural if you had Irish blood in
your veins. No,
not tonight. He shook his head and pushed that temptation out of
his mind. He had to stay alert. A
light rain began to patter quietly against the boat. The buzzing of
his encrypted black phone on the nightstand interrupted his thoughts. Jake
noticed his adopted war dog, Cody, wake up from where he’d been
sleeping on the bed. The dog looked at him with wise brown eyes,
quirking one eyebrow. Jake smiled at his faithful friend. Cody was a
Golden Lab—a yellow Labrador retriever and Golden Retriever
mix—with short, wavy hair. “At
ease, Marine,” Jake said, and scratched Cody behind his ears. Sitting
up, Jake grabbed the phone. It was a call from Shannon McKay. He
thumbed the answer icon. “Wolfe.” “We
have a situation,” McKay said. “The one I warned you about.” She
spoke in a commanding voice, always serious and professional. In
their working relationship she was the starched shirt and he was the
loose cannon. Jake
saw her image on an encrypted program similar to Skype or FaceTime.
She was wearing a charcoal-gray suit jacket over a white blouse, the
telltale bulge of a pistol in a shoulder holster under
her left arm. Staring directly at the camera with a nononsense gaze,
she projected the image of a powerful, capable, and dangerous
person—someone who could give an order and you’d be dead, or soon
wish you were. Jake
made light of the deadly situation with a dark humor they both
shared. “I’ve got pants on and I’m about to drink some strong
coffee.” “So
far, so good, but no whiskey in the coffee; I need you alert.” Jake
smiled ruefully. She knew him too well. They shared a complicated
history, but they’d earned each other’s trust and respect,
although they still traded barbs and challenges. “The
mission?” Jake asked as he walked to the galley with Cody
following. He knew missions were often kept secret until the last
minute, to protect operations security. “A
high value target I’ve been tracking. He’s a foreign banking
executive who secretly helps terrorists launder their opium money and
buy assault rifles and rocket launchers from arms dealers. Those
weapons are fired at our troops, and some of them are smuggled into
the U.S. and sold to criminal gangs.” Opening
the sliding door, Jake let Cody out onto the aft deck to do his
business on a section of artificial grass. “Is this related to the
drug gang I fought with recently?” “Correct.
You shut them down, but this guy was their money man.” “Still
conducting business as usual?” “Yes.
Recently, in Los Angeles, a gang of criminals robbed a bank while
wearing body armor and carrying AKs sold through his pipeline. They
injured several LEOs and one police officer died who had recently
returned to duty after her maternity leave.” Jake
cursed and thought about when he’d served overseas as a military
dog handler. Some of his best friends had been killed by AK-47s. And
his good friend Stuart, Cody’s former handler, made it home alive
but had died of a heroin overdose. The deaths of his friends had cut
deep wounds in his soul. “This dirtbag gets rich by arming
terrorists and cop killers?” McKay
pursed her lips. “He also helped fund the overseas terrorist cell
that was beheading women who refused to be sex slaves.” “The
men I terminated.” “The
very same.” “Was
he aware of the beheadings?” “He
knew exactly who he was aiding and abetting. Now, he’s funding a
shipment of Stingers that are on their way to the United States.” Jake
almost cringed thinking about the FIM-92 Stinger, a shoulder-launched
heat-seeking missile. “We can’t let those weapons fall into the
wrong hands.” “Agreed.
One of the Stingers from a shipment to Europe was used to shoot down
an airliner over the Baltic Sea. Another supply is now on its way to
California. We need to put a stop to that. You could help us do so
tonight if you’re willing to serve your country again and shut down
the money supply.” Jake
felt his sense of duty weighing on his shoulders. “Did you say the
banker is designated as a high-value target?” “Yes.
My orders are to eliminate this HVT from the chessboard.” “I’m
willing, but why me? You must have plenty of wild-eyed former Navy
SEALs, Army Special Forces, and infantry Marine veterans who’d love
to kick ass.” “Three
reasons. First, you agreed to twelve missions and this is one of
them. Second, you’re closest to his location. Third, this man
funded the reward money when terrorists put a bounty on you and
Duke.” Duke.
Jake was quiet for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out.
When he spoke, his voice was low and menacing. “He’s
the dirtbag who paid them to kill my dog when we were deployed?” She
nodded. “Yes. The reward was twenty thousand U.S. dollars for any
war dog’s tattooed ear.” Jake’s
temper flared and he began pacing back and forth, clenching his right
hand into a fist, righteous anger rising to the surface. “Who is
he? Where is he?” “I’m
sorry to bring up painful memories, but I thought you’d want to be
the one who dealt with this … person.” “Show
me his face and location. I’ll go there right now and break his
neck with my bare hands.”
Vigilante
Assassin
Jake
Wolfe Book 2
Every
marriage has a secret, but this one is deadly.
Lauren
Stephens wakes up to find her husband, Gene, has vanished during the
night. His phone is dead. Desperate, she hires Jake Wolfe and his war
dog, Cody. They search the house and discover something so disturbing
that Jake won’t allow Lauren near it. “No, if you see this, there
is no unseeing it.”
Lauren
thought she had it all: a loving partner, two great kids, a
successful business, and a beautiful home in the San Francisco hills.
But all of that is about to come crashing down, due to a missing
husband, a hidden past, and a frightening secret that will shock a
trusting wife to the core. Gene has enemies, and now they want
something from Lauren.
Jake
Wolfe is a flawed man who has a habit of being in the wrong place at
the wrong time. He wants to leave his secret, violent past behind
him, but when Lauren and her children are threatened, his protective
instinct takes command. Jake soon finds himself involved in a
dangerous conspiracy, targeted for death, and engaged in battle with
a powerful, unseen group who will stop at nothing to get what they
want.
Jake’s
going to have to think fast and fight hard to protect Cody, Lauren
and her kids.
Vigilante
Assassin is “Jake Wolfe book two” in the ongoing series. It can
be read as a stand-alone, or you can start with book one, titled:
Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie.
Both
of these Kindle Unlimited books in the Jake Wolfe mystery thriller
novel series are available to read for free with your subscription to
Kindle Unlimited.
Jake
Wolfe bolted upright out of a dead sleep, disoriented and sweating.
Driven by survival instincts born from his years in the Marines, and
later in the CIA, he reached for his nightstand and grabbed his
pistol from a hollowed out constitutional law textbook about the
Second Amendment. He
held the weapon in front of him with both hands. His eyes flicked
back and forth, looking for someone to kill. Then,
he took a deep breath, as the remnants of a recurring violent
nightmare about his covert paramilitary operations faded away and
reality set in. He
was on board a boat, the Far Niente, out on the San Francisco Bay and
anchored in a quiet spot. He was borrowing the power yacht from his
friend, Dylan, and he loved to spend the night on the water, away
from the crowds and the problems of the city. His
adopted Marine war dog, Cody, came over to him and huffed, waiting
for orders. Jake
scratched Cody behind the ears and whispered, “It’s okay, buddy,
I just had the dream again.” The
dog, a yellow Labrador retriever and golden retriever cross, nodded
and looked at Jake with wise eyes. Jake
got out of bed, and his body felt stiff with the aches and pains of
old war wounds, especially in his thigh where he’d been shot and
had nearly bled to death. The cool dampness of the Pacific Ocean air
magnified the pain, but he loved being on the water so much it was a
small price to pay. His
girlfriend, Sarah, was still sound asleep. Smiling, he gazed at her
for a moment as she lay there; seeing the face of an angel, her
beautiful bare shoulders, and silky dark hair on the white pillow.
All that and a personality that pulled him to her like iron to a
magnet. Turning
away, he found a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt on the floor, put
them on, went out the stateroom door and closed it behind him. In
the hallway, Cody sniffed Jake’s thigh, sensing his alpha’s pain.
He whined and pushed his head against Jake’s stomach. “I’m
fine, Cody,” Jake said, and patted his dog on the back. He
walked to the galley, opened the sliding door and let Cody out onto
the deck. Cody
went to an area of artificial grass to relieve himself. Jake
walked back to the galley, which was close to the sliding door,
brewed a pot of strong coffee and poured a cup. He opened a cupboard,
grabbed a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream and added a shot to his
coffee. He took a sip and nodded his head in satisfaction. He
put the Baileys back in the cupboard next to a bottle of Redbreast
Irish Whiskey. Jake stared at the whiskey for a moment, shook his
head, closed the cupboard and pushed that temptation out of his mind.
He’d gone down that road once when his close friend, Stuart, had
died of a heroin overdose. After
that, he’d promised his family and friends he would steer clear of
the whiskey prescription to dull the emotional pain that was his
constant companion. Cody
came back into the galley and trotted to a water cooler with an
inverted five-gallon jug on top. When he pressed his right paw down
on a blue lever, water poured out of the spigot, down through a
plastic tube Jake had attached and into a large bowl on the deck.
Once the bowl was full, Cody took his paw off the lever and drank his
fill, then raised his head and looked at Jake with water dripping off
his snout. Jake
smiled. “You like that Stinson Beach spring water, Cody?” Cody
licked his nose, barked once and nodded. “You’re
probably wishing there was a lever to fill your food bowl, too, huh?” Cody
raised one eyebrow, then sniffed his empty food bowl and gave it a
lick. Jake
headed out onto the aft deck to do some fishing. It was still dark
outside and a thick fog had blanketed the Bay. Visibility was
minimal, but Jake could see the muted glow of the lights on the
Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance as he cast his line off the
back rail of the aft deck. Cody
sat close to Jake, as always, like his shadow. Jake
drank some coffee, and reveled in the freedom of being out on the
water. He didn’t need to travel very far from shore. The water was
a natural barrier to the endless cars, people, and trouble. It
offered a refuge from civilization, and it just felt so peaceful.
Peace was what he wanted most in life right now. He
was thankful that his friend, Dylan, was letting him borrow the Far
Niente. Dylan was one of those Silicon Valley software millionaires.
He currently lived in Dublin, Ireland. All the large American
software and internet companies had branch offices in Dublin.
Although Dylan owned the boat, he never used it. He was a world
traveler and a serial entrepreneur who only came home to California
once or twice a year. Jake
patted Cody on the back. “This is the good life eh, buddy? When I
got fired from my job last month, it was a blessing in disguise.” Cody
wagged his tail, and thumped it on the deck. Thump, thump, thump. “But
I still need to make a living so I can buy the essentials— dog
food, beer, and fuel for the boat, right?” Cody
barked once and nodded his head. He’d been trained for three
different jobs: as a Marine IED detection dog, then as a patrol dog,
and finally, after he was retired from the Marines due to a lingering
injury, he’d been retrained as a civilian service dog. He
could understand over a thousand words, and more than a hundred hand
signals and whistled commands. On
paper he seemed like the perfect service dog. The problem was that
he’d once had to kill an enemy combatant while deployed overseas.
He’d saved the lives of his Marine platoon, but now, much like his
owner, he couldn’t let go of his war training. He was too
independent to be a normal service dog; only
a former war dog handler like Jake could offer the firm leadership he
required. A
foghorn sounded from the San Francisco end of the Golden Gate Bridge
with a low, drawn-out blast. There was a quiet pause, and then
another foghorn answered with two distinctly different blasts from
the midspan of the bridge. In
the quiet stillness after the foghorns ended, Cody stood up and
growled. His hackles stood on end and his tail stuck straight out as
he sniffed the air while showing his teeth. Jake
paid close attention. He trusted Cody with his life; if his dog
sensed that something was wrong, he believed him. Opening a tall
storage cabinet, Jake grabbed a pump shotgun with an illegal Salvo 12
silencer attached, and reached into a drawer for a pair of
night-vision binoculars. The
hair on the back of his neck stood up and the sixth sense that he’d
honed in combat warned him of impending danger. He could almost smell
it, if such a thing was possible. He
heard a little song in his head. He’d been told it was similar to
the way some people with epilepsy heard a tune just before they had a
seizure. It had started happening after he’d had a near-death
experience. He
searched the darkness through the binoculars. There— something was
behind them in the water. An inflatable dinghy emerged from the fog
and headed straight toward the glow of the Far Niente’s running
lights. Jake
recognized that type of boat—he’d used one just like it on night
missions in the Persian Gulf. It was approximately ten feet long and
powered by a quiet electric motor. The one man on board steered the
dingy and held a rocket propelled grenade launcher across his lap. A
familiar anger burned inside Jake’s chest. Some of his best friends
had been killed by RPGs. Did the terrorists still have a bounty on
his head, or was the man seeking revenge for somebody Jake had
assassinated? One
thing was certain—if an RPG hit the Far Niente’s onethousand-
gallon fuel tank, the resulting fireball would destroy the boat, and
kill him, Sarah and Cody.
Cody
stared at the raft and sniffed the air. One of his back legs —the
one that had been injured in combat—trembled. Jake
whispered, “Cody, take cover.” He gave a hand signal and pointed
at a spot behind the aft rail. Cody
ducked down prone on his belly, out of sight. He kept his intelligent
eyes trained on Jake, waiting for orders to dive off the boat, swim
to the raft, and attack the enemy. Jake
aimed the shotgun at the raft and focused his thoughts. He had to
make sure his target pointed the RPG downward. They weren’t far
from shore; a high shot could send the explosive round on a long arc
where it might hit a boat, a house, an apartment building or a
restaurant on the nearby shoreline and cause civilian casualties. Jake
shook his head. That was not going to happen on his watch. He would
take whatever steps were necessary to stop an enemy combatant armed
with a military weapon who was attacking America’s coastline. He
flipped on the spotlight and red targeting laser mounted on the
shotgun, and purposely blinded his opponent. “Drop your weapon or
I’ll open fire!” The
bearded man’s eyes widened in surprise, but he ignored the warning
as he stood up and raised the launcher. Jake
didn’t hesitate. He fired at the man’s hands, where they held
onto the launcher. He shot down and to his left, shredding the man’s
left hand and knocking the weapon downward and to the side. The
man pulled the trigger with his right hand, and the rocket-propelled
grenade fired into the water of the Bay. Moments later, there was a
bright flash underwater as the RPG exploded. Dead fish floated to the
surface, along with air bubbles that smelled like war.
The
familiar scent triggered Cody’s memories of battle and he let out a
fierce growl, struggling to follow Jake’s orders to take cover. The
man dropped the empty grenade launcher into the raft and groaned in
pain, holding the wrist of his injured hand tightly. Jake
kept the red targeting laser trained on his enemy’s chest. “Who
are you? Who sent you?” The
man cursed in another language, and spat in Jake’s direction. In
the years since Jake’s first deployment overseas at the age of
nineteen, he’d seen many men just like this one—and he’d killed
them. “I should blow your head off, but I’ll give you one chance
to lie facedown and put your hands on the back of your neck.” The
man just sneered, then drew a pistol with his uninjured hand and
opened fire. Jake fired at the same time. He pumped a blast of
buckshot into the man’s chest, and then another. The man fell onto
his back in the raft, which began to lose air. Jake set the shotgun
down on the patio table, pointing its powerful
flashlight at the sinking raft, and then used his encrypted black
phone to take pictures. He zoomed in to get a shot of the man’s
face before the raft went under. The assassin’s legs were caught up
in ropes and netting, and he was pulled down along with the dingy by
the weight of the electric outboard engine and the RPG launcher. Now
the only visible signs of the battle were the dead fish floating on
the surface of the water, and they would soon become shark food. “That’s
a shame about those fish,” Jake said. Looking
at the man’s face on his phone, Jake took several deep breaths in
an effort to calm his simmering rage and push back memories of dead
friends killed by men just like this one. The
fierce animal inside of Jake could rise to the surface at any given
moment if it was provoked, but he tried to keep it under control as
best he could. Cody
stood up on his hind legs and put his front paws on the aft rail,
sniffing the air and growling. Jake
noticed that Cody’s back leg was trembling again; it was a telltale
symptom of his PTSD. He
gave Cody a command to stand by. The last thing he needed was for his
dog to dive into the Bay right now, for no reason other than that he
wanted to bite the throat of a dead killer. He
texted the photos to Secret Service Agent Shannon McKay. She worked
at the White House, but was currently in San Francisco. McKay had
requested a lunch meeting with him at noon. They’d originally had
the meeting scheduled a month ago, but they’d had to postpone it
until today. With
that done, Jake stood there staring out at the dark water and dark
sky. No boats were nearby, so if anyone on shore had been staring out
into the dark, all they might have seen were a few flashes of light.
But there was a dead body in the water, and a fishing boat might pull
it up in a net. He hadn’t planned on killing a man before
breakfast. What should I do now? The correct thing would be to call
the cops, and sit here until the police boat SF Marine 1 arrived.
Jake knew Captain Leeds, and he was
good man. But some over-eager rookie prosecutor in the DA’s office
might put Jake and Cody behind bars. Jake could end up in a jail
cell, while Cody sat helpless in a cage at the dog pound, hoping to
be adopted and avoid the needle. No, Jake would never let that happen
to Cody. Maybe
they should just cruise away, avoid the government bureaucracy, and
protect the most precious commodity in their lives—their freedom. Cody
looked at Jake and barked once. Jake
felt like Cody was reading his mind. He went inside the boat and
heard water running. Thankful that Sarah was in the shower, he
climbed the stairs to the bridge, manned the controls, raised anchor,
and started the twin engines. The
sixty-foot power yacht was large enough to be seaworthy and cruise
the ocean, yet small enough that it could be handled by one skilled
sailor. Jake always said it was a good vessel for a loner who liked
people, but only in small doses. He glanced at the GPS display and
took a picture of it with his phone. As
he steered the vessel toward the yacht harbor in Sausalito, he tapped
the contact “Grinds” on his phone and sent a text to his best
friend Terrell Hayes. I had a situation, but it’s all good now.
I’ll give you a report in person. Terrell
was a homicide detective with the SFPD, and an early riser who
existed mainly on coffee, cigarettes, and the occasional sandwich
from Molinari’s deli. In combat, he’d sustained a traumatic brain
injury, and now suffered a headache every day of his life. He often
claimed Jake was the source of his headaches, not the TBI. His text
in reply was a single word: Sigh. Jake
nodded when he saw the text. He often put his friend through a lot of
trouble. But that’s what friends were for, right?
His
encrypted black phone buzzed with a reply text from McKay: I ran the
photos through Homeland’s facial recognition system and got a
positive ID. I’ll tell you more when we meet at noon. Jake
watched the sun begin to rise, peeking over the Marin headlands and
painting the morning sky and water with brushstrokes of purple and
gold. It was another beautiful day on the Bay, except for the fact
that somebody had tried to kill him. Would
he ever have a normal, peaceful life? Or had fate doomed him to a
violent struggle against the bloodthirsty killers of the world? He
had a strange feeling he was about to find out.
Dead
Lawyers Don't Lie
Jake
Wolfe Book 1
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 too. Now on sale in over a dozen
countries around the world. Be the first among your friends to read
it.
Fans
of new Kindle Unlimited novels will be happy to know this book is one
of the best financial thrillers in kindle unlimited books.
Photojournalist
Jake Wolfe sat in his Jeep Grand Cherokee and watched Caxton walk
toward the parking area. The television news station where Jake
worked had assigned him to get photos or video of Caxton doing
something scandalous. He’d been following the lawyer for days. Jake
glared at the slick attorney as his thoughts turned once again to the
previous weekend. It was all he could think about lately. His boss
had told him to follow Caxton to a strip club and record him with a
hidden camera. The pounding music at the club had been so loud that
Jake had missed a call from Stuart, one of his best friends from when
he’d served in the Marines. Later
that night, Stuart had been found dead from a heroin overdose and
Jake blamed himself for not answering Stuart’s call in his time of
need. And he resented his employer—and Caxton —for causing him to
go on the assignment. He
took a deep breath and let it out. His hangover today wasn’t as bad
as the one he’d had yesterday, or the day before. He
took a drink from a bottle of water and promised himself that he
would stop using whiskey to numb the pain. Last night his fiancée,
Gwen, had told him he needed to get over Stuart and move on. She may
have been right, but when she talked that way, Jake felt he might get
over her and move on.
For
a moment, he considered quitting his job, cancelling the wedding, and
borrowing a friend’s powerboat. A few weeks alone at sea might do
him good. He shoved that reckless idea from his head and reminded
himself to take life one day at a time. He was going to Stuart’s
funeral tomorrow; maybe that would bring some closure and peace.
Maybe then he could forgive himself and stop thinking about hunting
down the drug dealers who deserved to die. Jake
was observant, a people watcher, and as he waited for Caxton to drive
out of the lot, he noticed an attractive, welldressed woman who wore
her gray hair in an updo. She reminded him of his own grandmother, so
full of life and love and wisdom. As she was getting into her car, a
man in a dark hoodie and filthy jeans stood up from where he’d been
crouched between two parked cars, grabbed her purse, tore it from her
hand, shoved her to the ground, and took off running toward Jake’s
vehicle. Jake opened his car door, shoving it fast and hard and
straight-arming it like a football player. The
door and the purse snatcher collided—and the door won. The
thief’s face smacked into the window, his knees banging against the
metal. He bounced off and landed flat on his back on the pavement,
dropping the purse as he fell. Jake got out of his vehicle, closed
the door, and stood looking down at the thief. A bruise was forming
on the man’s forehead. He struggled to his knees and glanced at the
purse on the ground near Jake’s feet. Jake
shook his head at him. “Leave it.” He
had the sunken eyes and sallow complexion of a meth addict. He looked
Jake up and down and saw his worst-case scenario, a vigilante who
still believed in chivalry. Jake
took a step forward and raised his eyebrows. “I’m going to give
you to the count of three. One … two …” The
man reacted in a fight-or-flight response that came from deep within
the recesses of his chemically cooked lizard brain. He got up and ran
across the street with surprising speed, vanishing around the corner
into a crowd of pedestrians. Jake
picked up the purse and walked past several parked cars to where the
woman was standing, and handed the purse to her. “Are
you all right, ma’am?” “Yes,
I’m fine. Thank you for stopping that thief.” “You’re
welcome.” “Are
you an undercover police officer or just a man who believes in doing
the right thing?” “Actually,
I just lost my temper there for a minute.” Her
eyes opened wide. Jake held the car door as she got into her vehicle.
He stood there and waited until her door was closed and locked and
the engine running. She waved as she drove off. Jake nodded and
walked back to his Jeep. As
he walked, he stood out from the people in business suits. Several
women stared at him, observing the controlled, deliberate, and
dangerous way his animal-like body moved. He was tall, with wavy dark
hair and dark eyes, and wore jeans and boots, with a black t-shirt
and a black leather jacket. His face was devoid of expression, and
his muscular body and confident walk gave the impression that he
could handle himself in just about any situation.
Mark Nolan is the author of Dead Lawyers Don't Lie, the sequel titled Vigilante Assassin, and book 3 in the series: Killer Lawyer. He's currently writing book 4. Mark also tries to make time every day to answer emails from readers. You can reach him and subscribe to his newsletter at marknolan.com
Fun
Facts About KILLER LAWYER
Mark
Nolan rarely ventures out of his writing den to do interviews, and
seldom talks about himself on social media, but he’s always happy
to answer emails from readers. We managed to talk him into giving us
some fun facts about his latest book.
What
is Killer Lawyer about?
Jake
Wolfe is a young lawyer with a secret past that keeps catching up
with him. He served as an infantry Marine, and briefly as a CIA
covert operative who took out high-value targets overseas. Now he
wants to live in peace, build his solo law practice and try to hang
onto the rocky relationship with his girlfriend, Sarah Chance (who is
keeping a secret from him). But when a serial killer frames him for
the murder of a friend, Jake feels he has no choice but to find and
stop the killer before he strikes again, close to home. He and his
adopted war dog, Cody, search for clues, and hunt down the mysterious
criminal in a deadly race against time.
What
do readers like about the book?
Killer
Lawyer includes a mystery investigation, surprising twists and turns,
enjoyable character development, and a few scenes where readers get
to see the point of view (POV) of the highly intelligent and
well-trained dog. Many readers say Cody is their favorite character.
A few other people
are outraged though, and ask, “How dare you show the POV of a dog?”
Oh, the controversy! Your mileage may vary, but if you’re
open-minded you’ll probably enjoy Cody’s amusing antics and
simple view of the world. Some other bestselling books that show a
dog’s point of view include: The Art of Racing in the Rain by
Garth Stein, Watchers by Dean Koontz, One Good Dog by
Susan Wilson, the Chet and Bernie Mysteries by Spencer Quinn,
and the other two Jake Wolfe novels titled Dead
Lawyers
Don’t Lie (Book 1), and Vigilante Assassin (Book 2).
What
kind of research went into the novel?
This
story required quite a lot of research, so much that the book
includes a “Dear Reader” section at the end to explain what is
real and what is not (most of it is frighteningly real). Readers are
surprised at all of the amazing-buttrue parts of the story. Truth is
often stranger than fiction. That end note contains spoilers,
however, so be sure to read the book first, before reading the Dear
Reader section at the end.
Is
that the Golden Gate Bridge on the book cover?
Yes,
the story is set in San Francisco, and Jake lives on the other side
of the bridge in Sausalito, on a boat at a yacht harbor. He often
drives across the bridge, or cruises his power yacht underneath it.
His best friend, Terrell Hayes is a detective with SFPD Homicide. The
two of them served in the Marines, and while deployed in the desert,
Terrell saved Jake’s life with a blood transfusion. Now they are
blood brothers and best friends forever. If Jake had his way, he’d
just go boating and fishing every day. He
sometimes
feels San Francisco is too expensive and crowded, and he threatens to
cruise away to Fiji,
but so far he has remained in the the Bay Area because of friends and
family.
Is
this book part of a series? Can it be read as a stand-alone?
Killer
Lawyer is book number three in the Jake Wolfe thriller series. It can
be read as a standalone, but
some folks prefer to read the books in order. Many people say it
should be called the Jake
and Cody series, because the war dog is always at Jake’s side and
has saved his life in the past. In one of the books, a character
tells Jake, “Cody is so loyal he’d follow you into Hell and fight
the devil.” Jake is highly protective of his four-footed best
friend, and as a former war dog handler, he works together with him
so well it’s almost as if they can read each other’s minds up and
down the leash. For those
who are interested in war dogs and their handlers, a good book on the
subject is Sergeant Rex:
The Unbreakable Bond Between a Marine and His Military Working Dog,
by Mike
Dowling,
US Marine Sergeant and military war dog (MWD) handler.
What
does the future hold for Jake and Cody?
Book
number four is coming soon. In that story, Jake and Cody go on a trip
and cruise the Far Niente to distant harbors. Along the way
they have all kinds of adventures and get into plenty of trouble. Of
course! Readers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts and a giveaway!
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