Monday, June 30, 2008

Pg. 69: Natasha Cooper's "A Poisoned Mind"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Natasha Cooper's A Poisoned Mind.

About the book, from the publisher:
“I don’t know how you’ve survived at the Bar this long,” Anthony said to Trish. “Caring for your clients to the point of derangement is bad enough; but to start fretting over the opposition.... ”

In spite of the barristers’ rule that any suitably qualified member of the Bar who is free to take an offered case must do so, QC Trish Maguire can’t quite understand how her head of chambers, Anthony Shelley, can accept a case defending the corrupt Clean World Waste Management company. So when the brilliant and cynical Anthony is nearly killed in an accident, Trish is faced with a painful dilemma: Does she take over the company’s defense, or threaten her hard-won career by refusing to appear in court against Angie Fortwell, the impoverished widow of a hard-working farmer? As Trish delves deeper into the case, she grows more and more troubled by a nagging thought: Was the explosion that killed Angie’s husband really an accident, or the result of sabotage?

With all this going on at work, the last thing Trish needs is the possibility of explosions at home. Yet she can’t simply walk away from Jay, the clever but damaged fourteen-year-old boy who has attached himself to her family---especially when his mother is found beaten and close to death.

A brilliant novel of crime and its consequences, A Poisoned Mind demonstrates the full range of Natasha Cooper’s emotional intelligence and storytelling powers.
Among the praise for A Poisoned Mind:
“Simply gorgeous--a smart, complex, grown-up entertainment that rewards the reader on every page. Intricate in plotting, deft in characterization, [A Poisoned Mind] is one of the best legal thrillers I have ever read.”
--Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of What the Dead Know

"A precise and unsentimental exploration of two sorts of sabotage - industrial and emotional - A Poisoned Mind is a well-paced and thought-provoking read, and a welcome addition to a series that grows more impressive with each book."
--Guardian

"This series has been consistently entertaining, with meticulously researched plots and lively characters, including the engaging heroine. This story is one of the best."
--Sunday Telegraph

"Cooper is penetrating and amusing on the hierarchies of the legal world. She produces credible, contemporary plots and she cleverly notes current trends.... Her more subtle achievement, however, is to show how personal relationships affect organizations, businesses and professional groups as well as families. Several families are at the heart of this complex, enjoyable novel..... The vulnerability of the two teenagers and the weaknesses of all the adults are nicely caught. Anger in all its forms is shown as corrosive in this acute and rewarding thriller."
--Times Literary Supplement
Read an excerpt from A Poisoned Mind, and learn more about the author and her work at Natasha Cooper's website.

A Poisoned Mind is the ninth Trish Maguire crime novel.

The Page 99 Test: A Greater Evil/Evil is Done.

The Page 69 Test: A Poisoned Mind.

--Marshal Zeringue