I don't recall the title or the author. :oops: I read this book in the early 90's and after seeing the mention of another author here I thought maybe someone would recognize the story line.

What I recall about the book was that this was the first book for this author. The main character is a lawyer who is an alcoholic and down and out on his luck. His client was accused of murder and there was a motorcycle gang in the book.

I recall enjoying the book and had plans for keeping tabs for a second book but at the time I was in college and the name was probably written in a notebook that is long gone. Sooooo...if this rings a bell with anyone I would appreciate the title of the book or the author, I know it is a HUGE LONG SHOT...thx.

I have called my local library, told them the story line, after a quick discussion with a co-worker she told me the name of the book and author LOL not only a good memory but she said it was just "part of their job" :D :D :D

Amma I've tried that...in fact I've tried several libraries over the years...lol.

Sorry, that doesn't ring a bell, and I read a lot. I will have to keep my eyes open!

Ummmmm so what IS the name of the book and the author???

Could it be Shadow of a Doubt by William Jeremiah Coughlin? That was published in the early '90s, had an alcoholic down-and-out lawyer with a client accused of murder. Seems to be his first novel. I haven't read it, so I don't know if there's a motorcycle gang, but take a look:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Sha...?itm=10&usri=1
or
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/...w-of-doubt.htm

If that's not it...

Okay, you're certain this was the author's first book. Do you happen to know if the author later wrote other books? Did it maybe become the first in a series?

Would you classify this as a legal thriller, mystery, slice-of-life, literary, mainstream or some other genre? It is fiction, a novel, right?

You read it in the early '90s. Was it fairly new/recently published then, or might it have been published in the '80s, '70s or before that?

Thanks Lisaanne ~ this is not the same author but thanks for the name, I checked his books out online and like the story line. I will have to give him a read.

You're welcome, Marty_mo. If you answer the questions I posted, I might be able to help you track down the book.

What about John Grisham?

Grisham's first book was A Time to Kill, which did come out in 1992 but otherwise doesn't sound much like her description. The whole thing was about racism, which she didn't mention at all. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-T.../?itm=3&usri=a

I would have to say that it was a legal thriller/mystery. The only other thing I remember about the book was that it was red. Sadly I've done a color search at the library looking at all mysteries and thrillers that were red. lol Ok I was desperate to find the author. :lol:

It turns out that a surprising number of legal thrillers have red or black & red book covers.

There are plenty of alcoholic lawyer books out there, too.

You've no idea whether this was set on the East Coast, West Coast, in the South or anything like that?

I'm intrigued. I'll keep poking around.

Lisanne ~ thanks for helping me poke around. I vaguely remember mountains, I believe a body was found in the mountains. It's surprising the number of alcoholic lawyer books on the market...lol.