"One Man's Paradise"

Douglas Corleone is the winner of the 2009 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award. A former New York City criminal defense attorney, he now lives in the Hawaiian Islands with his wife and son.

He applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, One Man’s Paradise, and reported the following:

On page 69 of One Man’s Paradise, defense lawyer Kevin Corvelli catches a sensational journalist casting Kevin’s client, who is charged with murder, in a negative light on a national cable news show. The mother of the victim is being interviewed by cable news clown Gretchen Hurst.

Hurst asks:

“Are you satisfied with the police investigation into your daughter’s death?”

The victim’s mother Carlie Douglas responds:

“I am satisfied, Gretchen. They have the killer behind bars and they tell me they have all the evidence they need to obtain a conviction.”

These lines are very much representative of One Man’s Paradise as a whole. Throughout this case, attorney Kevin Corvelli has his back up against the wall. Corvelli fled his successful law practice in New York City because of the media, and now that he’s arrived in Paradise, the media are picking up right where they left off: criticizing Corvelli and poisoning potential jurors.

Kevin Corvelli used to delight in trying cases in the press, until an innocent client of his was murdered in jail because Kevin was too busy playing for the cameras. Now the media are yet another adversary Kevin Corvelli must go up against, and in the pages that follow, Kevin makes a bold decision concerning his investigation - a decision that may have devastating consequences for both Kevin and his new client.

Learn more about the book and author at Douglas Corleone's website.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue