Deadly Distractions

After two tough years practicing law, Stan and his family take a well deserved vacation to Colorado. Unfortunately the vacation is cut short when a client is found standing over the body of a dead IRS agent. It appears to be an open and shut case since Dusty Thomas has had a long feud with the dead agent Bobby Tuttle, and more than enough motive to kill him, yet he claims to be innocent.

Stan's new partner Paula Waters convinces Stan to finish his vacation promising to handle Dusty Thomas' arraignment and get an investigation underway. While Stan is away, she makes good on her promise and even manages to arrange financing for Dusty's defense. But Stan is mortified when he reads in the Colorado papers that a radical paramilitary group, the Citizens Defense Alliance or CDA, is doing the funding.

Since the CDA denies the legitimacy of the federal income tax and has been a target of federal prosecutors for many years, Stan and Paula immediately come under the close scrutiny of the FBI and the press. To further complicate matters, Stan's best client and close friend, Tex Weller, is reported missing by his wife. When Stan investigates his disappearance he finds a letter that leads him to believe Tex is in Ecuador.

While Stan is searching for Tex in Ecuador, Paula continues her investigation of Bobby Tuttle's murder and quickly discovers a long list of enemies with motive to kill him. But her investigation is sidetracked when she learns Stan is missing and may have been kidnaped. As weeks go by and Stan isn't found, she is forced to turn her attention back to the Dusty Thomas case and leave the search for Stan up to the FBI and the local Ecuadorian authorities. Barely able to concentrate, she plods on and day by day and soon becomes convinced that Dusty Thomas is innocent.

REVIEWS

Midwest Book Review

Library Journal

Attorney Stan Turner (Cash Call) stretches to cover two cases. One client stands accused of killing a predatory IRS agent trying to confiscate his tractor. The second disappears in Ecuador after wiring a fortune into Stan's trust account. While Stan flies to Ecuador, partner Paula handles the murder case, accepting pay from a radical anti-government outfit. Then Stan is kidnapped, escapes, and is subsequently questioned secretly by the FBI, which sees a dirty connection between the radicals, the missing client, and money laundering. Plenty of action and excitement, but the author handles it with heavy-handed narrative and flat dialog. For series fans only. Manchee lives in Plano, TX. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Attorney Stan Turner's client, Dusty Thomas, is believed to have murdered an IRS agent over back taxes he owed the government. And why not? The agent was shot by a Remington shotgun, and Dusty was found standing over the victim with a Remington shotgun in his hand. Turner takes on the case, turning most of the details over to his new associate, Paula Waters. Waters agrees to allow the Citizen's Defense Alliance, or CDA, to foot Dusty's bail and pay for his defense. Turner is surprised, because the CDA is practically a terrorist organization, a group of fascists who don't believe in federal taxation and would gladly throw out the government. Now that Turner's agency appears to be in bed with the CDA, the federal government is painting them with a broad and wide brush. The author, who is a lawyer like his protagonist, has written four previous Stan Turner novels, as well as short stories, several other novels, and a nonfiction work for small business owners. While Turner is dealing with this case, one of his oldest friends and clients calls him from Ecuador, where he is mixed up in a complicated money-laundering scheme involving Ecuadorian rebels and false identities. With the government tearing apart their lives, this is the last thing he needs; then the client disappears, apparently kidnapped or arrested. Before a reader can say, "This is a pretty dumb move for an attorney to make," Turner and a private investigator fly to Ecuador to look for the client, but are quickly arrested. It is only through a series of very questionable deals, with even more questionable Ecuadorian military officials, that they are released. Manchee has pretty much thrown everything into this novel-courtroom scenes, Guantanamo Bay, Texas street gangs, insurance scams, money laundering, murder, even a hurricane. This level of plot complexity is both the novel's strength and its weakness. Manchee juggles reasonably well, but each plot point could have been developed by itself into a full novel. The book struggles under its own weight, which isn't helped by Manchee's attention to trivial detail or stilted dialogue. Still, each plot line, in and of itself, can be riveting, and fans of legal thrillers who have already read Grisham, Scottoline, Martini, and Patterson may very well want to check out this novel. (August)

Clint Hunter, Crescent Blue

An unwelcome phone call from his new partner Paula Waters interrupts attorney Stan Turner's family vacation in Colorado. A long time client and friend, Dusty Thomas, stands accused of the murder of an IRS agent and continues to barricade himself in his barn while holding a contingent of federal law enforcement agents at bay. A witness who happened upon the scene identifies Thomas as the man he saw standing over the victim with a shotgun in his hand.

Leaving his family in Colorado, Turner hurriedly flies to the scene in Texas where he meets the agents and arranges a meeting with the accused. Thomas, known for his long and bitter feud with the IRS concerning seizures of his property, professes his innocence. He swears he found the already dead agent on his property after responding to the sound of gunshots; however, he agrees to give himself up with the assurance that Turner will defend him in court.

Without Turner's knowledge, Paula Waters arranges for a radical anti-government organization called the Citizen's Defense Alliance to post Thomas' bail and deposit money for the defense in the firm's account. Turner angrily speculates on the consequences of this alliance if the firm fails to prove its client innocent. Word of this action leaks immediately to the press, and federal agents begin surveillance of Turner's every move.

Before research for the trial begins, another distraction arises. Tex Weller, one of the firm's best clients, unexpectedly deposits more than a million dollars into the firm's account and then disappears. Investigation reveals documents suggesting a link between the money and a scam originating in Ecuador. While Waters prepares for the upcoming trial, Turner flies to Ecuador in search of his friend.

Left in charge of the trial preparation, Waters uncovers evidence that the murdered IRS Agent, Bobby Tuttle, sported a reputation as a bully who rose rapidly in the agency because of nepotism. Tuttle apparently maintained a "hit" list of persons and organizations to prosecute for tax evasions, and cultivated enemies both inside and outside the IRS. Waters finds herself hard-pressed to keep up with the ever-expanding list of potential suspects.

Pressure builds to piece together the puzzle of Agent Tuttle's murder as the trial date looms. In the meantime, Turner and Waters must work their way past an investigation of sedition, a gang related insurance swindle, and a charge and conviction of felonious action. But in a courtroom climax that would make the venerable Perry Mason stand and applaud, stunning revelations and unexpected connections bring the mystery to an unanticipated and startling conclusion.

Deadly Distractions definitely belongs on your reading list. Manchee writes an intelligent, suspenseful, complex, and highly readable tale, which confirms him as a wordsmith of the first order.

Reviewed By Terri Von Reiman ... Roundtable Reviews

Stan Turner, Dallas based Attorney, husband and father along with his family are on vacation in July 1986. Stan’s wife Rebekah is looking forward to having some special time with Stan. The kids are hoping for fishing and white water rafting. Stan has a brand new partner; Paula Waters who has brought some much needed cash as well as ‘a head for business’ into the firm, and is set to enjoy so time away from Dallas and the pressures of his law practice. It isn’t long before Stan finds himself flying to Texas to meet with an old friend. Dusty Thomas, a bad luck kid from way back, is accused of shooting and killing a federal officer. Bobby Tuttle was just doing his job in trying to confiscate some the Thomas farm machinery for back taxes. The worst of it is: there are witnesses who saw Dusty, weapon in hand, standing over the body. Before the tale plays out Ecuador, a radical paramilitary group known as the CDA … Citizen’s Defense Alliance, a DC income tax protest, scrutiny of both Stan and Paul by the press and the FBI, soft ball sized hail stones, a woman with a crush on Stan, 1.8 million dollars and a hit and run all figure in what appeared at first glance to be a simple case.

http://www.murderandmayhembookclub.com/deadly_distract.html

A tale of two attorneys caught between a radical anti-IRS group and the Government law enforcement as they (the attorneys) try to protect the rights of their client who has been accused of murdering an IRS agent.

Stan Turner has two cases that need his immediate attention, one is trying to find a missing client in Ecuador and the other is defending Dusty Thomas on the charge of murder. He heads for Ecuador and leaves Dusty's case in the capable hands of his partner.

It is then things get very involved. The partner seeks out the radical organization to pay Dusty's expenses and bail. The prosecutors then see Stan and his partner as supporters of the anti-IRS radicals, a fact that does not make his job nor his life any easier once he returns from Ecuador.

Deadly Distractions is written by a talented author who constructs a set of interesting situations with believable and likable characters. However, one thing in the writing makes it a bit hard to separate the two lead characters. They are both written in first person without any indication from chapter to chapter as to who is talking and this leads to some confusion.

Barring this, the plotting is well done and balanced with twists and turns that will keep you guessing who the real villain is and why the IRS agent was killed. With threats coming at him from all sides, Stan does a creditable balancing act the reader will enjoy.

Another prolific author William Manchee, discovered his talent as a novelist by way of coping with his stressful life as a lawyer. His latest novel, Deadly Distraction($13.00, Lean Press) is a thriller in which Stan Turner, an attorney and the main character in a series of novels, is defending a client accused of killing an IRS agent. Moreover, Stan’s best friend has going missing and when Stan goes to Ecuador to find him, he goes missing too! You will be on the edge of your seat, reading as fast as you can, to find out how the various strands of this story resolve themselves.

Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.Com

This story starts off with a literal bang as Stan Turner's client is found standing over the body of a dead IRS agent, with his shotgun in hand. Since Dusty Thomas has had a years-long feud with the dead agent, Bobby Tuttle, and Bobby was killed with a shotgun, Dusty is charged with first degree murder even though he claims to be innocent.

Stan's new partner, Paula Waters, handles Dusty Thomas' arraignment and begins to get an investigation underway while Stan is finishing his vacation. She even manages to arrange financing for Dusty's defense. A radical paramilitary group, the Citizens Defense Alliance, or CDA, is doing the funding, much to Stan's dismay. He doesn't want to be associated with this group of anti-government radicals.

Since the CDA denies the legitimacy of the federal income tax and has been a target of federal prosecutors for many years, Stan's worst fears are realized, and his office immediately comes under the close scrutiny of the FBI and the press. To further complicate matters, Stan's best client and close friend, Tex Weller, has transferred 1.8 million dollars to Stan's trust account from Ecuador, and now he is reported missing by his wife.

While Stan is searching for Tex in Ecuador, Paula continues her investigation of Bobby Tuttle's murder and quickly discovers a long list of enemies with motive to kill him, becoming more and more convinced that Dusty Thomas is innocent. Her investigation is sidetracked when she learns Stan is missing and may have been kidnapped. As time goes by and Stan doesn't turn up, she is forced to turn her attention back to the Dusty Thomas case and leave the search for Stan up to the FBI. Then Paula, herself, is charged with a phony hit and run.

Paula, of course, is secretly in love with a very happily married Stan, and by alternating viewpoints between Stan and Paula, Manchee achieves the near impossible task of getting into the mind of each protagonist. The action is non-stop with surprises in every chapter. Parallel, complicated plots converge to an explosive climax. Don't start this book until you have time to read the whole thing...you won't want to put it down.

The 5th Stan Turner Mystery