Violent Ward

A hard-nosed criminal lawyer gets caught up in a murder in a classic LA thriller

If America is a lunatic asylum, then California is the Violent Ward.

Mickey Murphy is a criminal lawyer with an office in LA’s downtown low-rent district, an ex-wife who bleeds him for money and ‘clients who would plead the Fifth Amendment if they could count that high’. To make matters worse, Mickey finds himself embroiled against his wishes in an elaborate and clever scam that’s going askew, and being interrogated by the LAPD about a brutal murder.

With an observant eye and ear for the California ‘scene’, Deighton once again uses his brilliant storytelling skills to propel an exciting and suspenseful narrative at breakneck speed to a dramatic climax in a riot-torn city.

Author Biography

Len Deighton is the author of over thirty bestsellers of carefully researched fiction and non-fiction. His history writing was encouraged by A. J. P. Taylor and his books are noted for the picture they provide of the German side of the fighting as well as that of the Allies. His books include Fighter- The True Story of the Battle of Britain and Blood, Tears and Folly- An Objective Look at World War II, both published by Pimlico.