Title: Fatal Reunion
Author: Ken Malovos
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 284
Genre: Legal Thriller
Jason Robinson attends his 20th high school reunion where he connects with his old girlfriend. The next day she is dead and he is charged with her murder. He asks attorney Mike Zorich to represent him. Mike feels that the case against Jason is weak, even though Jason has given inconsistent statements and some emails emerge that give him a motive to commit murder.
Meanwhile, Mike is trying to cope with his own problem with alcohol. After his friends confront him, he enters rehabilitation and then begins his own investigation into what really happened at the reunion, exposing dirty secrets that leave families and lives ruined with their disclosure.
For More Information
- Fatal Reunion is available at Amazon.
- Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt:
The phone rang at the suburban home of attorney Mike Zorich around one- thirty on a Sunday afternoon in October. Mike put down the crossword puzzle and hit the mute button on his remote. He could still watch the San Francisco 49er football game as the players ran around silently on the screen.
He wondered who would be calling him at this hour.
“Mr. Zorich, how are you? This is Detective Tom Kirkland, Sacramento P.D.”
“Detective Kirkland, it’s been some time since we spoke.”
“I understand you spent last night talking to the reunion party at the Sheraton.”
“I did, but how would you know that?”
“I have one of the alums here at the station and he told me all about it. In fact, he would like to talk to you. His name is Jason Robinson. We have him on an open homicide investigation. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Put him on.”
There was a pause and a couple of clicks on the other end of the line.
“Mr. Zorich, I need some help. Can you help me? My name is Jason Robinson. I was at the reunion dinner last night. They have me down here and they say that I am a suspect in a murder. But I didn’t do it. Can you come down here and get me out of here? I don’t have a lot of money but I will pay you. I promise. I heard you speak last night at our reunion dinner. You have to help me.”
“Where exactly are you now? Is there anyone near you?”
“I’m at the police station in a small room. I’m by myself. They won’t say what is going to happen to me.”
“Okay. Who was murdered? Do you know?”
“Yes, it’s Lori McDonald. She’s a former classmate of mine. She was at the dinner last night too.”
“Has Kirkland talked to you yet?”
“Yeah, but just for a few minutes. I was hoping to clear it all up and maybe they would let me go. Now I’m not too sure about that.”
“All right. Sit tight. I will be right down. Just don’t talk any more. Tell them you talked to me and I said that you were not allowed to talk to anyone. Got that? Blame me. Tell them that the lawyer said you can’t talk to anyone.”
“Yeah, I’ve got that.”
“Do you have relatives or friends nearby?”
“My parents live in Carmichael and my wife and I live in Los Altos. Down in the Bay Area. That’s where we live.”
“Okay. Have you called her yet?”
“No, I just got the one phone call. They said I could call a lawyer and I don’t know any lawyers. I just remembered you from last night so I asked to call you.”
“Okay. I will be right there. Just don’t talk with anyone until I get there. Got that?”
“Yeah.”
“I mean no one.”
About the Author
Ken Malovos has been practicing law in Sacramento for more than forty years. He spent twelve years with the Public Defender’s Office and twenty-five years as a business litigator. He now serves full-time as a mediator and arbitrator.
Fatal Reunion is his second novel. His first novel,
Contempt of Court, won first prize in the legal genre of the Mystery & Mayhem Book Writing Competition sponsored by Chanticleer Book Reviews. He and his wife, Michele, live in Sacramento.
For More Information
Grace is a practicing lawyer born and raised in Louisiana who graduated from Dartmouth College and then became the Editor-in-Chief of The University of Chicago Law Review. Her 17-year career has included a one-year clerkship for the appellate court with jurisdiction over Louisiana federal trial courts and 16 years of civil litigation.
