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Title details for The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor - Available

The Hanging Judge

#1 in series

by Michael Ponsor
Rich Orlow
Audiobook
3 of 3 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 3 copies available
When a drive-by shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, claims the lives of a Puerto Rican drug dealer and a nurse at a neighborhood clinic, the police arrest a black drug dealer. With no death penalty in Massachusetts, the US attorney shifts the double homicide out of state jurisdiction into federal court so that he can pursue the death penalty. The Honorable David S. Norcross, who has been on the federal bench only two years, now presides overthe first death penalty case in the state in fifty years. He must contend not only with an ambitious female prosecutor and a brilliant veteran defense attorney, but with a citizenry outraged at the senseless killing of a white hockey mom— not to mention the pressures of the media, anti-death penalty protesters, vengeful gang members, and the million other things that can go wrong in a capital trial. Michael A. Ponsor takes readers into the courtroom and beyond, presenting with great sensitivity the points of view of the defendant and his wife; the victims' families; law enforcement officers; witnesses; and the judge who, while still coming to terms with the death of his wife, begins a relationship with a woman he is not sure he can trust.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Judge Norcross

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 23, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781470395728
      • File size: 369786 KB
      • Duration: 12:50:23

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Rich Orlow's compelling narration captures Clarence "Moon" Hudson's fear of receiving the death penalty for the double murders of a Puerto Rican drug dealer and an innocent pediatric nurse caught in the cross fire of a drive-by shooting. Although there's no hard evidence against Moon, he has motive and fits the profile as a black drug dealer. Orlow delivers the precedent-setting case from the judge's perspective, which provides insights into the legal system and makes the trial easy to follow. His astute characterizations through tone and accent allow listeners to easily distinguish between the attorneys, who use educated courtroom formality, and the accused, who use coarse street language. Orlow's authentic flashbacks to the shootings reflect the tension and raw emotion the jury experiences in this high-stakes case. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 14, 2013
      Despite the author’s credentials—Ponsor is a sitting federal judge who in 2000 presided over Massachusetts’s first capital case in more than 50 years—his attempt to draw on his professional experience for a legal thriller falls flat. Judge David Norcross, who has the requisite tragic personal backstory (a dead wife), is assigned the case of twice-convicted drug dealer Clarence Hudson, who gunned down another drug dealer and a nurse caught in the cross fire in a rundown Holyoke, Mass., neighborhood. A political decision to charge Hudson federally exposes him to the death penalty. That the case is problematic early on undercuts some of the tension from the trial scenes, while a gratuitous act of violence near the end undermines what hitherto has been a realistic portrayal of a judge’s life. Unconvincing interludes with a potential romantic partner don’t help (“An enormous moment was rolling toward him, and it was hoisting David’s innards like a swelling wave”). Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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