A twenty-first-century legal thriller with a twist, "The Partnership" reveals what happens to rich and powerful insiders as the business school mentality extends its tentacles across a once-noble profession. The themes resonate; "The Bonfire of the Vanities" still burns.Albert Knight has reached the pinnacle of power as one of the “magnificent seven”— leaders of the international legal powerhouse Michelman & Samson. Only one step remains: Knight and his archenemy Ronald Ratkin are front-runners to replace the Executive Committee’s retiring chairman.Knight and Ratkin were once best friends, but that was long ago. Despite their twenty-year animosity, each has embraced the firm’s transformation to a bottom-line business and the stunning wealth it produces. As the price of success, they endure and inflict profound personal damage along the way.When gifted trial lawyer Ronald Ratkin’s $100 million client defies protocol by interrupting the sacrosanct Executive Committee meeting, all seven attorneys are suspicious. The news, Ratkin suspects, could upset his ongoing billion-dollar trial, send stocks plummeting, and destroy his client, his law firm, and his personal wealth. But the wily Ratkin has a foolproof plan. Or will his own greed and that of his fellow partners undo him?***Praise for "Crossing Hoffa" One of the "BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR" -- Chicago Tribune "Gripping, tender, and intriguing" -- Scott Turow "A tale of mystery and intrigue" -- Booklist "Tightly woven and gritty" -- American Lawyer "Fascinating and moving" -- Bloomberg News "Riveting eyewitness history...Bravo!" -- Charles Brandt***About the AuthorSteven J. Harper is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and the author of two non-fiction books: true-crime award winner "Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster’s Story" and "Straddling Worlds: The Jewish-American Journey of Professor Richard W. Leopold."He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. For thirty years, he was a litigation attorney in a large law firm that he joined upon graduation from Harvard Law School. He received combined B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Northwestern.He and his wife have three adult children and live in suburban Chicago.Visit his website at: www.stevenjharper.com

    Nice work if you can get it. And if you can avoid making the kind of enemies—mobsters, local officials, politicians, and industry good ole’ boys among them—who would gladly contribute to your untimely demise. MILLION DOLLAR STAIRCASEWill thinks fast when he discovers his girl friend’s the victim of a frame-up. He sees instantly why they can’t go to the cops—the mayor, the city manager, and for all Will knows, every official in town could be in on it. It’s the latest offensive in a case of municipal bullying that’s busted many a bank account and broken many a heart—something that sounds so boring you could doze off just reading the words: Eminent Domain. But it’s anything but boring when it enters your life as the legal justification for waltzing in and power-grabbing your property-- business, buildings, and all.GUILTY MONEYWill Harper thinks his latest story’s about Florida’s prison problems. It seems that budget cuts have led to police departments turning to creative schemes to raise money. Grove County’s version involves arresting citizens for minor charges and then driving up their bail when a search of the citizen’s home too conveniently turns up drugs.But the usual guilty money scheme has been improved upon by a corrupt deputy, Deke Snyder, who’s skimming money from the jail. Once Will finds that out, Deputy Deke sics all his buddies on him–which include every cop in town.FLORIDA BURNINGA toxic algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee that’s as thick as guacamole. A deadly pollutant from a cane field. And an environmentalist dead in a cane field fire. Coincidence? Florida PI Will Harper knows damn well it’s not.THE FLORIDA SHUFFLESeems like Will’s got it made. The semi-retired investigative journalist is living the dream aboard his yacht WanderLust with his new live-in girlfriend Callie, a social worker at a rehab center. And, tired of getting beat up on the job, he’s finally whipping himself into shape. But it’s not all Florida coast sunsets, kayak adventures, sweaty bike races, and steak dinners on the boardwalk. Callie learns her employer has a history of setting clients up in shady sober homes in exchange for financial kickbacks—and one of those homes has lostthree of its patients to “accidental” overdoses in the past four months.Turns out it’s just the tip of the iceberg.This mystery anthology is custom-made for Florida mystery connoisseurs, and the cherry on top is Will’s liveaboard trawler, harking straight back to the grand tradition of marina-living PIs like John D. McDonald’s Travis McGee and Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford. Fans of classics like those and more recent Florida tales by Wayne Stinnett and Dawn McKenna will be thrilled to discover this tempting tropical series—but so will anyone looking for the kind of private investigator who really cares.

    Highlighting the beginning of his career, this collection features Marc’s involvement with an accused serial killer, the family of an influential (and irresistible) socialite, and the young mother of a missing toddler caught up in a media circus. Chock-full of grit and street savvy, this action-packed legal thriller series is a Grisham fan’s dream. (And we dare you not to fall in love with Marc’s best friend, badass private investigator Maddy Rivers). We guarantee you’ll tear right through these first 3 novels, now bundled in a page-turning box set.BOOK ONE – THE KEY TO JUSTICEFinancially embarrassed, getting a divorce, living in a shabby apartment, and distinctly short of clients, Marc Kadella’s beginning to question why he ever went into the law when a friend brings him the case all Minneapolis is watching--defending an accused serial killer. If he wins, it could turn his life around— if he blows it, he better go into sales.It's a classic David-and Goliath setup, and the author’s got some pretty fancy twists in store as Kadella unravels a complicated plot to set his client up, and Maddy battles demons that just keep coming at her. Fans of John Grisham, Richard North Patterson, and of course the most beloved lawyer sleuth of all time, Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason, will gobble up this one and go back for the rest of the series.BOOK TWO – DESPERATE JUSTICEAfter winning the case of a lifetime, Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer Marc Kadella welcomes the new energy his career is receiving. Another lawyer asks him to represent the co-defendant in a murder trial resulting from a petty crime that spiraled out of control—the somewhat “accidental” murder of the nephew of Vivian Corwin, grande dame of the influential Corwin family. Disarmingly charming and still downright sexy at sixty-eight, there’s more to Vivian than meets the eye. You just gotta love a society doyenne who can toss off, “… if I wasn’t a lady, right about now I would say: f--- you.”Marc has no illusions about why he’s being brought into the case, or what will happen. What he doesn’t know is that he’s gotten on the wrong side of a crooked judge; he just knows the guy hates him and will do everything he can to make life miserable for Marc and his client.BOOK THREE – MEDIA JUSTICEAn adorable—and photogenic—two-year-old girl is kidnapped, and, when her remains are found, her twenty-two-year-old widowed mother Brittany is arrested for her murder. But before she can even be charged, she’s been tried and convicted by the media., at the center of which is Melinda Pace, a cynical, mostly-functioning alcoholic Minneapolis television personality with a “legal news” show called The Court Reporter. Not even in the alternative universe of television news could she be described as a reporter, since she makes no attempt at or pretense of presenting the truth, or even the facts. She does do a great job of producing through-the-roof ratings and whipping the public into a frenzy—with tragic consequences.

    The intense drama—both inside and outside the courtroom—builds to an unexpected climax in an unforgettable final chapter. Savannah Law is filled with colorful but believable characters, including a few cantankerous law professors, who demonstrate their vanity and eccentricities at the weekly faculty meetings. The novel will appeal to anyone who enjoys a legal thriller or Southern novel.

    Death Comes From Without. Amit is a member of the order of shadow monks, his every waking moment is spent training his body and mind to the peak of human ability - and beyond. But the order is pacifist, a repository for deadly weapons with their safeties permanently set to "on." Until everything is taken from him, and Amit decides that turning the other cheek is no longer an option. Now, every ounce of his training will be put to the test. His epic quest for revenge will see wrongs righted - or see Amit forgotten in an unmarked grave. Namaste includes Prelude, as well as the rest of the adventure. Join Amit as he chases Nisha's killer from boss to boss, all the way to the last place he ever expected. He will fight, and die if he must. What will be, will be. It's a Zen thing. ˃˃˃ Readers Love Realm & Sands. Here's What They're Saying About Namaste "Having read just about everything that these guys have written (separately and together), I absolutely loved it! Suspense, mystery, mysticism, monks, murder, love, fear, blood, revenge...just about anything you could imagine (all crammed into this one episode!). I'm still trying to wrap my brain around Amit. Do I love him? Do I hate him? Is he justified in his actions or a man gone over the edge? Knowing Sean and Johnny, no matter what I decide, they'll blow it out of the water! Can't wait to read more. Well done guys!""Screw these guys. I have things to do but I decided to load this just to check out a serial on kindle and now I'm hooked. My dogs need to be fed, I need to change the oil in my car and I'm not sure where my infant son is. But I know where I'll be for the foreseeable future: sitting on my ass reading the sequels.""Sean Platt, Johnny Truant, and David Wright are masters of their craft. They excel at taking all that is good and fun from episodic t.v. and monthly comics and crafting well written stories. Namaste is no exception. A tale of love, loss, and vengeance with their special skewed vision. Like the Punisher main character Amit is almost instantly likable and even before you learn his reasoning you know that he is justified in his pursuit. Like all of the authors books I look forward to the continuing adventures of Amit.""In Namaste, Platt and Truant deftly sketch out the background, setting, and characters of their latest serial with minimal description and brief snatches of dialog, keeping the action at a fever pitch in a high-intensity Hong Kong cinema style thriller. Punctuated by scenes of graphic violence, the experiment in non-linear storytelling is effective for this short action-oriented installment. Over the course of a longer story, the back-and-forth narrative flow might grow tedious or confusing, but here the approach lends a filmic flair to the introduction of "a pacifist monk on a rampage." Fans of Chow Yun Fat or John Woo films looking for a literary equivalent should appreciate this latest Platt & Truant effort." ˃˃˃ WARNING: Namaste is the most violent thing Realm & Sands has so far written. An Unlikely Tale of Vengeance Like Nothing You've Read!

    Then the FBI agent in charge of Paul's case gives him a clue to the mystery: Kilroy is bent on settling an old family score, and he's not above breaking the law to do it.Paul is already dealing with the death of his parents and divorce from a woman he still loves. Now, with the support of an alluring grand juror, Paul must expose the vindictive prosecutor's own corruption before the jury renders a verdict on his Osso Buco.

    The two months work will pay his debts, and give him space to sort out his personal demons. Except, the couple are at war, both having affairs, their marriage beyond salvage. The husband fires Jack, she takes him back on – and suddenly he is too involved with their scheming. Complicated further when he falls for her secretary. And when there’s a murder, using his tools as the weapon, Jack is prime suspect.

    Lila Stone’s patients are suddenly developing deadly infections and she can’t figure out why. Could it have anything to do with her secret double life? While she juggles her orthopedic practice, her sick patients, and her late night addiction, a new romance begins to bud. Lila’s complicated life, filled with highs, lows and designer clothes will take you on a wild ride into the intimate psyche of a woman who wants it all, but may not be ready to have it all.

    Simon was an abusive boss and had recently been on the warpath, clearing the "dead wood" from the legal firm he treated as his personal fiefdom. Nearly a thousand attorneys and associates, scattered across four continents, had good reason to want Rafer dead, but homicide Detective Spritz has his eye trained on Marbury Marfan partner Robert Tarza, in particular. Tarza and his friend and colleague---and maybe a bit more---Jenna are soon forced to play detective themselves, in a race to find the real killer or killers before Spritz finishes assembling a collection of evidence that will make a very credible case against Tarza.

    She’s a nobody. And that’s the way she likes it. Her father, on the other hand — Hank Keeling, the serial killer and occasional cannibal better known as the Pork Chop Killer — has just gone viral. Thanks to a prison guard’s error, a cell phone video of Keeling’s botched execution is quickly becoming an internet sensation. After watching her father die in all his pixelated glory, Caroline is taken off-guard when Keeling himself shows up at her front door, looking very much not dead. And he has a plan. A plan involving Caroline. A plan Caroline is going to take part in whether she wants to or not. Success means wealth beyond her dreams. Failure means death. Soon Caroline is whisked away from her bland life to face down killers, gangsters and a well-meaning cop in a hunt for long-lost fortune. Deceit, avarice and unrelenting violence collide in a coming-of-age story like none you’ve ever read.

    An innocent young girl is murdered in a heinous, unforgivable way. The only evidence against the killer is the full confession of his accomplice--another young girl he also victimized. But the accomplice is charged with the murder as well, which means she has the right to remain silent. And she's so scared of the killer, she refuses to take a deal to testify against him. Brunelle can't just let the murderer walk, but how can he get a conviction when he has no admissible evidence and the killer is protected by the PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE?

    His enemies want blood.And criminal defense attorney Tex Hunter is the only hope he has left.Robert Sulzberger appeared to have a perfect life—a respected position in the City Council, a lovely family, a house with all the trimmings—but behind the façade, his life was crumbling. Drawn into a world of crime and corruption, Sulzberger couldn’t find a way out. He couldn’t escape. And when he tried to walk away, he found himself behind bars.The trial captures the media’s attention and the dark forces of politics are thrown into the limelight. As the son of a convicted serial killer, Tex Hunter knows just how dangerous those forces can be.In the first instalment of the Tex Hunter novel series, Hunter battles against deception, fraud, and cover-ups; risking everything in the most difficult case of his career.Can justice triumph against corruption?Or will the dark side of politics bury the truth forever?This thrilling story will take you for a ride through the courtroom, and end with a twist that you didn’t see coming.

    As children, she and Emma Martin wandered into Heaven’s Bottom, an isolated Kentucky community cut off by the Ohio River and mountainous terrain. The two women share strange memories of the traumatic experience. Emma is convinced they witnessed a blood sacrifice and moon magic, surrounded by zombies. As a scientist, Olivia believes there’s a logical explanation.Detective Steven Lewis pursues his own investigation of the mysterious town. His wife, a social worker, fought her way into the Bottom to investigate suspected child abuse. She didn’t make it out alive. Haunted by grief and regret, Steven is obsessed with finding her killer. He’s convinced the murderer is hiding in the wild forest, camouflaged by the swirling mist.Olivia and Steven enter into an uneasy partnership to find Emma and solve his wife’s brutal murder. They contact Sheriff Noah McCracken, who holds the local law enforcement role that’s been passed down through his family for centuries. Like his ancestors, the sheriff ignores the chilling events in Heaven’s Bottom.Can Olivia and Steven convince Noah to “release the McCracken” in time to save their lives?SPECIAL BONUS: As a reader appreciation gift, “The Hand of Karma” mystery/horror short story is included FREE at the end of the book.

    A couple of years after Aaron Grant lost his wife and daughter in a fire, one of his daughter’s best friends, Sarah, is kidnapped. After spending the last two years as the town drunk, he reluctantly investigates the kidnapping along with the ambitious FBI Agent Teresa Daniels. The case takes several twists and turns, which will end up leaving the whole town of Wyatt in the wake of destruction. In the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, the sun never sets during the summer, but the light creates shadows, where anything can creep and kill.

    Then in a terrible irony her own son, Simon, is arrested and charged with a series of brutal rapes and murders. The evidence against him appears so strong that his QC advises a guilty plea, but Simon swears he is innocent and begs his mother take on his defence. There is no law against a mother representing her son, so Sarah agrees. The only other obvious suspect for the murders, however, is a man who has already been acquitted once - with Sarah acting as his defence lawyer ...Has Sarah, in her single-minded determination to create a career for herself, neglected her son so much that she no longer knows him? Since he has often lied to her in the past, how can she trust him when he says he is innocent this time? And what should she do when she herself uncovers evidence that seems to suggest his guilt?It seems that telling the whole truth must be weighed in the balance against keeping certain information well hidden ...