Degree of Guilt - by Richard North Patterson (Paperback)

About the Book

Now available in a tall Premium Edition, "Degree of Guilt" is a classic courtroom thriller grounded in the complicated relationship between attorney Christopher Paget and his client and former lover, Mary Carelli.

Book Synopsis

From one of the premiere thriller writers of our day, in the same league as Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, Nelson Demille, and Michael Connolly, comes Richard North Patterson's engrossing Degree of Guilt.

TV journalist Mary Carelli admits that she shot and killed Mark Ransom, one of the world's most famous authors. She claims it was self-defense. She swears he tried to rape her. Now she has to prove it in a court of law--with her former lover acting as her attorney...

Christopher Paget is one of the top lawyers in the country. But defending the mother of his son in the trial of the decade, he begins to have doubts. Is Mary telling the truth? Did she invent her story about the rape? What is she hiding? With each shocking revelation, Paget is forced to question his defense, his ethics, and the whole legal system. Because no one, not even the judge, is completely innocent. And guilt is a matter of degree...

From the Back Cover

"One intense courtroom clash after another...
An intelligent and gripping thriller."

--The Washington Post

TV journalist Mary Carelli admits that she shot and killed Mark Ransom, one of the world's most famous authors. She claims it was self-defense. She swears he tried to rape her. Now she has to prove it in a court of law--with her former lover acting as her attorney...

"Compulsively readable."--People

Christopher Paget is one of the top lawyers in the country. But defending the mother of his son
in the trial of the decade, he begins to have doubts. Is Mary telling the truth? Did she invent her story about the rape? What is she hiding? With each shocking revelation, Paget is forced to question his defense, his ethics, and the whole legal system. Because no one, not even the judge, is completely innocent. And guilt is a matter of degree...

"Electrifying."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Review Quotes

"A page-turner." --The New York Times Book Review

"Compulsively readable." --People

"One intense courtroom clash after another...An intelligent and gripping thriller." --The Washington Post

"Flamboyant and entertaining." --The Boston Globe

"Electrifying." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"One of the year's best thrillers...Superb characterizations and intense dialogue make this utterly compelling reading." --Library Journal

"Absorbing." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Richard North Patterson is the author of In The Name Of Honor, Eclipse, The Spire, Exile, The Race, Degree Of Guilt, Eyes Of A Child, Silent Witness, and many other bestselling and critically acclaimed novels. Formerly a trial lawyer, he was the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor, the assistant attorney general for the state of Ohio, and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups. In 1993, he retired from his law practice to devote himself to writing. His first novel, The Lasko Tangent, was the winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in 1980. He is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and is a recipient of their President's Award for Distinguished Alumni. He lives in Martha's Vineyard, San Francisco, and Cabo San Lucas with his wife, Dr. Nancy Clair.