The Wrong Side - (Bocephus Haynes) by Robert Bailey (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A battle-worn lawyer fights for a young man's life in this criminally enthralling legal thriller.

Teen pop star Brittany Crutcher is found dead in small-town Tennessee. For attorney Bocephus Haynes, it's just another night in Pulaski. Bo swore off criminal work after his last case, but the beloved singer's murder demands answers.

The prime suspect is local high school football hero and the victim's boyfriend, Odell Champagne. However, this fallen athlete is one of Bo's son's best friends. Bo knows this young man and does not believe him capable of the crime.

When Odell is charged with murder, Bo reluctantly takes the case, sparking outrage throughout the town. But as Bo follows the evidence, he learns that the victim made decisions in her last hours that would give powerful forces motive to harm her. Feeling mounting pressure from the community and the DA, Bo forges ahead. But as the seconds count down, he wonders whether justice is even possible.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Wrong Side

"Bailey expertly ratchets up the suspense as the plot builds to a surprise punch ending. Readers will impatiently await the next in the series." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Social tensions redoubled by race intensify a workmanlike mystery." --Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Robert Bailey

"The Professor is that rare combination of thrills, chills, and heart. Gripping from the first page to the last." --Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump

"Robert Bailey is a thriller writer to reckon with. His debut novel has a tight and twisty plot, vivid characters, and a pleasantly down-home sensibility that will remind some readers of adventures in Grisham-land. Luckily, Robert Bailey is an original, and his skill as a writer makes the Alabama setting all his own. The Professor marks the beginning of a very promising career." --Mark Childress, author of Georgia Bottoms and Crazy in Alabama

"Taut, page turning, and smart, The Professor is a legal thriller that will keep readers up late as the twists and turns keep coming. Set in Alabama, it also includes that state's greatest icon, one Coach Bear Bryant. In fact, the Bear gets things going with the energy of an Alabama kickoff to Auburn. Robert Bailey knows his state, and he knows his law. He also knows how to write characters that are real, sympathetic, and surprising. If he keeps writing novels this good, he's got quite a literary career before him." --Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys/October Sky, a New York Times number-one bestseller

"Bailey's solid second McMurtrie and Drake legal thriller (after 2014's The Professor)...provides enough twists and surprises to keep readers turning the pages." --Publishers Weekly

"A gripping legal suspense thriller of the first order, Between Black and White clearly displays author Robert Bailey's impressive talents as a novelist. An absorbing and riveting read from beginning to end." --Midwest Book Reviews

"Take a murder, a damaged woman, and a desperate daughter, and you have the recipe for The Last Trial, a complex and fast-paced legal thriller. Highly recommended." --D. P. Lyle, award-winning author

"The Final Reckoning is explosive and displays every element of a classic thriller: fast pacing, strong narrative, fear, misery, and transcendence. Bailey proves once more that he is a fine writer with an instinct for powerful white-knuckle narrative." --Southern Literary Review

"A stunning discovery, a triple twist, and dramatic courtroom scenes all make for a riveting, satisfying read in what might well be Bailey's best book to date...Legacy of Lies is a grand story with a morality-tale vibe, gripping and thrilling throughout. It showcases Bailey once more as a writer who knows how to keep the suspense high, the pacing fast, the narrative strong, the characters compellingly complex, and his plot full of white-knuckle tension and twists." --Southern Literary Review

"Inspiring...Sharp in its dialogue, real with its relationships, and fascinating in details of the game, The Golfer's Carol is that rarest of books--one you will read and keep for yourself while purchasing multiple copies for friends." --Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Noticer and The Traveler's Gift