"Excellent legal thriller"
BILLY STROBE
John Martel
Dutton, Sep 2001, $25.95, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0525946187 Though his father committed suicide after being
convicted of criminal wrongdoing, Billy Strobe follows in
his legal footsteps. Billy leaves Enid, Oklahoma for UCLA
law school on a scholarship where he excels in his first
two years. However, he gets involved with four rich
students, who pull an insider trading con. When they are
caught the wealthy foursome plea bargain by accusing Billy
of setting up the scheme. The affluent quartet receives
probation while Billy goes to Soledad to do three to five
years. Billy quickly gets a taste of prison life as he meets
other prisoners some friendly, some not so, and some
outright dangerous. He soon becomes the jailhouse lawyer
while continuing his schooling through correspondence
classes. He particularly becomes interested in the case of
Darryl Orton. As he completes his degree and obtains a
pardon as a second chance poster boy, Billy plans to clear
his father's name and that of Darryl, both whom he believes
are victims of a horrendous system that he still believes
is the best. BILLY STROBE is an excellent legal thriller that leaves
readers wondering if this graphic novel is autobiographical
as John Martel paints an incredibly vivid picture of
prison. The story line is fast-paced and filled with
action as the idealistic but realistic Billy survives
prison and his return to society while working to prove
that his father and Darryl are victims of the system that
he admires. Mr. Martel is a marvelous author whose plot
seems distinctively real while probing the American legal
system. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted August 3, 2001
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