Errors and Omissions
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Publisher Description
An astonishing novel of legal and moral suspense from Paul Goldstein, a stunning new legal literary talent.Meet Michael Seeley, a take-no-prisoners intellectual property litigator–and a man on the brink of personal and career collapse. So when United Pictures virtually demands that he fly out to Hollywood to confirm legally that they own the rights to their corporate cash-cow franchise of Spykiller films, he has little choice but to comply. What he discovers in these gilded precincts will plunge him headfirst into the tangled politics of the blacklisting era and then into the even darker world of Nazi-occupied Poland. Drawing on historical fact and legal scholarship, this is a breathless tale of deception and intrigue.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Goldstein, a Stanford law professor, takes a tired legal thriller convention for his debut the alcoholic attorney staring into a personal and professional abyss and spins out a fresh, sharp-witted drama about Hollywood's blacklist. Intellectual property lawyer Michael Seeley takes a case that could be his swan song: arguing that United Pictures, a huge movie studio, still has the rights to its cash cow, the Spykiller series, now coming up on its eighth installment. What appeared to be a simple legal brief, however, takes Seeley back to the Hollywood of the 1950s when blacklisted writers were forced to conceal their identity to sell scripts a practice that muddies the Spykiller pedigree for United. Soon, Seeley finds himself in a violent tug-of-war among studio bosses, the screenwriter's union and long-forgotten blacklist victims. Sharp dialogue and a well-formed main character more than make up for a shortage of action and a finale that could use a bit more kick. Goldstein, who does a fine job of breaking down complicated moral, ethical and historical issues to understandable nuggets, has laid the foundation for what could be a strong franchise.
