Misdemeanor Man
A Novel
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Gordon Seegerman is a reluctant public defender by day and the Barry-obsessed singer in a Manilow cover band by night. When a routine misdemeanor case exposes corruption among his city's most prominent citizens, Seegerman finds himself having to act like a real lawyer for the first time in his life. Irresistible and irreverent, Misdemeanor Man will have you on the edge of your seat, rooting for the underdog and believing in the magic of Manilow.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In criminal defense lawyer Schaffer's first novel, a disappointing attempt at a comic legal thriller, a California public defender is shouldered with a routine flasher case that quickly complicates his life. "Misdo-man" Gordon Seegerman is overworked but unambitious; his passions lie with Barry X and the Mandys, his Barry Manilow cover band, and he worries that the case will interfere with the biggest gig of his musical career. Seegerman loses hope for a speedy disposal of the case when he faces his formidable ex-girlfriend, Sylvie, the ADA prosecuting the "willy wanker," Harold Dunn. She discovers Dunn's history of lewd behavior and presses for extended prison time, but Dunn refuses a plea and claims he was set up. Then the accused is bailed out by a mysterious friend, and one of the chief witnesses winds up dead. In the meantime, Seegerman stumbles onto a shady charitable organization named G-O-Dan that may connect everyone, and uncovers property investment shenanigans. Schaffer peoples the novel with an oddball but stereotypical cast: Seegerman's band, a standard array of socially disenfranchised, talented musicians who help him solve the case; the suspect local legal establishment; and Seegerman's Alzheimer's-addled father, a former police detective. Schaffer aims for comedy throughout (e.g., Seegerman's near-pathological devotion to Barry Manilow), but the book's illogical plot turns and awkward structure make for a wearying read that devolves into a contrived narrative of a misdemeanor trial.