Larry D. ThompsonReseñas

I must say that White Witch is a truly interesting book that started off great with a flashback to Annie Palmer tyranny before the story turned its focus on the present time and the Maroons struggle with an American aluminum company that is after their land. For someone like with pretty little knowledge of the history of Jamaica was this book awesome to read. I love getting to know the history of the Maroons, how they fought both the Spaniards and the Englishmen for their freedom and won. Now they once again have to fight against a powerful enemy, a company after their land.

The beginning of the book really made it out to be more of a horror book than a thriller with a lot of strange things going on. I would have loved it to be more of a horror book than a thriller actually. Still, I found the plot to be interesting with murders being done with snake daggers, the same kind that is said that Annie Palmer, the White Witch, had used to kill with.

I also liked how ex-Navy SEAL Will Taylor and his team more and more realized that they are working for the wrong side and I liked this change and what it brought on as Will and Vertise Broderick, a journalist who is also a Maroon decides to hire an attorney to fight for their cause in the court. The question is will they be able to prove that the land is the Maroons?

White Witch is a book that gave me a lot in return. I got an interesting story and I also gained some insight into the history of Jamaica and the Maroons.

This book, being about a topic that is very important to me, definitely held my interest. However, I was disappointed with the ending. It also had a little foul language, which I did not know was going to be in there. As a sincere conservative, I also didn't like the way the preacher was portrayed in this book, but that's just my personal view. I would have liked to see this conservative character portrayed as a sincere conservative rather than the hypocrite this character was. I would have given it 2 1/2 stars if goodreads had half star ratings. Why don't they have 1/2 star ratings on this site?

I began reading this delicious novel about voodoo and Jamaica and I couldn’t help but think of James Michener. Granted, James went much further in his historical novels, but Larry gave him a run for his money in White Witch.

We begin in 1812 Jamaica. Annie Palmer is not only a sadistic plantation owner, she is a black widow. She mates and she kills. She is an Obeah priestess, the White Witch.

I love the Caribbean. It is my favorite travel destination. To me, nothing compares to the raw beauty and power of the islands. The mix of the old and the new draws me into the mix of the tumultuous world of voodoo and bauxite mining, greed and history will be bumping heads in a big way. For some reason, lately I have been reading a lot of books that deal with mining…and it is never in a good way. Is it a current theme in the publishing and writing world? No matter, I am eager to begin.

Will is rough, tough, a o nonsense kind of guy. Right off you know better than to push him too far. He’s a decorated Seal and he’s head of security for Global American Metals. I start off not liking the guy. Can he redeem himself in my eyes? We shall see.

He’s sent to Jamaica to smooth the ruffled feathers of the Maroons, who have plenty to say about the strip mining of their tropical rain forest.

A tropical rain forest, an unhappy nation of Maroons, a curse, voodoo, and now a dead body. Let’s rock!

All the ugliness of corporate greed rears its ugly head. The only reason I am not super ticked off is because I believe the destruction of the rain forest, at least if Annie has anything to say about it, will never happen.

It takes a novel like this to make some people think about the environment, let alone a rain forest. I love when novels contain important elements of real life, making them more believable.

White Witch by Larry D Thompson is so much more than what I was expecting. The twisting and turning, the mystery and danger, the tension and suspense kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I love when an author can incorporate fact and fiction with a little mysticism into an adventure that makes me see an exotic tropical island in a new light. I knew some of Jamaica’s history from reading and visiting this world tropical paradise. That makes it easier to get lost in the story.

I voluntarily reviewed a free ARC of White Witch by Larry D Thompson.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com

Halloween parties are fun … right? Well, you may want to be thankful you weren’t invited to this one. Walt Frazier, part of Texas Governor Lardner’s protective detail, brought in additional security for this Halloween party / Republican fund raiser event. The event is expected to pull in pledges in excess of a hundred million. Jackson (Jack) Bryant is Walt’s former army buddy. Walt calls him because he’s got an excellent eye for detail. With the attendants being the very elite; politicians, and Senator Sinclair, security precautions are necessary.

Even with the heightened security, Miriam Van Zandt manages, with the help from an insider, to get into the party. She’s dressed as a cat burglar. When the timing is right, she makes her move, killing one of the guards and Edward Hale and injuring the Governor. Another guard manages to wound her. She makes it back to her car and to a motel where she can clean her wound and alter her appearance. She’s a marksman and daughter of the founder of The Alamo Defenders, a militia group and very anti-government.

What a great beginning. The reader is given so much information, but yet what we don’t know is just as intriguing. In Texas, people are allowed to carry weapons. Add to that balloons popping, Annie Oakley firing her rifle (blanks), pirates with swords, and vampires with knives and you have a security detail nightmare. The plot is plausible and the action impressive and fast-paced. It becomes a ‘follow the money’ investigation with the story being told from various points of view. Rating: 4 out of 5.

After a successful career as a trial attorney, Jack Bryant retires to his hometown of Fort Worth and opens up a pro bono practice out of a motorhome. He expects to help poor people with their legal issues, but nothing prepares him for what happens when The Alamo Defenders, a West Texas anti-government militia group wages a murderous attack at a Halloween themed political fundraiser event. Jack's ensuing investigation exposes the wide corruption of money in politics that will put Jack in a great deal of danger.

Dark Money is a riveting legal thriller that will captivate the reader from the start, and keep them sitting on the edge of their seat until the surprising conclusion. Author Larry D. Thompson utilizes his extensive professional experience as a trial attorney to weave a gritty tale written in the third person narrative that follows attorney Jack Bryant when he is appointed special prosecutor after a deadly attack at a political fundraising event by a West Texas anti-government militia group opens up a huge can of worms as he investigates and uncovers the accumulation of "dark money" (large political donations set up in a special fund governed under Section 501 (c) (4) of the Revenue Code via the US Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, while exposing the widespread corruption in politics.

This fast paced, action filled legal thriller easily engages the reader with a mixture of murder plots, investigative twists and turns, suspense and riveting courtroom drama. In reading Dark Money, the reader is transported into the middle of this gripping tale where they will learn about chilling true-to-life corruption in politics that is simply mind-numbing and will give them goosebumps.

With an intriguing cast of characters; witty dialogue; dramatic interactions; and a complex storyline that has just enough courtroom drama to satisfy legal eagles, while providing plenty of corruption, politics, murder and mystery that will easily keep the reader in suspense until the final piece of the puzzle clicks into place in a surprising ending; Dark Money is a thoroughly powerful, compelling, and chilling legal thriller that you won't be able to put down!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

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First half of the book is sluggish. Although writers must work up backstory, it’s always a mistake to just chuck it at the reader. Once the trial gets going, things pick up and the writing is enjoyable. Not entirely sure how much you could really get away with in court, even in Texas, but there’s enough verisimilitude of the process that I was willing to suspend disbelief. One thing I applaud heartily: the focus on the plight of the mentally ill in our society. My beloved daughter-in-law has a sister with paranoid schizophrenia, so we’ve had experience as a family dealing with this tragedy that afflicts young adults. The book presents a better eventual outcome than is usual, but the picture presented of the course of the illness is devastatingly accurate. The serial killer is also interesting in a chilling way. So, plod or skim through the parts that should have been trimmed, and enjoy the story.

Dan Little is a paranoid schizophrenic living on the streets. He used to have a wonderful career as a lawyer, had a loving wife, and a supportive family. He's now divorced, homeless, self-medicates with alcohol, constantly hears voices, and no longer has any contact with his mother or brother. When Dan stumbles across a body on the seawall in Galveston and steals a bracelet from the body, he is arrested for the murder. His younger brother Wayne Little, an up-and-coming attorney in Houston hears the news he vows to remain dissociated with his brother until he discusses the issue with his friends, Duke, Claudia, and Rita. Once Wayne begins to look into the case, he realizes that his brother, if guilty, should not be held accountable due to his mental illness. With the help of Duke and Claudia, fellow attorneys, and computer investigator Rita, Wayne quickly comes to realize that the only hope for his brother is a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect or the infamous insanity plea. What Wayne quickly finds out is the insanity plea in the state of Texas may not be a valid defense even with years of documentation proving mental illness. Will Wayne and his friends be able to research the senseless killing in Galveston and link it to other killings around the United States and Mexico before it's too late?

I found The Insanity Plea to be a quick and enjoyable read. Part legal thriller and part psychological thriller, this story spotlights the problem with the mental health system in our country as well as the lack of uniformity in the use of the insanity plea. Dan's mental illness is shown without any apologies. It shows how disturbing and destructive some mental illnesses can be on the friends and family as well as the individual. This isn't a mystery because you know who the murderer is throughout the book, but reading about the murders and the rationale for them by the murderer was just as interesting as reading about Dan's struggles with his disease. There are good guys and bad guys in this story (read the book to find out who the bad guy is . . . he wears the perfect disguise). All of the characters and scenarios I found to be wholly realistic. Mr. Thompson has crafted a story that kept me turning the page simply to find out what happens next (I love that in a thriller). Although there are obvious shades of grey in the legal system, The Insanity Plea, does an admirable job in showing that some of these gradations are insensible. If you enjoy reading legal thrillers, psychological thrillers, or just plan thrillers, you'll definitely want to add The Insanity Plea to your TBR list. The Insanity Plea is the latest thriller by Mr. Thompson; I look forward to reading his previous books and hope to see more from him in the future.½

Let me waste no time letting you know that I absolutely loved this book. The characters appealed to me, the plot was scary but fun, the settings were great, everything in short was to my liking.

The story is at the same time an intelligent discourse on the appropriateness and impossibilities of the insanity plea. A paranoid schizophrenic, not under treatment at the time, is arrested and charged with murder. The case against him is very strong, particularly since he found a diamond bracelet on the body and put it in his pocket. His name is Dan Little and he lives on the streets of Galveston where he was an outstanding quarterback in high school. He had gone on to become an attorney but then was struck down with his mental illness. He hears voices that tell him what to do.

Dan's brother, Wayne, is also a lawyer in Houston. His best friend Duke is a former NBA star and current criminal lawyer, and along with Duke's girlfriend Claudia plus Wayne's next door neighbor Rita, they call themselves the posse. Wayne takes his brother's case along with the posse and they take advantage of his mother's hospitality to set up shop in Galveston for the trial. I could almost hear the waves as they walked along the seawall there. You'll be very fond of Mrs. Little, as I was.

This story has one of the most frightening villains I've read about in a long time. He's brilliant and totally amoral so one can only hope he will be brought up short by his confidence that he's smarter than anyone else. A member of the posse finds herself one of his targets; that aspect of the book really had me in goosebumps.

Highly recommended
Source: Partners in Crime Book Tours

This is the story of Dan, a paranoid schizophrenic accused of murdering a woman and his attorney brother, Wayne, who is determined to prove his innocence or if necessary to prove his insanity. This is a great story that I really didn't want to put down but due to things interfering such as earning a paycheck I had to stop and go with the book. It's an exciting story that tells us how difficult it is for an attorney to prove his client is insane at the time of the crime.

The characters are fantastic, especially loved the Judge. He is practical and realistic. Dan is also an interesting guy...did I mention he used to be a successful attorney? Mental illness is such a terrible thing, most people are afraid of anyone diagnosed with schizophrenia or other mental diseases. I hope books like this will inspire people to get involved in finding a cure. Well done Larry Thompson!

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Every now and then a riveting legal thriller comes along that captivates my attention from beginning to end, The Insanity Plea by author Larry D. Thompson is that book. The author calls upon his extensive legal expertise to weave a thoroughly engrossing and bone chilling tale that takes the reader inside the cold and calculating mind of a serial killer, interweaving it within the world of the mentally ill.

Set in the Galveston / Houston area, a group of amateur sleuths led by Houston trial lawyer Wayne Little, doggedly tracks down a serial killer while trying to save Dan, his mentally ill paranoid schizophrenic brother from being framed with the murder of a young nurse who was brutally killed while jogging on Galveston's seawall. With an air tight prosecution case, can Wayne save his brother from prison, or will his best defense be an insanity pleas?

The author utilizes his legal experience to provide the reader with some serious courtroom drama that will keep the reader riveted, while also drawing them into the gripping search for the serial killer that will keep them sitting on the edge of their seats until the surprising conclusion. I could easily see The Insanity Plea being made into a television or big screen movie.

Author Larry D. Thompson is a fine legal thriller author who knows how to craft a well written and provocative story. His attention to detail easily draws the reader in and keeps them engaged and guessing what will happen next as the fast paced and heart pounding story unfolds with suspenseful twists and turns. I was intrigued by his in depth look into the issue of mental illness, it provides much food for thought on how the mentally ill are treated by the US legal system.

If you are looking for an exciting legal thriller that will easily transport you into the heart of this nail biting story, while keeping you turning the pages, then The Insanity Plea is the book for you. The author sure does know how to take his readers on one hell of a thrilling roller coaster ride!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-insanity-plea-by-larry-d-t...

After a successful career as a trial attorney, Jack Bryant is ready to retire to his hometown of Fort Worth to kick back, relax, and watch his son play college football at TCU. But Jack has a hard time settling into retirement, so he opens up a pro bono practice out of a motorhome. He expects to be helping poor people with their legal issues, but nothing prepares him for what happens after an elderly woman shows up with an unexpected life insurance check that is the beneficiary payment from her husband's untimely death. Jack's ensuing investigation reveals a murder for hire scheme that involves unexplained deaths that puts Jack and his love interest in a great deal of danger.

Dead Peasants is a riveting legal thriller that captivates the reader from the start, and keeps them sitting on the edge of their seat until the surprising conclusion. Author Larry D. Thompson utilizes his extensive professional experience as a trial attorney to weave a gritty tale written in the third person narrative that follows attorney Jack Bryant as he investigates an illegal insurance scheme linked to several unexplained deaths of policy holders that opens up a huge can of worms and will ultimately put his own life in danger.

This fast paced, action filled story engages the reader with a mixture of murder plots, investigative twists and turns, suspense and riveting courtroom drama. The author enlightens the reader by describing what a dead peasant insurance policy is: it is a life insurance policy taken out by the employer on an employee's life without their knowledge. The policy is not terminated when the employee leaves the company, it continues until the person's death, with the premium being paid to the company as the primary beneficiary. In reading Dead Peasants, the reader is transported into the middle of this gripping tale where they will learn about chilling true-to-life illegal schemes that are simply mind-numbing and will give them goosebumps.

With an intriguing cast of characters; witty dialogue; dramatic interactions; and a complex storyline that has just enough courtroom drama to satisfy legal eagles, while providing plenty of murder and mystery that will keep the reader in suspense until the final piece of the puzzle clicks into place in a surprising ending; Dead Peasants is a thoroughly powerful, compelling, and chilling legal thriller that you won't be able to put down!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2013/05/dead-peasants-by-larry-d-thomp...

This legal thriller, Dead Peasants by Larry D. Thompson threw me for a loop. After reading a bit, I started searching wildly for more information via the Internet. I wasn't aware of Dead Peasants Life Insurance Policies before,

The title of this book betrays the secret practice of many corporations taking out life insurance policies on its employees and profiting when they die. I did work for a corporation that did that while I was working. So I wonder will that company profit after I die. This situation makes a great base for a mystery. I am not to spoil it for you with very many details.

Mystery, suspense, intrigue, murder, big money, a great courtroom scene and a blooming love interest are what make this book great. My only negative is that I wanted a little more character depth for Jackson Douglas Bryant and Colby Stripling. The feelings are there but I just wanted more detail. That does not mean that I didn't love this book. This book is definitely a page turner.

Jack is a very successful lawyer who likes to take risks in the courtroom.
He played his legal cards right and made a lot of money. So when he retires he wants to go back to Fort Worth to show the people in his high school that he made a success of himself. He wants to connect with his son, and watch him play football in college. He wants a more relaxed life.

He bought house to enjoy his realtor and later interior decorator are drawn to each other but not without problems. When Jack is contacted by a widow who mistakenly receives a check made out to her dead husband's former employer. He and Colby become targets of a killer.

I highly recommend Dead Peasants for all who love thrillers and want to learn about a chilling business practice.

I received an e-book copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial renumeration was received.

This legal thriller came out last October and I can't believe I hadn't heard about it earlier. However, thanks to Partners in Crime Tours I have now read it, to the detriment of household chores.

Jack Bryant is a very wealthy man due to a successful career as a plaintiff attorney in many cases against large corporations. He was brilliant at getting huge settlements in those cases and of course his share of the settlement was sizable. After his last case, he suddenly announced that he was retiring. His son was set to play football for TCU, and you know how Texans love their football, so he was moving to Fort Worth to enjoy life and watch his son's games.

The early part of the book where he is settling into an expensive house, becoming intrigued with the beautiful realtor, meeting up with his son J.R., and where we learn about all of his cars, truck, RV, etc. is my least favorite part. Then the story picks up as he becomes bored with retirement and sets up a pro bono legal practice in his RV in a poor section of town, thereby stirring up all kinds of trouble with the people who had been taking advantage of the poor.

That's when I decided I liked this guy and the story pulled me in like a fish on a hook. I had no idea what "dead peasants" meant and was interested in the story of what that phrase has to do with taking money rightfully due unknowing people. I was fooled for most of the book; Thompson led me right down the garden path to the wrong conclusion, but in retrospect I saw all the clues I had missed. Love a book like that.

Larry Thompson is an attorney who lives in Texas so the setting and the legalities come from an author who knows what he's writing about. I enjoyed the feeling of being in Texas throughout the story.

Recommended reading
Source: Author via Partners in Crime Tours

Begin with a greedy pharmaceutical company. Add a sympathetic victim, her father-lawyer, a small town, a corrupt bureaucrat, a bombing, a murder, a kidnapping, some courtroom theatrics – and middle aged guys on Harley-Davidsons – and that’s what you have in The Trial. Overall, a well-paced, attention maintaining, (modest) thriller, this novel is combination family drama (father and daughter somewhat estranged rediscover how much they respect and love each other) and David and Goliath (big pharma pushes very profitable antibiotic despite clear evidence of its danger and small town lawyer takes them on). Good and justice prevail.

A little more editing, especially in some of the dialogue, would improve the flow, but overall, it works fine.

A John Grisham page-turner this is not, but it is entertaining and engrossing. Clear from the get-go what the end result has to be, it keeps the reader engaged with a few twists and turns and more detail on the litigation process than customary.

Thanks to the author, and Library Thing Member Giveaway for the chance to read and review this book.

I recieved this through the member giveaways. I enjoyed the premise and the style of writing, but being British, I did struggle with some of the more American terminology that was used in places. Although the brief and numerous chapters helped keep things moving I feel that the book was lacking something; a second read through has not helped clarify what though. I'm going to sit on the fence with this one and don't think I'll be recommending it to anyone else.½

At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this book and I don’t regularly read stories about lawyers and trials, but this one was good. This book was similar to a Grisham novel. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was quite good. It went right down to the wire as to which way the outcome was going to go. It was a compelling, fast-moving story that I got emotionally involved in without realizing it. It could have involved more romance or sex, but it wasn't necessary; it could have involved more action and physical drama, but that wasn't necessary either.

Mr. Thompson is an author I will keep my eye open for in the future.

Luke Vaughan gave up his fast track, ulcer causing career as a trial lawyer to start a small practice in his home town of San Marcos, Texas. When his teenage daughter, Samantha rebels at the lifestyle changes, Luke finds he has traded an ulcer for a major headache. Years of alienation follow until Samantha starts college. In order to make a few dollars, Sam signs up for a clinical drug trial of a major new medication being administered through a rather shady local doctor"s office. The drug is touted to be a promising rival to the current crop of antibiotics on the market. In a matter of weeks, Sam starts exhibiting signs of illness indicative of liver failure. As the symptoms rapidly worsen, Luke convinces Sam that they should sue the doctor and the drug company to recover enough money to pay for a liver transplant. What they don't know is that the drug company fronted by Dr. Kingsbury, is risking billions of dollars on this new drug and will stop at nothing, including bribing an official in the Food and Drug Administration, to see it succeed. Lies, bribery, threats, violence and perhaps worse are all options in his quest for success. The trial that ensues will test the limits of friendship and family for Luke and Samantha. I found the scenario interesting, even compelling. The small town lawyer fights the multinational drug company in order to get his dying daughter enough money to pay for a liver transplant. I thought the relationships as expressed through the dialog were weak at times. I didn't find any singular twists or surprises that would raise the story above an average courtroom suspense drama. The story was solid, but I just didn't feel it had the spark to make it exceptional. The book was provided for review by the author.

The stress of being a Houston trial lawyer is getting to Luke Vaughn, so he decides a lifestyle change is in order. He and his teenage daughter, Samantha, move to his hometown of San Marcos, Texas. There, he works in an office at home, mainly on wills and contracts. He develops a romantic interest with a girl from his school days, and his relationship with his daughter improves dramatically. Small-town life seems to agree with the pair until Samantha gets sick. She's diagnosed with hepatitis as a result of a clinical trial she participated in for money. When Luke gets the news that she needs a new liver, he decides to sue the pharmaceutical company for enough money to pay for Samantha's care. With each passing day, Luke and his team (which includes his girlfriend and an eccentric history professor, Whizmo)uncover more and more dark secrets about Ceventa, the pharmaceutical giant that produced the drug. The plot includes murder-for-hire, kidnapping, payoffs to the FDA, and other twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night.

It's hard to read this book and not compare it to John Grisham. The small-town trial lawyer who goes up against a big-city firm is a common theme. What makes this book so outstanding are (1)the characters, and (2)the suspense. Larry Thompson has gathered an interesting group of characters who are so real, it's hard not to become absorbed in their story. Whizmo is unforgettable, and the kind of history professor I wish I'd had. As Samantha's condition deteriorates, it is described in such detail (particularly the scene where the doctor has to remove fluid from her abdomen) that as a reader, you now have a vested interest in the trial's outcome.

The conclusion (for both the trial and the novel) comes as no surprise, but all the same it is satisfying. I fell in love with these characters and would gladly read another story about a father-daughter practice involving these same characters (hint hint, Mr. Thompson?).½

A courtroom drama here, The Trial concerns a case between a small town lawyer who defends his daughter against a powerful drugs company.

The scene is set well with an opening prologue detailing two incidents integral to the plot. We are then transported back in time to learn about the main characters. Chapters follow both the lawyer and his daughter and running parallel to those we have the chapters about the pharmaceutical company and its drug production and tests. This background continues for half the book until the two strands meet each other and then the rest of the book concerns the resulting courtroom clash.

The writing is concise and fluid with decent dialogue and the author certainly knows his way around the American courtroom system- I learned a lot about this. The plot is predictable although this does not detract from the enjoyment of the story.I would have liked the characters to have a little more depth to them and to not perhaps be so black and white, good or evil. It also seemed that the case was always a foregone conclusion and there are some out of character collapses of testimony in the witness stand towards the very end of the book.

I read this book over two days and I did enjoy it there is no doubt about it. It was however like watching a tv courtroom drama movie on a Sunday afternoon. Tell me the name of the film and I will tell you the plot line. Predictable but well written nonetheless. Many thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy.½