Stay of Execution - Tapa dura

For Sudden Impact: Wood's engaging investigative thriller starts off with a bang, as beloved Sacramento police officer and local hero Tommy Ensor is killed in a late-night hit-and-run in front of the California state capitol building. The driver is charitable and good-natured Judge Frank Stevenson, who happens to be preparing for a meteoric rise through the ranks of California's justice system at the time of the accident. With so much to lose, Stevenson exhausts every available option at his disposal in an attempt to cover his tracks, but detectives Terry Nye and Rose Tafoya-along with the rest of the city's police department-are determined to track down the assailant. Meanwhile, assistant chiefs of police Jerry Nishimoto and Lou Altlander vie for the soon-to-be-vacated spot at the head of the department, threatening to turn the investigation into a political charade. Wood (Stay of Execution) is a must-read for those who love a classic, hard-boiled detective novel. (Feb.)

"Wood delivers a compelling moral tale disguised as an intelligent legal thriller." --Publishers Weekly "No one writes a better police procedural than Bill Wood." --John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Juror and The Hunt Club "William P. Wood . . . knows the intricacies and ironies of the legal system. He also knows how to employ them to weave a compelling story." --San Diego Union "William P. Wood, a former prosecutor, knows well how to surprise and engross us." --Vincent Bugliosi, international bestselling author of Helter Skelter "Wood clearly knows the inner workings of the judicial system." --Publishers Weekly "What Joseph Wambaugh did for law enforcement, William P. Wood will do for the judiciary." --Tulsa World

Small-time operator Bobby Carnes took a shot at a big score, setting up a major drug sale with some high rollers in Marina del Ray. He went in with a few bags of crank-methamphetamine and a .44 and walked out a stone-cold killer: a suitcase full of cash in his hands and four bodies in his wake. Now Carnes is up for trial, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Keegan has decided to prosecute the case himself, prompted by his own private anguish. It’s a move that guarantees him media coverage in a brutal reelection campaign—a strategy that could easily backfire. For Keegan’s star witness is running scared, and if he loses the case, a brutal murderer will go free . . . and all of George Keegan’s dreams will turn to dust.