First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

P.I. Holland Taylor returns in the fifth book in David Housewright's Edgar Award-winning series, First Kill the Lawyers.

Five prominent Minnesota attorneys have had their computer systems hacked and very sensitive case files stolen. Those attorneys are then contacted by an association of local whistleblowers known as NIMN and are quietly alerted that they have received those documents from an anonymous source. If those files are released, not only will those lawyers be ruined, but it might even destroy the integrity of the entire Minnesota legal system. This group of lawyers turns to Private Investigator Holland Taylor with a simple directive: stop the disclosure any way you can.

But while the directive is simple, the case is not. To find the missing files and the person responsible, Taylor must first dive into the five cases covered in the files-divorce, bribery, class action, rape, and murder. While Taylor is untangling the associates and connections between the cases and families affected, things take another mysterious turn and the time before the files are released is running out. As the situation becomes more threatening, Holland Taylor is trapped in the middle of what is legal and what is ethical-between right, wrong, and deadly.

Critical Acclaim for First Kill the Lawyers

"Clearly David Housewright, a former President of the Private Eye Writers of America, knows his stuff. Just open the pages of this noggin-spinning page-turner, and you're sure to catch a strong whiff of private eyes past: a nod to the swirling plot complexities (and dysfunctional familial Strum und Drang) of Ross Macdonald, goosed by the cold-blooded pragmatism of Hammett (or is it the brutal expediency of Spillane?), and tempered by the battered romanticism and world-weary cynicism of Chandler...This is real detective work, an honest-to-goodness PI procedural...If the plotting were any tighter it would squeak...(Taylor is) the decent Everyman wading through a rising tide of sewage, clinging to his ideals, but practical as spit..." -Mystery Scene Magazine

"Housewright's best: fast-paced with funny dialogue and interesting characters combined with thoughtful discussions of grey areas in the law, lawyers' responsibilities and how individuals cross-or do not cross-ethical lines...Holland Taylor is an interesting character. He likes women and doesn't hesitate to enjoy consensual relationships. He walks ethical lines but just barely, and he has a French lop-eared rabbit named Ogilvy. All the secondary characters in this crime thriller are believable and fleshed-out..." -St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In Edgar winner Housewright's gripping fifth Holland Taylor mystery...savvy, empathetic Taylor and some of his attorney clients grapple with questions about the conflict between professional requirements and personal ethics. Housewright draws the Twin Cities with lovingly detailed strokes. Gripping...This tightly plotted installment with its many twists will satisfy both series fans and newcomers." -Publishers Weekly

"Minneapolis private eye Holland Taylor is called on to bail out the only people in the Twin Cities more morally compromised than he is: members of the bar...readers are advised just to hang on for the ride and not to sweat the small stuff, like who killed whom and how come. An irresistible premise and a fast-moving plot carry Housewright's latest along for a miraculously extended flight..." -Kirkus Reviews

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First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

P.I. Holland Taylor returns in the fifth book in David Housewright's Edgar Award-winning series, First Kill the Lawyers.

Five prominent Minnesota attorneys have had their computer systems hacked and very sensitive case files stolen. Those attorneys are then contacted by an association of local whistleblowers known as NIMN and are quietly alerted that they have received those documents from an anonymous source. If those files are released, not only will those lawyers be ruined, but it might even destroy the integrity of the entire Minnesota legal system. This group of lawyers turns to Private Investigator Holland Taylor with a simple directive: stop the disclosure any way you can.

But while the directive is simple, the case is not. To find the missing files and the person responsible, Taylor must first dive into the five cases covered in the files-divorce, bribery, class action, rape, and murder. While Taylor is untangling the associates and connections between the cases and families affected, things take another mysterious turn and the time before the files are released is running out. As the situation becomes more threatening, Holland Taylor is trapped in the middle of what is legal and what is ethical-between right, wrong, and deadly.

Critical Acclaim for First Kill the Lawyers

"Clearly David Housewright, a former President of the Private Eye Writers of America, knows his stuff. Just open the pages of this noggin-spinning page-turner, and you're sure to catch a strong whiff of private eyes past: a nod to the swirling plot complexities (and dysfunctional familial Strum und Drang) of Ross Macdonald, goosed by the cold-blooded pragmatism of Hammett (or is it the brutal expediency of Spillane?), and tempered by the battered romanticism and world-weary cynicism of Chandler...This is real detective work, an honest-to-goodness PI procedural...If the plotting were any tighter it would squeak...(Taylor is) the decent Everyman wading through a rising tide of sewage, clinging to his ideals, but practical as spit..." -Mystery Scene Magazine

"Housewright's best: fast-paced with funny dialogue and interesting characters combined with thoughtful discussions of grey areas in the law, lawyers' responsibilities and how individuals cross-or do not cross-ethical lines...Holland Taylor is an interesting character. He likes women and doesn't hesitate to enjoy consensual relationships. He walks ethical lines but just barely, and he has a French lop-eared rabbit named Ogilvy. All the secondary characters in this crime thriller are believable and fleshed-out..." -St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In Edgar winner Housewright's gripping fifth Holland Taylor mystery...savvy, empathetic Taylor and some of his attorney clients grapple with questions about the conflict between professional requirements and personal ethics. Housewright draws the Twin Cities with lovingly detailed strokes. Gripping...This tightly plotted installment with its many twists will satisfy both series fans and newcomers." -Publishers Weekly

"Minneapolis private eye Holland Taylor is called on to bail out the only people in the Twin Cities more morally compromised than he is: members of the bar...readers are advised just to hang on for the ride and not to sweat the small stuff, like who killed whom and how come. An irresistible premise and a fast-moving plot carry Housewright's latest along for a miraculously extended flight..." -Kirkus Reviews

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First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

by David Housewright
First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

First Kill the Lawyers: A Holland Taylor Mystery

by David Housewright

Overview

P.I. Holland Taylor returns in the fifth book in David Housewright's Edgar Award-winning series, First Kill the Lawyers.

Five prominent Minnesota attorneys have had their computer systems hacked and very sensitive case files stolen. Those attorneys are then contacted by an association of local whistleblowers known as NIMN and are quietly alerted that they have received those documents from an anonymous source. If those files are released, not only will those lawyers be ruined, but it might even destroy the integrity of the entire Minnesota legal system. This group of lawyers turns to Private Investigator Holland Taylor with a simple directive: stop the disclosure any way you can.

But while the directive is simple, the case is not. To find the missing files and the person responsible, Taylor must first dive into the five cases covered in the files-divorce, bribery, class action, rape, and murder. While Taylor is untangling the associates and connections between the cases and families affected, things take another mysterious turn and the time before the files are released is running out. As the situation becomes more threatening, Holland Taylor is trapped in the middle of what is legal and what is ethical-between right, wrong, and deadly.

Critical Acclaim for First Kill the Lawyers

"Clearly David Housewright, a former President of the Private Eye Writers of America, knows his stuff. Just open the pages of this noggin-spinning page-turner, and you're sure to catch a strong whiff of private eyes past: a nod to the swirling plot complexities (and dysfunctional familial Strum und Drang) of Ross Macdonald, goosed by the cold-blooded pragmatism of Hammett (or is it the brutal expediency of Spillane?), and tempered by the battered romanticism and world-weary cynicism of Chandler...This is real detective work, an honest-to-goodness PI procedural...If the plotting were any tighter it would squeak...(Taylor is) the decent Everyman wading through a rising tide of sewage, clinging to his ideals, but practical as spit..." -Mystery Scene Magazine

"Housewright's best: fast-paced with funny dialogue and interesting characters combined with thoughtful discussions of grey areas in the law, lawyers' responsibilities and how individuals cross-or do not cross-ethical lines...Holland Taylor is an interesting character. He likes women and doesn't hesitate to enjoy consensual relationships. He walks ethical lines but just barely, and he has a French lop-eared rabbit named Ogilvy. All the secondary characters in this crime thriller are believable and fleshed-out..." -St. Paul Pioneer Press

"In Edgar winner Housewright's gripping fifth Holland Taylor mystery...savvy, empathetic Taylor and some of his attorney clients grapple with questions about the conflict between professional requirements and personal ethics. Housewright draws the Twin Cities with lovingly detailed strokes. Gripping...This tightly plotted installment with its many twists will satisfy both series fans and newcomers." -Publishers Weekly

"Minneapolis private eye Holland Taylor is called on to bail out the only people in the Twin Cities more morally compromised than he is: members of the bar...readers are advised just to hang on for the ride and not to sweat the small stuff, like who killed whom and how come. An irresistible premise and a fast-moving plot carry Housewright's latest along for a miraculously extended flight..." -Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781643964010
Publisher: Down & Out Books
Publication date: 03/17/2025
Series: Holland Taylor Series
Pages: 312
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

About The Author

DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT has won both the Edgar Award and the Minnesota Book Award (twice) for his crime fiction.  He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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