Killer Ambition (Rachel Knight Series #3)

by Marcia Clark

Overview

When the daughter of a billionaire Hollywood director is found murdered after what appears to be a kidnapping gone wrong, Los Angeles Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight and Detective Bailey Keller find themselves at the epicenter of a combustible and high-profile court case.

Then a prime suspect is revealed to be one of Hollywood's most popular and powerful talent managers -- and best friend to the victim's father. With the director vouching for the manager's innocence, the Hollywood media machine commences an all-out war designed to discredit both Rachel and her case. Killer Ambition is at once a thrilling ride through the darker side of Tinseltown and a stunning courtroom drama with the brilliant insider's perspective that Marcia Clark is uniquely qualified to give.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316220910
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	06/18/2013
Series:	Rachel Knight Series , #3
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	183,525
File size:	911 KB

About the Author

Marcia Clark began practicing law as a criminal defense attorney. She became a prosecutor in the L.A. District Attorney's Office in 1981, and spent ten years in the Special Trials Unit where she handled a number of high profile cases prior to the O.J. Simpson case, including the prosecution of stalker/murderer Robert Bardo.

In May of 1997, her book on the Simpson case, Without a Doubt, was published and quickly rose to #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, and Publisher's Weekly bestsellers lists.

Marcia has published three novels which feature Los Angeles Special Trials prosecutor Rachel Knight: Guilt by Association, Guilt by Degrees, and Killer Ambition. TNT has optioned the books for a drama series. Marcia is attached as an executive producer.

Editorial Reviews

Rachel Knight finds her professional future on the line in former prosecutor Clark’s suspenseful and gripping third legal thriller featuring the L.A. deputy DA (after 2012’s Guilt by Degrees), the best yet in the series. Teenager Hayley Antonovich has disappeared, and her father, Russell, a blockbuster Hollywood producer, alerts the authorities only after he’s paid the million ransom without getting his child back. Hoping that Hayley can be found alive, Knight and her allies in the LAPD feverishly comb the ransom drop for clues. News that Hayley had been dating 19-year-old Brian Shandling makes the latter an obvious person of interest, but before he can be located, Hayley is found stabbed to death. Knight and her team believe they have identified the killer, but she must use every trick in her trial lawyer’s arsenal to have a hope of prevailing at trial. Clark’s own expertise enables her to realistically portray the drama and vicissitudes of a criminal prosecution. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writer’s House. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Builds real drama out of its tabloid crime...Knight is a likable crusader for truth in Tinseltown." (3 out of 4 stars)—People magazine

"A refreshing and suspenseful portrayal of high-stakes trials, criminal lawyers on both sides of the aisle and the strategies behind their every move."—Los Angeles Times

"Clark clearly knows the court from the inside out, and her characterization of the proceedings is great fun to read."—Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Clark's expertise truly shines . . . Killer Ambition may prove to be Marcia Clark's grand triumph."—Hartford Books Examiner

From the Publisher

"Builds real drama out of its tabloid crime and makes Knight a likeable crusader for truth in Tinseltown."

Josh Emmons

"KILLER AMBITION may prove to be Marcia Clark's grand triumph. Both a criminally entertaining read and an intimately informed expose of celebrity and crime, it's also the best entry yet in a young but exceptionally strong series. Readers will be left entirely exhilarated - and understandably impatient for the continued trials and tribulations of Rachel Knight, who is one of the most compelling characters to come along in recent years."

John Valeri

"A refreshing and suspenseful portrayal of high-stakes trials, criminal lawyers on both sides of the aisle and the strategies behind their every move.... Rachel and her posse of girlfriends, colleagues and their love interests are engaging enough to hope for their continued growth and success in investigations that are equal to Rachel, and author Clark's, many and formidable talents in the courtroom."

Paula L. Woods

"Clark's storytelling skills take another leap with the impressive KILLER AMBITION.... [She] again proves she knows her way around a courtroom."

Oline H. Cogdill

"Legal thrillers don't get much better than this.... Boasting a feisty protagonist, a winning supporting cast, and steadily escalating courtroom drama, KILLER AMBITION finds Clark at the top of her game."

Michele Leber

An amateur kidnapping suddenly turned lethal poses a third case for Deputy District Attorney Rachel Knight, of LA's Special Crimes Unit (Guilt by Degrees, 2012, etc.). It's obvious from the get-go who snatched megabucks Hollywood producer Russell Antonovich's teenage daughter Hayley. All the evidence leads straight to her boyfriend, Brian Shandling. Pleasing complications follow anyway, though they're not so pleasing for Rachel or her friend Bailey Keller, the robbery/homicide detective who lands the case when Antonovich pays the $1 million ransom and his daughter's not returned. Item: Brian Shandling doesn't exist; the boyfriend stole his identity from a long-dead infant. Item: Hayley was almost certainly in on her own kidnapping. Item: Both Hayley and Brian have paid the ultimate price for their little plot, stabbed to death miles from the ransom drop-off point, presumably by someone who got wind of their scheme and stepped in to rewrite the rules. Doing her best to roll with each punch, Rachel follows the forensics to a new pair of suspects and has them arrested, tossing the case into court, where Murphy's Law prevails. When new evidence exonerates one of the two suspects of the actual murders, Rachel reduces the charges against him, and he promptly makes bail and disappears. Jury selection favors nasty defense attorney Terry Fisk. So do the invidious rulings of Judge Osterman. Rachel's star witness gets impeached on the stand. The most sympathetic of the jurors has to discontinue her service. Desperate, Rachel goes behind her boss's back to hire a very iffy consultant, knowing that if she loses the case, she'll get fired. Not to worry. Rachel does it all: from her fine first-half detective work to her routine, overextended courtroom duty. Next time, she'll probably be judge, jury and executioner too.

Kirkus Reviews