The Name Partner
Non-series
Carlos Cisneros
Review: Houston attorney Guillermo "Billy" Bravo must come to terms with professional and personal conflict when he takes on the defense of a pharmaceutical company implicated in the death of a patient in The Name Partner, a non-series legal thriller that could also serve as the first in a new series.
Though Billy is a successful trial lawyer, he is still not a partner with his law firm, his name not yet on the letterhead. The firm's expertise is in governmental affairs and pharmaceutical litigation. When a national case lands on the firm's doorstep, Billy is anxious to take the lead, sure that winning will serve to elevate him to partner. BostonMagnifica is being sued for the wrong death of Tomas Ray, a Gulf War veteran who killed himself after taking an anti-depressant manufactured by the company. BostonMagnifica claims Ray's physician is at fault, for simply handing out "free samples" of the drug with no supervision. With a complicated case ahead of him, and the odds stacked firmly against him -- his firm seems less than anxious to see the case go to trial -- Billy knows he has his work cut out for him ... and his family life will suffer. Those problems start almost immediately when his father suffers a heart attack and dies, but not before telling him that his American citizenship may be in doubt. Then he's told by a former girlfriend, with whom he had an affair years ago and is now dying, that he has a 15-year-old son ... who he knew nothing about. Finally, his 14-year-old daughter is diagnosed with leukemia, and an experimental drug developed by his client, BostonMagnifica, may save her.
The Name Partner is a moving, often morally enigmatic, tale of an honest, decent attorney torn trying to balance the enormous pressures he feels, personally and professionally. It is at once an intricate character study of a family man suddenly and unexpectedly facing a lifetime of problems embedded within an exciting, twist-filled legal thriller, the outcome of which cannot be foreseen.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Name Partner.
Acknowledgment: Arte Público Press provided a copy of The Name Partner for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in The Name Partner: Houston, Texas
— ◊ —
The Name Partner by Carlos Cisneros
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-55885-594-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-55885-594-6
Publication Date: March 2010
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): The son of migrant workers, Guillermo "Billy" Bravo is one of South Texas' most successful attorneys, and he's determined to see his name on his firm's stationery. He can see it in his mind's eye: Bates, Domani, Rockford, Lord & Bravo. But suddenly, his life starts spinning out of control. He learns that fifteen years ago, a month after getting married, a one-night stand led to a son he didn't know he had. He's sure his wife Yamile will hand him his private parts on a platter, along with divorce papers, when she finds out. And he'll never make name partner if there's a contentious divorce.
Then Billy gets a new case, to defend BostonMagnifica Pharmaceuticals against a wrongful death suit. Tomas Ray's widow contends that a new, powerful psychotropic drug, caused her husband -- a successful attorney -- to kill two innocent bystanders before killing himself. Billy quickly finds himself being pressured by both his boss and BM's CEO to make the lawsuit go away. But he soon finds evidence confirming BM has something to hide.
Billy's life takes another turn for the worse when his teenage daughter is diagnosed with leukemia. When doctors tell him that a BM-produced drug is all that can save her, Billy feels even more conflicted about defending the drug company. What if he loses the case and BM goes out of business, leaving his daughter without the medication she needs to survive?
— ◊ —