Category: Mystery/Suspense Publisher: Top Publications Ltd. Co.
ISBN-10: 1884570895
Type: Fiction
Pages: 298
Copyright: Jun 1 1988
A small time Dallas attorney gets in over his head with some big-time clients.
It's the late 70's in Dallas and Stan Turner is a new attorney just out of law school. He has no money so he starts his practice with a $2,000 advance on his American Express card. It's a boom time in Dallas and there a lot of shady oil and gas and real estate promoters around. Stan acquires a few of these as clients and quickly finds himself in deep trouble. When his wife, Rebekah, is arrested for murder he has serious reservations about his career choice.
Excerpt
The two uniformed officers pushed their way into the house slamming me into the doorjamb. They immediately started searching the house for Rebekah. Reggie and Mark starred in shock as they ran by. One of the policeman, having spotted Rebekah sitting at the kitchen table, ran over to her, yanked her up and pushed her up against the wall. She winced in pain as he cuffed her and then jerked her around to face Detective Small who had just entered the kitchen.
"Mrs. Turner, you're under arrest for the murder of Sheila Logan. We're going to have to take you downtown."
"But I didn't kill her! I was downstairs in the ER when it happened. . . . Stan, don't let them do this!"
Anger swelled within me as I watched the officer manhandle Rebekah. "You can't treat her like that!" I said rushing over to defend her. The other officer drew his gun and pointed at my head.
Rebekah screamed, "Don't shoot him!"
Detective Small glared at the officer and yelled,"Put that gun away!" He then turned to me and said,"Mr. Turner, you're an attorney, you know you cannot obstruct this arrest. Now back off!"
"Do what he says, Stan," Rebekah said.
By this time Marcia had been awakened by the ruckus and was wailing from her crib in the next room. Mark and Peter were standing up against the wall in shock, tears streaming from their eyes. I went over to them and held them as we watched Rebekah being taken away. As they were escorting Rebekah to the squad car, Reggie suddenly darted after them screaming,"You can't take my mommy! Leave her alone. Leave my mommy alone."
One of the officers intercepted Reggie and restrained him until I got there to get him. I pulled him back to the house yelling and kicking. Then I rushed into the nursery to get Marcia who had been screaming so loud that she was starting to turn blue. I picked her up, held her tightly and then gazed out the window. Tears swelled in my eyes as I watched the squad car disappear around the corner. Why hadn't I listened to Father Henry?
Reviews for "Brash Endeavor, A Stan Turner Mystery"
Title: Brash Endeavor
Author: William Manchee
Line/Publisher: Top Publications Ltd. Co Dallas TX
Release Date: 1999
ISBN: 1884570895
The Review:
Stan Turner and his wife Rebekah are unaware exactly how their lives are about to change when Stan determines to open his own law practice. Following this decision the only steady, reliable income coming into their home is derived from Rebekah’s work a few hours each week at the nearby Central Receiving Hospital where she in ICU/ER nurse.
Much to the delight of Stan and Rebekah clients and the promise of constant income do soon appear, Stan’s old friend Kurt Harrison sends the flamboyant Gena Lombardi and her problems to Stan, Inca Oil needs an attorney to do land title searches, Kurt introduces Dan Kelley. Things are looking up.
An offer for a percentage in an oil well rather than a fee for work performed is viewed by Stan as a method for insuring a good steady income. The only fly in the ointment is Rebekah’s growing dissatisfaction and plain old wifely jealousy for the attractive women Stan meets in the course of his work.
When Stan and the nubile wife of a client are found in a clinch out at the ‘coming in’ party held at the newly opened well Rebekah is sure her suspicions are well founded. A short time later Stan finds himself facing the fact of his wife’s arrest for the death of that wife of a client, caring for his four young kiddies with the help of Rebekah’s mother and trying to unravel how it has all gone so wrong.
Merge Robert B. Parker’s ‘Paper Doll,’ with ‘Traitorous Intent’ by Charlotte Lacey along with a generous splash of plain old Erle Stanley Gardner intrigue for an idea of what BRASH ENDEAVOR is all about. This mystery thriller by clever writer William Manchee is a ‘keep you turning the page’ read.
The jealousy felt by Rebekah is plausible and the desperation driven behavior of her husband to find answers to incomprehensible questions is as thinkable. Stan knows no matter how upset Rebekah may have felt; the woman he has married, loved and had four children with could not have done such a thing as to kill someone. He knows he will have to sort it all out, find the actual murderer and rescue Rebekah from the morass in which they find themselves. The interwoven personal issues between husband and wife, between Stan and his clients, between Turner and the police are all very believable in this intricately wrought thriller by Dallas, Texas attorney Manchee.
Manchee’s deftness for the human situation and his expressive narrative draw the reader straight into the tale. This experienced writer has a discernment of the human psyche many do not possess. He uses that understanding to present an assemblage of characters so distinctive and credible the reader believes they must be actual people.
BRASH ENDEAVOR offers the reader a peek inside the daily lives of individuals who are interesting and fun and wholly plausible. BRASH ENDEAVOR is another in a series of William Manchee’s ‘Stan Turner’ mystery thrillers. My favorite type of book, good solid writing filled with believable characters and situations, no graphic sex thrown in just to sell the book or to try to cover up lack of writing skill, no silly posturing, this is just a good, well written book . We who enjoy thrillers can only hope writer Manchee is hard at work on the next in the series and that many more Stan Turner novels are soon forthcoming. BRASH ENDEAVOR is a tale that will grab you from the first line and will hold you tight right on down to the last page. Very perceptive and highly recommended.
Criterion use for review:
__+_____ Original Story Idea?
___+____ Does the first sentence, paragraph, page hook your attention immediately?
___+____ Is there a plot? a subplot? Do they tie in to make the story complete?
__+_____ Are transitions handled so the flow of reading isn't interrupted?
___+____ Do the main characters seem real?
__+_____ Does the dialogue between characters seem natural?
__+_____ Conflict Present? Was the conflict believable? Was it able to sustain the book?
___+____ Was motivation logical? Believable? Could you see yourself reacting that way in that situation?
___+____ Was the climax believable? Could you envision this really happening?
___+____ Did the conclusion seem a natural outcome?
Reviewed by: molly martin
Last book published: The CatsPaw:Blue Death
“Nancy Drew Meets CSI”. It’s another Annie Tillery Mystery
Letters can really change a life. In Linda Maria Frank’s latest Annie Tiller Mystery, teen detective and her boyfriend, Ty Egan, bump into the intrigue of a past time in American his
Author: William Manchee
Line/Publisher: Top Publications Ltd. Co Dallas TX
Release Date: 1999
ISBN: 1884570895
The Review:
Stan Turner and his wife Rebekah are unaware exactly how their lives are about to change when Stan determines to open his own law practice. Following this decision the only steady, reliable income coming into their home is derived from Rebekah’s work a few hours each week at the nearby Central Receiving Hospital where she in ICU/ER nurse.
Much to the delight of Stan and Rebekah clients and the promise of constant income do soon appear, Stan’s old friend Kurt Harrison sends the flamboyant Gena Lombardi and her problems to Stan, Inca Oil needs an attorney to do land title searches, Kurt introduces Dan Kelley. Things are looking up.
An offer for a percentage in an oil well rather than a fee for work performed is viewed by Stan as a method for insuring a good steady income. The only fly in the ointment is Rebekah’s growing dissatisfaction and plain old wifely jealousy for the attractive women Stan meets in the course of his work.
When Stan and the nubile wife of a client are found in a clinch out at the ‘coming in’ party held at the newly opened well Rebekah is sure her suspicions are well founded. A short time later Stan finds himself facing the fact of his wife’s arrest for the death of that wife of a client, caring for his four young kiddies with the help of Rebekah’s mother and trying to unravel how it has all gone so wrong.
Merge Robert B. Parker’s ‘Paper Doll,’ with ‘Traitorous Intent’ by Charlotte Lacey along with a generous splash of plain old Erle Stanley Gardner intrigue for an idea of what BRASH ENDEAVOR is all about. This mystery thriller by clever writer William Manchee is a ‘keep you turning the page’ read.
The jealousy felt by Rebekah is plausible and the desperation driven behavior of her husband to find answers to incomprehensible questions is as thinkable. Stan knows no matter how upset Rebekah may have felt; the woman he has married, loved and had four children with could not have done such a thing as to kill someone. He knows he will have to sort it all out, find the actual murderer and rescue Rebekah from the morass in which they find themselves. The interwoven personal issues between husband and wife, between Stan and his clients, between Turner and the police are all very believable in this intricately wrought thriller by Dallas, Texas attorney Manchee.
Manchee’s deftness for the human situation and his expressive narrative draw the reader straight into the tale. This experienced writer has a discernment of the human psyche many do not possess. He uses that understanding to present an assemblage of characters so distinctive and credible the reader believes they must be actual people.
BRASH ENDEAVOR offers the reader a peek inside the daily lives of individuals who are interesting and fun and wholly plausible. BRASH ENDEAVOR is another in a series of William Manchee’s ‘Stan Turner’ mystery thrillers. My favorite type of book, good solid writing filled with believable characters and situations, no graphic sex thrown in just to sell the book or to try to cover up lack of writing skill, no silly posturing, this is just a good, well written book . We who enjoy thrillers can only hope writer Manchee is hard at work on the next in the series and that many more Stan Turner novels are soon forthcoming. BRASH ENDEAVOR is a tale that will grab you from the first line and will hold you tight right on down to the last page. Very perceptive and highly recommended.
Criterion use for review:
__+_____ Original Story Idea?
___+____ Does the first sentence, paragraph, page hook your attention immediately?
___+____ Is there a plot? a subplot? Do they tie in to make the story complete?
__+_____ Are transitions handled so the flow of reading isn't interrupted?
___+____ Do the main characters seem real?
__+_____ Does the dialogue between characters seem natural?
__+_____ Conflict Present? Was the conflict believable? Was it able to sustain the book?
___+____ Was motivation logical? Believable? Could you see yourself reacting that way in that situation?
___+____ Was the climax believable? Could you envision this really happening?
___+____ Did the conclusion seem a natural outcome?
Reviewed by: molly martin
Last book published: The CatsPaw:Blue Death