Non-Recourse

By William A. Thau

Book Overview

Matthew Lawrence was a highly successful lawyer with a major law firm. He had a beautiful wife and loving daughter. But he made a life-changing mistake; he chose to represent a bank whose owner embezzled over $200 million and became a convicted felon. Then his wife was murdered and he was thrust into a world he had never known, one filled with hired assassins, the Mafia, and criminals at the US Justice Department and the Vatican. His partners disown him, the Justice Department wants him in jail, and criminals who think he knows where the money is want him dead.

Lawrence has no choice. He must find and kill the men who murdered his wife and are trying to kill him or face a certain death. As his journey into unknown perils moves at breakneck speed, he encounters a woman in France who helps him retain his sanity and passion for life. His quest takes him to conspiracies at work in the halls of the Justice Department and the Vatican, and culminates with a life and death struggle on a ferry crossing the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. It is a classic struggle of good versus evil, one which Lawrence must win at any cost.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595327192
• ISBN13: 9780595327195
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding and Brilliantly Written

This outstanding book is the finest novel I have read in many years. It is brilliantly written. The characters are well defined and believable. The book gives a clear explanation of all the personal, legal and financial issues involved. A very sucessful lawyer at a blue chip Dallas law firm is suddenly entangled in the complex problems of a major client, who embezzled over $200 million from a bank that he controlled. The lawyer is forced out of his law firm because of the bad publicity. His wife is killed. Several people are trying to kill him in their pursuit of the embezzled funds. Despite his problems, he decides to devote all of his time to finding the persons who killed his wife, and who are trying to murder him. He also wants to find out what happened to the embezzled funds. This book describes his suspenseful and perilous search in fascinating detail.

A Great Read

The plot was a page-turner throughout the book. I found myself each evening looking forward to reading further in the book. The characters were interesting, and I really enjoyed the first-person thinking of Matt Lawrence.

A book for all people who love adventure and suspense

I took Non Recourse on vacation with me and was so engrossed in the plot that I couldn't put it down. It is a real page-turner. Right from the very beginning, the story grabs the reader's attention when the main character, Matthew Lawrence, loses his job as a partner in a law firm and then more dramatically, loses his wife in an intentional car accident. The plot is a bit complicated, yet Mr. Thau does an excellent job in describing some of the intricacies of the real estate/banking business. I was intrigued with the connections he drew with the Vatican, the Mafia, the US Justice Department and hired-for-murder assailants. The strength of this book is in the author's writing style. He writes very well and his descriptions are very picturesque whether it be "the weathered buildings ... and weathered inhabitants" of a coastal village in Maine, the countryside of Beaune, France, a walk through rainy London or a dinner at a charming inn on Lake Como, Italy. I felt as though I was right there with the main characters. The action is fast-paced and scenes change swiftly from several countries in Europe to both the Southwest and Northeast sections of the United States. There is even a little romance. I especially liked the way the author was so poetical and sensitive in developing intimate relationships. The characters are very believable and likeable. It is similar to the early John Grisham books before he became too predictable. In fact, that is what was also interesting about Non Recourse, I never knew what was coming next. Especially the surprise ending. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of adventure and suspense. And I look forward to Mr. Thau's next novel.