Ellis - Life Sentence

Ellis must be considered the leading contender to succeed fellow Chicago lawyer-author Scott Turow.

The News-Press

P RAISE FOR
LIFE SENTENCE

Ellis balances plot, setting, pacing, characterization, and surprises in just the right measure to create a compelling high-stakes courtroom drama. He also takes time to explore the psyche of lawyers as Turow does so well.

Katy Munger, The Washington Post

Must reading not only for fans of intricate, Turow-like mystery plotting but also for everyone who has ever thought of running for public officeWho does Ellis think he isJohn Grisham? The answer to that has to be yeswith any luck. Ellis certainly writes as well as his Georgia colleague, and his plotting is even sharper.

Chicago Tribune

[The] tight plot and believable dialogue keep the pages turningLife Sentence has a wallop of an ending.

The Santa Fe New Mexican

Ellis is an author to keep your eye on.

San Antonio Express-News

This insiders tale of political chicanery and extreme ambition is effectively tolda skillfully written crime story with some very believable characterizations. Recommended.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ellis sets a new standard with this superb legal thriller, surpassing his Edgar Awardwinning debut, Line of Vision. A multilayered, tightly woven story, it breathes new life into the old clich about revenge being a dish best served coldElegant prose skillfully impels Soliday through a haze of deadly deceit, where no one is who he appears to be and nothing is as it seems until the smoke finally clears to reveal the stunning ending. Highly recommended.

Library Journal

Ellis follows up the success of his debut legal thriller, the Edgar Awardwinning Line of Vision, with an equally intricate and intelligent murder puzzle that feels like its 100 percent plot, laid out with clean precisionhighly entertaining and full of satisfying twists.

Publishers Weekly

Grippinga murder mystery chock-full of political intrigue, buried secrets, and surprising twists.

Booklist

A suspenseful, page-turning thriller with an ending you will never see coming.

Rahm Emanuel, U.S. congressman, Fifth District (Chicago), and a former White House senior advisor

[This] twisty, swiftly paced second legal thriller puts Ellis into the ring with Scott Turow.

Kirkus Reviews

Richly plotteda puzzle whose pieces are so expertly scattered that you may not recognize them until theyre the last best guess.

The News-Press

Realistic and intensethe novel twists and turns to a surprising conclusion.

Dick Devine, Cook County states attorney (Chicago)

P RAISE FOR THE E DGAR A WARDWINNING
LINE OF VISION

The best suspense novel Ive read in a while.

James Patterson

A fresh take on the legal thriller. Crackles with unexpected twists.

San Francisco Chronicle

Dont think you can put Line of Vision downyou cant. David Ellis wont let you go, from the first tantalizing page to the final double twist.

Barbara Parker, New York Times bestselling author of Suspicion of Vengeance

The most original and exciting thriller Ive read in a long time. Starts at a fever pitch and never lets up.

J. F. Freedman, New York Times bestselling author of Above the Law

Line of Vision is a wicked delightDavid Elliss hero beguiles like Patricia Highsmiths Ripley at his most devious. The story grabs, shakes, twists up, and wont let go, all the way through to its deeply satisfying resolution.

Perri OShaughnessy

Almost continuous tension and a surprisingly sympathetic narrator. [Martys] struggle is compelling and the verdict a stunning surprise. Expertly written, intricately plotted, and, of course, highly entertaining.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A spellbinding legal dramasexy, seductive, and full of surpriseswhich features a fascinating if unreliable protagonist. This is the best first novel Ive read in a good long time.

William Bernhardt, author of the Justice series and Murder One

LIFE

SENTENCE

D AVID E LLIS

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

LIFE SENTENCE

A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author

Copyright 2003 by David Ellis.

All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.
For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

ISBN: 978-1-101-66576-3

BERKLEY
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY and the B design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Version_2

For my mother, Judy Ellis, with all my love

The demons always come at night. When the last remnants of color leave the inside of his eyelids. When the security of daylight evaporates, replaced with shadows and blackening moods. When the accumulation of anxiety approaches panic, creates such an echoing, silent chime that he almost doesnt hear the sound of the shattering glass on the first floor of his house.

It is muted but high-pitched. First, a single blow, probably to the lower of the two diamond-shaped windows on his door, the one closer to the knob. Then a scraping noise, the instrument of choice clearing out the jagged edges of glass. Four short scrapes for each side of the diamond, performed efficiently to maximize speed and minimize noise.

A momentary pause, no doubt while a hand reaches through the opening into the house, for the deadbolt. The click of the lock turning comes quickly. The door opens with a slight creak and a release in pressure that sends a groan through the house.

Bennett Carey opens his eyes and stares into the pitch blackness of his bedroom on the third floor. His eyes move to the clock on his nightstand. It reads 1:58 in square red numbers.

Bennett looks next at the security alarm pad near the bedroom door. A red light signals a breach of security in Zone 1, the front door. But the alarm is not activated, so no shrilling sound accompanies the invasion, no message will reach the monitoring service or the police department.

Footsteps on the tile of the first floor, rapid and loud. But just one set of feet. One intruder. He is not concerned with making noise, it seems. Makes some sense. The only real commotion is the smashing of the glass, which came from the outside. Once inside, there would be little need to mute ones movements. Especially if you think no one is home.