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“Murder on the Down Low” Blog Tour Review

Meet Pamela Samuels Young,  
author of Murder on the Down Low

Pamela Samuels Young is a practicing attorney and author of the legal photo_1[1] thrillers, Murder on the Down Low, In Firm Pursuit, Every  Reasonable  Doubt, and the forthcoming, Buying Time. A desire to see women and people of color represented in today’s legal fiction prompted  Pamela to start writing despite a busy career as an attorney.  The former journalist and Compton native is a graduate of USC, Northwestern University and UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.  Pamela is the fiction writing expert for BizyMoms.com and is on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK -Book review by Linda Fegins

mdl[1]Educated and prominent  African –American males in Los Angeles are being murdered.  The suspense filled book keeps you on the edge to figure out who did it.   This legal thriller is a well-written page turner that realistically portrays the legal system.  Significantly, this mystery  educates the reader concerning the diverse viewpoints  about a provocative social issue causing havoc in the black community, through the lives of its female characters’ struggles and mistakes. There is Vernetta Henderson, a savvy attorney at a big law firm trying to make partner. The others are Vernetta’s  best friend “Special”, J.C.,  a detective for  the Los Angeles Police Department, and Nichelle , a former prosecutor  now a partner at her own law firm.

You find a story of a  “sisterly bond” among these women in this  tale of lies, lust,  deceit,  betrayal, and vengeance. The friends suffer a  lost  link in their circle of friendship when Maya died because of the deceit of her fiancé Eugene, an attorney. A wrongful death lawsuit is filed against Eugene. However, the hot-headed Special is not satisfied with simply suing Eugene for the death of her  beloved cousin. Her hatred and desire for vengeance leads her to become involved in some underhanded activities. Is there a connection between this contentious lawsuit and the five murders ?

 As a practicing attorney I was delighted to see  women attorneys of color realistically represented in this legal fiction.  Pamela has this to say about one of the main characters.

Character Sketch: Vernetta Henderson

Since you have written three novels about her, can you tell us a bit about Vernetta Henderson?

Vernetta is a savvy, 30-something LA attorney who is very career driven.  I created her as the protagonist for my first three novels because I never saw African-American women depicted as attorneys in legal thrillers.  I wanted to create a character who was dealing with some of the dilemmas that I faced as a young attorney in a high-profile law firm. 

Although Every Reasonable Doubt was my first published novel, In Firm Pursuit was actually the first book that I wrote.  It’s based on a wrongful termination case that I tried in federal court.  I changed a lot of the facts because the real-life case wasn’t quite as exciting as the fictional one.  

I have to admit that I’m a lot like Vernetta.  Early in my legal career, making partner at a big firm was my primary goal.  I worked long hours and didn’t have much of a personal life.  But in my mid-thirties, I began to realize the importance of smelling the roses along the way.   Money and professional achievements are great, but you’ll be missing out on quite a bit in life if that’s your sole definition of success.  I don’t make anywhere near the kind of money I would make if I was still practicing law at a large law firm.  But I have a lot more time to spend with the people I care about and to do the things I love, like writing legal thrillers. 

Murder on the Blog Tour Giveaway

Please leave a comment to be eligible to win an autographed book and a 25 dollar gift card from Pamela Samuels Young.  One winner will be chosen each day for a total of FIVE winners.

Follow the rest of Murder on the Down LowBlog Tour at http://bit.ly/MurderOnTheDownLow

For more information about Pamela, visit her at PamelaSamuelsYoung.com.

 
http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Down-Pamela-Samuels-Young/dp/0981562701/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249528232&sr=8-2

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