Jeff laughed. Then he leaned over and kissed Robin.
“You’re the best,” he said.
“Yes, I am,” she answered with a big grin.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I do a Q&A at a book signing, I am often asked how I got the idea for my book. In the first section of A Matter of Life and Death, Robin Lockwood represents a man who is going through a sex change operation on a charge of prostitution. Transgender issues have featured prominently in the media in recent years, but I came in contact with them as a young lawyer in the 1970s when I represented a man who was transitioning to a woman who was charged with prostitution. One of the leading experts in the field was an Oregon doctor. His testimony was the key to getting a not guilty verdict.
To defend my client, I had to learn what a person who changes his or her sex goes through. It’s quite an ordeal, and I developed a lot of sympathy for people who go through the procedure. When I decided to revisit my case in this book, I contacted Amy Penkin at the Transgender Health Program at OHSU. She brought me up to speed on the changes that have occurred since the 1970s. I really appreciate the time she took to meet with me.
Later in A Matter of Life and Death, Robin cross-examines a fingerprint expert. In September of 2019, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association held a seminar on forensic science. Gentry Roth of Mach 1 Forensics gave me a lot of the information about fingerprint identification. Thanks, Gentry, for taking the time to tell me what I needed to know to write this trial scene.
Dr. Don Girard and Dennis Balske, dear friends, also helped me with my research.
As always, I am extremely grateful to Jennifer Weltz, my agent and first reader, and to the terrific team at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.
My books are always joint endeavors, and my brilliant editor, Keith Kahla, gets a lot of the credit if you thought A Matter of Life and Death was an enjoyable read. If you didn’t, the fault is mine alone. I also want to thank Hector DeJean, Martin Quinn, Sally Richardson, Alice Pfeifer, Ken Silver, David Rotstein, Chris and Sara Ensey, and everyone else at St. Martin’s for their fantastic support.
Finally, I want to thank my fabulous wife, Melanie Nelson, for making me happy every day.
ALSO BY PHILLIP MARGOLIN
Heartstone
The Last Innocent Man
Gone, But Not Forgotten
After Dark
The Burning Man
The Undertaker’s Widow
The Associate
Sleeping Beauty
Lost Lake
Worthy Brown’s Daughter
Woman with a Gun
Vanishing Acts (with Ami Margolin Rome)
Amanda Jaffe Novels
Wild Justice
Ties That Bind
Proof Positive
Fugitive
Violent Crimes
Dana Cutler Novels
Executive Privilege
Supreme Justice
Capitol Murder
Sleight of Hand
Robin Lockwood Novels
The Third Victim
The Perfect Alibi
A Reasonable Doubt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PHILLIP MARGOLIN has written over twenty novels, most of them New York Times bestsellers, including Gone But Not Forgotten, and the previous novels featuring Robin Lockwood, The Third Victim, The Perfect Alibi, and A Reasonable Doubt. In addition to being a novelist, he was a longtime criminal-defense attorney with decades of trial experience, including a large number of capital cases. Margolin lives in Portland, Oregon.
Visit the author’s website at
www.phillipmargolin.com, or sign up for email updates here.
or find him on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/PhillipMargolinAuthor.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
Part One. The Oldest Profession
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Part Two. No Holds Barred
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Part Three. A Matter of Life and Death
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Part Four. The Farm
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Part Five. The Wages of Sin
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Acknowledgments
Also by Phillip Margolin
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. Copyright © 2021 by Phillip Margolin. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Jonathan Bush
Cover art: judge © Comstock/Getty Images; wooden wall © Stockbyte/Getty Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-25842-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-25843-4 (ebook)
eISBN 9781250258434
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].
First Edition: 2021
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