The Jack Bertolino Series: Book 5
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
25 to Life is the fifth and latest installment in the Jack Bertolino series, written by John Lansing in the propulsive, cinematic, page-turning style he has become known for.
Gloria Millhouse, a beautiful African American law student, is working with the Project for the Innocent. She has done extensive research on inmate Carl Forbes, who she believes was wrongfully arrested, convicted and incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, the sexual assault and brutal murder of a teenage girl in Los Angeles twenty-three years ago. Gloria dies in a car crash on Malibu Canyon Road after questioning powerful, politically-connected men who were witnesses at Carl’s trial and knew the victim personally. Private investigator Jack Bertolino is brought on to discover the truth behind Gloria’s death. Was her crash simply a random accident or a conspiracy to prevent the courts from reopening the case and granting Carl Forbes a new trial? Jack believes that Gloria was murdered, and as the body count rises, it becomes clear that if Jack can find Gloria’s killer, he will also find the man responsible for the teenager’s assault and murder. And Carl Forbes can walk out of prison a free man.
When private investigator Jack Bertolino agrees to check out the death of a young law student, he and his team face off against a powerful enemy determined to protect the past.
Author John Lansing delivers the latest Bertolino adventure in 25 to Life, an action-packed thriller. This is a main character who has made a name for himself as someone willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth. In the process, he has earned a reputation for being a bit on the mouthy side, but he has no problems defending himself.
At the core of the story is a man who has served 23 years of a life sentence for the rape and murder of a young woman. A young law student investigating his claims of innocence ends up in a car crash. When Bertolino takes on the case, more bodies start falling, indicating that someone wants the questions to stop.
As Bertolino begins retracing the events from more than two decades ago, he calls in experts from his team to lend a hand. These secondary characters liven up the dialog and enhance the investigative process.
From start to finish, the writing is crisp and dynamic. As a result, it is easy to get caught up in what is happening and continue reading well past bedtime.
25 to Life illustrates how a determined private investigator puts the pieces of the past together to identify a dangerous cover-up impacting people in powerful positions.
John Lansing is the author of four thrillers featuring Jack Bertolino—The Devil’s Necktie, Blond Cargo, Dead Is Dead, and The Fourth Gunman—as well as the true-crime non-fiction book Good Cop Bad Money, written with former NYPD Inspector Glen Morisano. He has been a writer and supervising producer on Walker, Texas Ranger, the co-executive producer of the ABC series Scoundrels, and co-wrote two MOWs for CBS. The Devil’s Necktie is in development at Andria Litto’s Amuse Entertainment, with Barbara DeFina attached as a producer.
A native of Long Island, John now resides in Los Angeles.
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Woohoo, great review! This sounds like an exciting read!
Many thanks to you, Amy, for hosting me on your incredible Book Blog and taking the time to read my book. Your review is thoughtful, very concise, and you got to the heart of Jack Bertolino. I really appreciate your kind words.
All the best,
John