Almost A Murder
ALMOST A MURDER is a true crime novel, a courtroom procedural, and a honest look at a dirty crime. It is a starkly honest portrayal of a cub lawyer accepting a case no one else will touch in an attempt to cope with his recent grief and entrenched reflex of inferiority. He is up against powerful financial, social and political pressures in this epic legal battle. Tension builds during the three trials that comprise this case: police procedures, crime scene investigations, legal jostling, and the defendant's relationship with the victim. "ALMOST A MURDER" is fraught with emotion and unflinching in its portrayal of abuse of power, human frailty and depicting the hypocrisy of "civilized" society turning away from the unincorporated because they do not warrant notice.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JODY SEAY is an award-winning author whose first novel, THE SECOND COMING OF CURLY RED, won First Prize for Fiction at the Mendocino Coast Writer's Conference, and then went on to become a Finalist in the prestigious Oregon Book Awards. Her musical play (BUNKIN' WITH YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE) was professionally produced and performed in Portland, Oregon. Her numerous essays and short stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines across the country. Even though Jody swears she loves to write, she also maintains that writing makes her self-absorbed and grumpy for extended periods of time. Sometimes, she also breaks out in a rash, but, usually, that only happens when her computer crashes. Technology is hard for her, which brings her deep shame and makes her mean. She swears she'll get better at it, but, really, she never does. Luckily, she has other strengths, and, thank goodness for that! ALMOST A MURDER is Jody Seay's third book. JIM LLOYD is the lawyer who defended the real-life legal case and this book, a true-crime drama. .Jim is a member of the Missouri and Oklahoma Bar Associations as well as the Oklahoma Association for Justice (a preeminent and influential force at the Oklahoma State Capitol for over fifty years). It is meaningful to Jim that the group has passed some of the most progressive legislation to protect the jury trial system in the USA. Early in his career, the Oklahoma Bar Association honored Jim as "the Outstanding Young Lawyer for the State of Oklahoma". In part, he was recognized for his volunteer service to the community, which he has continued throughout his life. Jim wrote an advice column, "Ask a Lawyer" in the Tulsa World newspaper which ran for years. Jim was named in Who's Who in American Law and was invited by Melvin Belli to become a Lifetime Trustee of the prestigious Melvin Belli Society. This honor is only offered to select "lawyers who had distinguished themselves as trial lawyers and who were dedicated to the principles of education on an international basis". In 2001, Jim Lloyd was an official Commissioner on the Oklahoma Race Riot Commission which was organized to review the details of the 1921 Race Riots. As many as 300 affluent black residents were killed by white looters and rioters - some of them agents of government. Mr. Lloyd uncovered and saved important evidence before it was destroyed, thus preserving the historical record. Jim attended Tulsa University Law School and graduated from Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College. Jim Lloyd and his wife Nancy, along with his son, Buddy run Lloyd & Lloyd, a "small but mighty" family-owned law firm in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Jim holds a black belt in karate and is a local bee sting therapy guru, dispensing stings and advice to all comers about the benefits of bee venom. Lloyd is also the legal adviser to the national American Apitherapy Society.
