The Bastard's Weapon

Book excerpt: In this second novel in the Gloucester Trilogy, John Palermo battles his way through emotional and professional conflicts in this gripping tale by acclaimed author Joseph M. Orlando. Having lost his beloved wife, Connie, John struggles with life as a single father. His emotions are palpable as he wrestles with his devotion to his lost wife, duty to his children, and his burgeoning feelings for a new woman. Professionally, John takes on the case of his nemesis, Captain Joe Amalfi, who is found floating in a life raft alone in the icy Atlantic when his fishing boat sinks with his crew still aboard. Amalfi's emotional turmoil after this event is one challenge, among many, to John's struggle to help the widows and children of the men on Amalfi's boat, many of whom were John's boyhood friends. As Amalfi's condition worsens, John seeks to unravel the mystery of what happened on the boat that terrible day, sparking a gripping courtroom battle filled with surprise twists and turns and an ending that John could never have predicted. The Bastard's Weapon takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end, all set among the beautiful fishing community of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is a novel for any reader who is intrigued by the power of love, the fight of the righteous, and the true human drama played out each day in the courtrooms of America.