Cape May Court House: A Death in the Night

by Lawrence Schiller

Book Overview

The New York Times bestselling author presents this true, page-turning suspense story in which the Ford Motor Company turned the tables on a wrongful death lawsuit and became a de facto prosecutor of a murder case.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060006684
• ISBN13: 9780060006686
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Interesting, but only for some...

This book contained an interesting look into our legal system, and all the wrangling that goes on between lawyers in a high-profile lawsuit. I found that the book was bogged down with details occaisionally, and thus dragged a bit. However, if you're intrigued by the legal system, you'll enjoy this book. If you're looking for closure, you won't find it here, as the book forces you to make the final decision for yourself.

Good Book.

I started to write that this was a very good true crime book and then realized that it is up to the reader to decide if in fact a crime was even committed. This book tells the story of a young pregnant mother who is killed in a very minor auto accident. Her husband who is also in the car blames Ford Motor Co. and their air bag. Ford looks at the facts in a different light and accuses the husband of murder. This book is for the reader that enjoys the nuts and bolts of how lawyers work their trade. It also shows how a seemimgly obvious story can have quite a different side. I liked the fact the author sticks to the facts of the case and doesn't wander aimlessly into the distant past of the characters and the town, etc. as I find some authors do.

A thriller from Schiller

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Cape May Courthouse. Truth is stranger than ficton! My heart goes out to the family of Tracy Thomas, Her daughter, parents and sister.Bill Conroy is the "John Wayne" type of hero lawyer who fights for what is right. We can only hope that Justice prevails.

This fascinating story will turn readers into detectives

In an America fascinated, intrigued and frustrated by its legal system, Lawrence Schiller is one of the countries most knowledgeable and sage observers. He has written about O.J. Simpson, Jon Benet Ramsey and master spy Robert Hannsen. He frequently appears on television talk shows discussing the law and its intricate maneuvers. He is a man who understands and appreciates the operation of the American legal system. In CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE: A Death in the Night, Schiller presents a view of the legal system from a perspective distinctively different from most readers have experienced. The legal system presented in CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE lacks the notoriety and glamour of previous cases that Schiller has examined. The case studied is neither a major crime nor a front-page saga. The absence of these elements, however, does not detract from a fascinating and thought provoking story that will leave readers with many unanswered questions when they reach the end of the book.CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE refers not to the locale of the litigation that forms the basis for Schiller's narrative. Rather, it is the New Jersey community where Eric and Tracy Thomas reside at the time of Tracy's tragic and soon to be suspicious death. The Thomas family had moved to the community after Eric purchased a medical practice and began his career as a dentist. To the residents of the community, the young doctor and his wife, pregnant with the couple's second child, gave the appearance of the perfect young married family. Tragedy would soon enter their lives when Tracy died after the family's Ford Explorer goes off the road in what appears initially to be a minor accident.Early investigation of the death of Tracy Thomas implied that her death resulted from the improper inflation of the air bag in the Ford Explorer. The inquiry by the medical examiner determined that improper operation of the bag resulted in Tracy's suffocation. As any observer of the American legal system would expect, this information resulted in a civil lawsuit for wrongful death filed against Ford Motor Company and other defendants. Up to this point in the narrative, the Thomas story does not differ from hundreds of thousands of civil lawsuits filed and ultimately resolved in thousands of law offices and courthouses across America.Civil litigation commences with a process referred to as discovery. Parties to lawsuits are entitled to investigate the claims of their opponents and are obligated to exchange information concerning the litigation. In many complex cases the discovery process can take several years that are often brutal and financially taxing. This process can often determine the outcome of the litigation. During the discovery phase of the Thomas litigation, evidence came to light suggesting that Tracy Thomas' death was anything but an unfortunate accident. Schiller recounts the detection of this critical information in a neutral and detached manner. Using the legal arguments, strategy and news media acco

Accident or Murder?

In reading this book, you immediately get captured by the author's ability to put you at the scene in Cape May. You find the unconscious father sitting next to the dead driver/wife/mother while the sick young child sits alone in the back seat. They were taking her to the hospital (or was she really sick?) This cold, late winter's night, you get the sense that something is wrong with the picture. Why was the mother driving when she was in the late stages of her pregnancy? Wouldn't she be in the back seat comforting the sick child while the reputable dentist/father drove? The lawsuit brought against Ford Motors by the grieving husband, remarried, is based on an airbag caused death. Is this lawsuit about a dead wife? ... a mother and her unborn child? ... or is it an attempt by a murderer to make money from a large corporation? As the hero of the story, Bill Conroy (Ford's top attorney), starts to discover the possibility of murder, a settlement is out of the question. You will get the true meaning of legal discovery.This is a book that you can't stop reading. As lawyers on both sides maneuver and attempt to gain the upper hand, you are sitting at the table and in the courtroom, listening to the arguments while also understanding the thoughts and the strategies of the legal teams. This book is riveting!