David Kessler (author)

David Kessler
File:Davidkessler.jpg
Occupation	Author
Nationality	British
Period	1997—present
Genre	Mystery, Thriller
Website
http://www.davidkesslerauthor.com

David Kessler (born March 3, 1957) is a British author of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve people falsely accused of crimes, legal battles, DNA, computer hacking and police investigations and are characterized by multiple plot twists and last-minute surprises. With the exception of A Fool for a Client, his early novels (published by Hodder Headline) were set in Britain. His new series of books (published by HarperCollins) are set in the Bay area of California and center around a series of recurring characters including the lawyer Alex Sedaka and his paralegal Juanita Cortez.

Background

Kessler was born to a Jewish family in London, England, and dropped out of school at the age of 15. Shortly thereafter, he wrote a screenplay that he showed to his mother's cousin, movie director Clive Donner. Although never produced, the screenplay made Kessler realize that he wanted to become a writer.

Career

Kessler began writing at the age of 15 when he dropped out of school, but it wasn't until he was in his late thirties that he secured a publishing contract from Hodder Headline. His first book A Fool for a Client was a legal thriller and courtroom drama about the trial of a 23-year-old female medical student in New York for the murder of an Irish nationalist who had fled to the United States and avoided extradition. The title is an allusion to the legal aphorism that anyone who conducts their own defense “has a fool for a client.” In the novel, the accused, Justine Levy, insists on conducting her own defense despite judicial advice to the contrary. The book was favourably reviewed by Susanna Yager who wrote: “The author has thought up the most ingenious method of committing murder that I have come across in a long while.” Sunday Telegraph April 20, 1997.

This was followed by The Other Victim about the stabbing of a teenager and the disappearance of a billionaire in what turn out to be linked cases. The London Express on Sunday wrote of this book: “The pace is fast, characters convince and the plot is well thought out. Kessler writes well.'Express on Sunday December 5, 1998.

However after his next two books,Tarnished Heroes and Reckless Justice he was dropped by Hodder during a slump in publishing. At that same time, he courted controversy by co-writing a book about the murder of Rachel Nickell called Who Really Killed Rachel? with Colin Stagg the man who had been falsely accused of the murder and who at the time was still perceived by some to have been a guilty man who got away with the crime. The book - which was published in 1999 by small publisher Greenzone, after the major publishers turned it down - named Robert Napper as one of four credible suspects. Nine years later, Napper pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility for the crime, after new DNA technology and other innovations in forensic science linked him to the crime.

Kessler made a comeback in 2009 when he signed a three book deal with the Avon division of HarperCollins UK for a series of books about a San Francisco lawyer, Alex Sedaka. The first book in the series, Mercy, is about Sedaka's race against time to save a client on death row after the client declines an offer of clemency from the governor. The entire book takes place in a 15 hour time-frame and was described by Radio talk show host James O'Brian as “a cracking thriller.”

Novels

Year	Title	ISBN	Comments
1997	A Fool for a Client	ISBN 0-340-68899-8	Currently out of print.
1997	The Other Victim	ISBN 0-340-68902-1	Currently out of print.
1998	Tarnished Heroes	ISBN 0-340-70835-2	Currently out of print.
1999	Reckless Justice	ISBN 0-340-70837-9	Currently out of print.
1999	Who Really Killed Rachel	ISBN 0-9582027-2-9	Currently out of print.
2009	Mercy	ISBN 1-847-56182-9	First Alex Sedaka novel.

External links

• David Kessler's official website