About the Book:
A decade ago, it had been unthinkable when Joe Turner’s life-long friend, Owen Prescott, was charged with a grisly murder. Then Owen disappeared, leaving behind a brilliant career and budding romance to live as a fugitive from justice.
Now, haunted by the memory and clinging to a belief in Owen’s innocence, Joe dives in to solve the cold case as the FBI closes in on his friend.
The award-winning Joe Turner Mystery series returns with a haunting, serpentine tale that pushes the snarky defense attorney to the brink.
Bequette has penned another riveting thriller that rewards the reader with a signature twist at the finale. Unlock the mystery to the latest Joe Turner thriller today.
Buy the Book – Amazon
Reviews:
San Francisco Book Review – 5 stars
A Long Time Dead is the third book in the Joe Turner mystery series by T.L. Bequette. What I found interesting in this particular book is that Joe was not the main character. In fact, he only popped up here and there during the story mainly during flashbacks of him and his best friend Owen Prescott, the true main character in the book. This threw me for a bit of a loop since I have read one other Joe Turner book where he was indeed the main character and much of that book took place in the courtroom being that Joe is a Criminal Defense attorney.
A Long Time Dead starts with a scene where Owen is running from a man. In further chapters readers will learn that Owen had been arrested in 2013 for the murder of his former professor, Norvel Anendale who was filing a lawsuit against Owen for stealing his book idea. This lawsuit was one hundred percent bogus because it was Owen’s work that Anendale had wanted to collaborate on with Owen responding with, “Thanks but I think I work better alone.” This made Owen the number one suspect in Anendale’s death. The worst part is that Owen’s DNA is found at the scene of the crime.
Bequette does a thorough job of describing his characters and all of their quirks. The book is written in the third person and the reader is given the birds eye view of Owen, Margo (a love interest), and Alyssa (the FBI agent trying to find Owen). Owen’s job of a writer is less than boring as he even has a crazy stalker who he ends up filing a restraining order against.
The day before Owen is about to get convicted, he flees the country. He ends up in the small village of Tetley leaving behind his parents, girlfriend April, and best friend Joe. Living a secluded life with only Mrs. Pembroke, whom he had purchased his cottage from, around and occasionally going to the local pub, Owen is very careful about who he speaks to and is living under the name of Ancil Bradford. Then he meets Margo, a very fit, beautiful woman who he starts falling for. As Owen/Ancil’s world starts to slowly unravel and he becomes more and more suspicious of people, he feels as if he will be caught soon. This book has all the elements of a bestselling psychological thriller, with twists and turns around every corner. The characters are intriguing and all of them seem to have dark secrets. The setting is lovely and quaint. Readers will not be disappointed as every aspect of the book comes together in the end. In fact, Owen may need his very own series soon as he is just as, if not more, likable than Joe.
~ Kristi Elizabeth, San Francisco Book Review
About the Author:
T.L. Bequette is a criminal defense attorney turned writer from Lafayette, California. His debut novel, Good Lookin, A Joe Turner Mystery won the 2022 Independent Press Award for Crime Fiction, a Chanticleer International Book Award, and was a Finalist for a National Indie Excellence Award. Kirkus Reviews called the book “a rigorous, thoroughly engrossing mystery from a writer with immense potential.”
Blood Perfect, second in the Joe Turner series, was hailed by Chanticleer Reviews as “a tale that solidifies Turner as a charmingly reliable champion of the innocent.”
Much of Bequette’s law practice involves defending young men from Oakland accused of murder. He holds degrees from The University of the Pacific and Georgetown Law School and serves annually on the faculty of the Stanford Law School Trial Advocacy Clinic.