OFFTHEPRESS:

When a bright young journalist is found dead in an alley on the Southside of Chicago, the homicide detective assigned to the case, Julia Gold, is thrust into the center of a political scandal beginning to brew over the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice whose citizenship comes into question as a decades old cover-up begin to unravel. "Justice," a mystery suspense novel by legal expert Jay Lillie, exposes the core of Washington politics as questions begin to swirl over what exactly had the murdered International Herald Tribune journalist found that cost him his life? At the same time, the White House faces its own controversy when it's discovered the president's most recent appointment to the Supreme Court is possibly an illegal alien. Lillie, an international lawyer with governmental and foreign relations expertise, gives readers a front row seat to the process of Senate Judiciary Confirmation Hearings while having a little fun with the supercilious fictional Senators in the book. As the Senate confirms the appointment of Joan Chartier, the beautiful and brilliant underdog who takes on the committee and wins the day on national television, an aide notices a small detail that sets off the murder investigation as these two storylines intertwine into an unexpected and thrilling conclusion. "I wanted to not only entertain by showcasing the spectator sport of Judiciary Confirmation Hearings likely to be repeated more than once over the next few years, but also to educate the reader on a few myths behind the process," notes Lillie. A New York lawyer who has spent time working with the White House and on Capitol Hill in several administrations, Lillie specializes in international and financial transactions representing American, European and Japanese clients in more than 40 countries. Throughout his career Lillie has met and dealt with his share of brilliant minds and rascals amid serious conflicts of culture and self-preservation. Lillie is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Law and Wharton Schools. Lillie's first novl, "Havana Passage," was released in 2005, and was followed by "Pacific Rebound" in 2008. For more information on the author, visit www.jaylillie.com. To purchase a copy of "Justice," visit www.ivyhousebooks.com or www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com. Published: Fri, Feb 25, 2011