Defender of the Innocent: The Casebook of Martin Ehrengraf

The Criminal Defense Lawyer. Redefined. Martin H. Ehrengraf, dapper and diabolical, may be Lawrence Block's darkest creation. He's the defense attorney who never sees the inside of a courtroom, because all his clients are innocent--no matter how guilty they may seem. Some even believe themselves to be guilty: they remember pulling the trigger, or wiring the dynamite to their spouse's car, or holding the bloody blade. But things have a way of working out when Martin Ehrengraf is on the case. Evidence turns up, incriminating someone else. More murders occur, with the same M.O. And the gate of the jail cell opens, and the accused walks free.

But be careful--hiring Martin Ehrengraf comes with a price. A high price, one that comes due even if he appears to have done nothing on your behalf. And you'd better be prepared to pay...

Here at last are the complete exploits of Martin Ehrengraf: a dozen delicious tales of vice and villainy including one--''The Ehrengraf Fandango''--that is appearing for the first time anywhere. It's a twelve-course meal of sinister surprises, exquisitely prepared and served simmering hot.

Martin Ehrengraf, cherished by Fred Dannay ("Ellery Queen") as a lineal descendant of Melville Davisson Post's Randolph Mason, never sees a client convicted. Indeed, he rarely sees the inside of a courtroom. All of his clients somehow turn out to be innocent.

Ehrengraf is one of the most remarkable creations of Lawrence Block, whose list of series characters includes Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner, and the assassin previously known as Keller.