Synopses & Reviews
In Platinum Blues, Oliver Gulliver is a small-town lawyer in northern California, and hes slowly going broke. Hes a plodder and a dreamer, has never tested himself in a big trial, and is immensely protective of his two teenage girls. His very attractive 18-year-old returns home from San Francisco, where she had been seeking a modeling career, dragging home with her a once-famous, now burnt-out and alcoholic rock star, C.C. Gilley. Theyre in love. Oliver is utterly shocked and dismayed. Its like having a dope-smoking extraterrestrial in the trailer in the back yard, living with his daughter. But a quirky friendship develops as Gilley accepts Olivers dare to go cold turkey. Working in the backyard Winnebago, with guitar and portable recording studio, Gilley begins writing songs a comeback album. But the tune of his love song to Olivers daughter ("Small-Town Girl") gets stolen, and begins to get major airplay from a new band that a major label is pushing. Armed with an opinion from a music expert, Oliver finds himself in Los Angeles, tackling the big boys, suing a billion-dollar record company for plagiarism. He discovers he has a folksy talent that captures not only the admiration of the public, but that of the courts. He wins a temporary restraining order, and survives efforts to sabotage his case. This legal thriller captures the inside story of the music business as well as the arcane issue of copyright.
Synopsis
In this "fast-paced, wickedly funny" legal thriller, a small-town lawyer's case against a Los Angeles record label turns into a deadly media circus (Publishers Weekly)
Living in the Northern California town of Foolsgold, widowed lawyer Oliver Gulliver is headed for a midlife crisis. It doesn't help that his eighteen-year-old daughter Elora has fallen in love with alcoholic former rock star C.C. Gilley. But then C.C. quits drinking and gets to work on a comeback album. Things actually seem to be looking up -- until C.C.'s car is stolen, with his priceless demo tape inside.
In no time at all, another band is all over the radio with C.C.'s song, and Oliver finds himself in Los Angeles working the biggest case of his life -- suing a billion-dollar record company for plagiarism. But even as Oliver discovers his talent for charming the public, he finds out how nasty the music industry can get. When the stakes skyrocket from plagiarism to murder, Oliver will have to try C.C.'s case like his life depends on it -- because it does.
About the Author
William Deverell is the author of Trial of Passion, which won the Dashiell Hammett Award in 1998 and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Mystery Novel in Canada. He is also the author of Needles. He lives in Pender Island, British Columbia.