Presumption of Innocence Audiobook By Stephen Penner cover art

Presumption of Innocence

David Brunelle Legal Thriller Series # 1

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Presumption of Innocence

By: Stephen Penner
Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
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Homicide prosecutor David Brunelle faces the most difficult case of his career. An innocent young girl is murdered in a heinous, unforgivable way. The only evidence against the killer is the full confession of his accomplice - another young girl he also victimized. But the accomplice is charged with the murder as well, which means that she has the right to remain silent. And she's so scared of the killer, she refuses to take a deal to testify against him.

Brunelle can't just let the murderer walk, but how can he get a conviction when he has no admissible evidence and the killer is protected by the presumption of innocence?

©2012 Stephen Penner (P)2016 Tantor Crime Crime Thrillers Fiction Legal Murder Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Law
Excellent Legal Thriller • Unpredictable Ending • Perfect Narration • Engaging Courtroom Action • Fast-paced Storyline

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One of the best narrators I’ve listened to. Also very good legal thriller with a very clever twist.

Talented Narrator

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Letting a 15-year old girl go into a jail cell to try and get a criminal to confess without her parent’s consent to do so, was a bit too unrealistic for me. Couldn’t tell if the prosecutor was supposed to come off as inept or just dumb in how he tried the case. Either way, was not a great way to characterize the lead of the story.

Disappointing

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I have could guessed the ending but that didn’t stop me to listening to see how it turned out. Fantastic work.

Kept me interested

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Great case, great narration. I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I might find myself listening to more legal thrillers!

Awful case but great story!

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Oversexed male prosecutor whose actions and thoughts are driven by sex and inappropriate sexual overtones. Combined with an improbable plot , I would not recommend.

Prosecutor should be charged with sexual harassment

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I enjoyed the variety of characters. I would have not thought to but the mix of personalities together. The storyline moved smoothly without any dead time. Pardon the pun.

Great story line

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Good characters woven throughout the story and lots of courtroom action, which is my favorite.

Good courtroom action

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Hey create a plot that keeps you guessing until the end which is unpredictable. I'd love that he chose such a great narrator it made the story become alive

A new author to me –I must read more of his books

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What does Paul Costanzo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Paul Costanzo narrates this perfectly!

Any additional comments?


This is such a good courtroom drama. The lead character is Assistant DA David Brunell. Seems like a good guy but has his weaknesses - women. He is called to the home of a murder involving a 13 year old child. She's been hung upside down, her carotid artery nicked and she has been bled out. The only finger prints belong to that of a 15 year old girl. The police know she did not commit this crime on her own, if for no other reason, she could not have hoisted the girls body and hung it on her own.
At first the girl confesses but once her 20 year old accomplice is arrested she retracts her statement. The guy she was with had completely cleaned up after himself, leaving nothing to connect him to the crime.
The suspense is palpable. I know I'm not the only one who wants to scream when I hear about someone who has committed a heinous crime and gets away without serving a single day due to lack of evidence.
The story is believable and the writing is excellent. I've never read/listened to anything by Stephen Penner before but will certainly purchase the next two in the series on Audible.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Fast paced, well written legal thriller.

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This was a pretty good formula, legal thriller. Although a bit shorter and less detailed than I prefer, I thought we had good character development and a pretty good storyline to me. It’s running about in the middle of the pack.

Good story a bit predictable

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