Toronto, Ontario – From the best-selling author of "Breakdown", the story of the rise and sudden fall of prestigious tax law firm Heenan Blaikie comes a heart-pounding, never predictable murder-mystery that mirrors Shakespeare's tragedy, "Othello." Former HBO head Robert Cooper calls the debut novel a "page-turning, potboiler of a read."
"Odell's Fall" asks what lengths would partners at a leading Manhattan law firm go to in the quest for success and love. Norman Bacal's fiction debut features the highly successful African-American attorney Odell Moore, along with his Iago-like colleague, Jackson Sherman, and a surrounding cast of scheming characters. Love, jealousy and deceit lead to murder in a penthouse apartment and Odell is the prime suspect. Did he commit the crime or was it a plot launched by Jackson Sherman? The answer is not clear until the last pages of this amazing novel.
"I've always loved storytelling," says the author, who believes the secret of good storytelling lies in connecting with the reader. "The key to fiction is taking your characters and giving them a choice between two impossible options. In "Odell's Fall," Jackson has to choose between Odell and the senator and how he's going to manage the conflict between them."
Odell's Fall was recently named an Amazon #1 Bestselling book in 9 categories and a top ten in four more categories including:
#1 Perspectives on Law (*ahead of John Grisham's book, The Innocent Man)
#1 Biographical Literary Fiction
#1 Classic American Fiction
#1 Law
#1 Crime and Criminals
#1 Politics & Social Sciences
#1 Legal Thrillers
#1 Traditional Detective Mysteries
#1 African American Lit. Fiction
#2 African American Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
#2 Fiction Classics
#3 Literary Fiction
#7 Thrillers
Four years in the making and featuring endless plot twists and turns, "Odell's Fall" comes with the perspective of Bacal, one of the most esteemed entertainment tax attorneys in the world, whose own journey is told in the best-selling memoir, "Breakdown."
"If you look at most lawyers-turned-fiction writers, you are almost always looking at criminal lawyers who write murder mysteries," says Bacal. "I think I'm one of the few writers who comes to this with both boardroom and management experience. What I can bring to a reader is what a real lawyer might be like if forced to make difficult ethical and professional decisions."
There are countless such conflicts in "Odell's Fall," as members of a fictitious law firm, TGO, in Manhattan, vie for bigger money, more responsibility and promotions. Meanwhile, the novel touches on the topics of race, child abuse and blind ambition, just to name a few, as Jackson's original scheme comes crashing down.
Bacal says part of his motivation in writing the debut novel lies in making the works of Shakespeare more accessible to readers. "What I want is for somebody to read my novel and then read "Othello" and understand what is happening in the play. They may not understand all the language, but they will understand where the story is going."
His next book in this series, due out next summer, is based on Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet."
Bacal is a much sought after speaker who lectures on a variety of topics including "Building A Firm," leadership methods and more. He can be contacted at www.NormanBacal.com.
Odell's Fall - ISBN 9781988025438, $18.00 Paperback, $7.49 ebook, 2019, Norman Bacal, 416 pages, available on Amazon. View the book trailer here: http://bit.ly/ODELLSFALLTrailer
About Norman Bacal – The author of the nonfiction debut bestseller, "Breakdown," about the meteoric rise and devastating downfall of prestigious Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie, founded the Toronto office of that firm in 1989. In 1997, the author became the national co-managing partner of the firm and built it into a national and international force. Bacal brings to writing his experience as one of Canada's leading tax attorneys in the entertainment business. He helped to finance countless Canadian films and television programs and a number of Hollywood studio pictures. Bacal retired as managing partner in 2012. In addition to writing, Bacal is a frequent speaker at law schools and forums. He regularly delivers keynote speeches at corporate retreats in June 2019, and has taken part in several roundtable discussions featuring prominent experts in firm management, growth and development. Some of his topics include, among many others, "Learning to Lead," "Building a Firm", "The Importance of Culture and Values," and "Building a Career." To schedule a speech by Norman Bacal, visit his website at www.NormanBacal.com
Born in Montreal in 1956, Bacal graduated from McGill University's Faculty of Law in 1980. He currently resides in Toronto, with his wife, Sharon, a portrait artist. The couple have four children.
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Media Contact: For a review copy of Odell's Fall or to arrange an interview with Norman Bacal, contact Book Publicist Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on twitter @abookpublicist.