When DEATH is your only hope...
Ascension Day is the most exciting and compelling death-row thriller since
The Shawshank Redemption
Only 47 days left until Larry Durrant's execution, but lawyer Lac McElroy is determined to save his client's life.
There are only three small problems: the evidence against Durrant is overwhelming, he's made a full confession, and he wants to die...
But Jac's hungry to make his mark and he knows something just isn't right about Larry Durrant's murder conviction. Trouble is, everyone thinks Larry's guilty, from the Louisiana Governor right down to the accused, who has confessed to the crime and now wants to make peace with his maker.
Jac soon discovers that someone doesn't want anyone — especially a lawyer — digging around this case. And they'll stop at nothing to make sure Larry's execution goes ahead on schedule. Now Jac must decide whether he's prepared to risk his career, his reputation and his life to save a man who, by his own admission, is a murderer . . .
REVIEWS:
'Matthews certainly knows how to keep the reader hungry for the next revelation'.
- Kirkus UK.
Ascension Day is like a narcotic, laced with danger, and totally
addictive. Impossible to put down. This is what thrillers are meant to
be. Jac McElroy is a character I want to read more of.
- Jon Jordan. Crime Spree Magazine.
Goes to the wire... a gripping thriller.
- The Scotsman.
'If John Grisham ever developed a sense of irony, or Scott Turow ever tried to write from the other side of the prison bars, they might come up with something like John Matthews’s Ascension Day. This is a book that doesn’t sacrifice style for suspense, or character for plot. The legal thriller has needed a jolt of electricity for a few years now and Matthews may just be the man to throw the switch.'
- Peter Blauner,
Author of Slipping Into Darkness and The Intruder.
'Move over Grisham, your reign is over! Reminiscent of vintage Grisham, but Matthews has his own distinctive style. Strong, believable characters and a plot that grips from page one and won't let go, twisting and turning its way towards a nail-biting climax - they don't come much better than this. One of the best and most memorable thrillers I've read in
years. A winner all the way.'
- Bob Burke. Mystery Readers International.
'ASCENSION DAY is a fast-paced thriller set between New Orleans and an upstate Louisiana prison, and Matthews' strong descriptive prose brings the darkness at the heart of Libreville penitentiary alive. His chief protagonist, Jac McElroy, is particularly interesting with his Franco-Scottish heritage - and his ever-changing relationship with prisoner Larry Durrant sets the main pulse for this race-against-time thriller... with the stakes and tension racheted up throughout the book.'
- Luke Croll, Reviewing the Evidence.
John Matthews is a leading British thriller writer. His books span genres of crime, action, mystery and legal-thriller and include: Basikasingo, Crescents of the Moon, Past Imperfect, The Last Witness, The Second Amendment, Ascension Day, The Shadow Chaser and The Prophet.
They have been translated into 14 languages with total sales of 1.5 million. In 2007, Past Imperfect was included in a top ten all-time best legal thrillers list in The Times. He was one of only two British authors in the list.
Ascension Day is the most exciting and compelling death-row thriller since
The Shawshank Redemption
Only 47 days left until Larry Durrant's execution, but lawyer Lac McElroy is determined to save his client's life.
There are only three small problems: the evidence against Durrant is overwhelming, he's made a full confession, and he wants to die...
But Jac's hungry to make his mark and he knows something just isn't right about Larry Durrant's murder conviction. Trouble is, everyone thinks Larry's guilty, from the Louisiana Governor right down to the accused, who has confessed to the crime and now wants to make peace with his maker.
Jac soon discovers that someone doesn't want anyone — especially a lawyer — digging around this case. And they'll stop at nothing to make sure Larry's execution goes ahead on schedule. Now Jac must decide whether he's prepared to risk his career, his reputation and his life to save a man who, by his own admission, is a murderer . . .
REVIEWS:
'Matthews certainly knows how to keep the reader hungry for the next revelation'.
- Kirkus UK.
Ascension Day is like a narcotic, laced with danger, and totally
addictive. Impossible to put down. This is what thrillers are meant to
be. Jac McElroy is a character I want to read more of.
- Jon Jordan. Crime Spree Magazine.
Goes to the wire... a gripping thriller.
- The Scotsman.
'If John Grisham ever developed a sense of irony, or Scott Turow ever tried to write from the other side of the prison bars, they might come up with something like John Matthews’s Ascension Day. This is a book that doesn’t sacrifice style for suspense, or character for plot. The legal thriller has needed a jolt of electricity for a few years now and Matthews may just be the man to throw the switch.'
- Peter Blauner,
Author of Slipping Into Darkness and The Intruder.
'Move over Grisham, your reign is over! Reminiscent of vintage Grisham, but Matthews has his own distinctive style. Strong, believable characters and a plot that grips from page one and won't let go, twisting and turning its way towards a nail-biting climax - they don't come much better than this. One of the best and most memorable thrillers I've read in
years. A winner all the way.'
- Bob Burke. Mystery Readers International.
'ASCENSION DAY is a fast-paced thriller set between New Orleans and an upstate Louisiana prison, and Matthews' strong descriptive prose brings the darkness at the heart of Libreville penitentiary alive. His chief protagonist, Jac McElroy, is particularly interesting with his Franco-Scottish heritage - and his ever-changing relationship with prisoner Larry Durrant sets the main pulse for this race-against-time thriller... with the stakes and tension racheted up throughout the book.'
- Luke Croll, Reviewing the Evidence.
John Matthews is a leading British thriller writer. His books span genres of crime, action, mystery and legal-thriller and include: Basikasingo, Crescents of the Moon, Past Imperfect, The Last Witness, The Second Amendment, Ascension Day, The Shadow Chaser and The Prophet.
They have been translated into 14 languages with total sales of 1.5 million. In 2007, Past Imperfect was included in a top ten all-time best legal thrillers list in The Times. He was one of only two British authors in the list.
