The Burden of Persuasion

The trauma of retiring early forces FBI Special Agent B. Clare Ryan to conduct an unsanctioned investigation into one of her first cases for the Bureau back in 1988. After an unfavorable verdict that was the culmination of eight years of litigation over claims of sexual harassment of Ida Callaghan by the management at the Bedford Bank in Manhattan, her father, Bradley, shot the judge over the case, Vincente Brunetti, to death at his suburban residence before committing suicide. The case is outrageous enough on its own, but Ryan is more interested in why her supervisor at the FBI forbade her from investigating it and destroyed the suicide note that Bradley left behind. This clue leads her to a diary that accuses many powerful men in New York of corruption. Now in 2013, the trail might be cold, but Ryan digs up ancient records and does everything possible, including breaking into private vaults and morgues to get to the truth, which turns out to be more explosive than she predicted. Ryan reproduces original diaries, notes, letters, police reports and other documents that finally sufficiently prove the case that both Bradley and his daughter lost. Ryan takes on the burden of persuasion and brings this case to the public at large, hiding under the veil of fiction what she cannot expose in the court of law. What was the connection between this federal Judge and a major bank like Bedford? What drove Bradley to homicide instead of another appeal? Why were there five hundred sparkling-new, but unused, Bronx-made Vachengrais autos parked outside Bradley's precinct in 1969? What was Bradley's boyhood friend, Terry, who later became the Chief of NYPD, doing on a military base in East Germany in 1955 that sent everybody in this story on a violent collision course? This mystery begins after the whodunit is long solved. Only hidden personal confessions can display what corruption has obstructed from the eyes of justice."An original novel of inherently fascinating complexity by an author with a genuine flair for narrative driven suspense replete with unexpected twists and turns. One of those exquisitely fashioned literary works of mystery and intrigue that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. Unreservedly recommended, especially for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that it is also available in a paperback edition." -Midwest Book Review"Anna Faktorovich has created a beautiful work of fiction based on real and true injustices on many fronts. The story unfolded in such a pressure-cooking and mysterious way that you first don't see it coming, and then as the momentum builds, you can't outrun it. The frustration and devastation caused by multiple crooked systems (designed to serve and protect, dispense justice, honor codes of business and industry) that you feel for each and every character is palpable. The author's impeccably researched and documented truths were part of the thrill to me. When I finished the book, upon realizing what I'd been reading, I was inspired to search for the real news stories that brought us Anna's work. I don't see how this story could have been told any better or from more interesting angles. My deepest gratitude goes out to Anna Faktorovich for such a compelling story with layers upon layers of emotional carnage that occur when corruption rules.*****" --Mary Adams, Law Librarian, Office of Attorney General Jeff Landry, Louisiana"This is an extraordinary book - the underlying anger - acted out by an enraged father - bristles throughout the compelling story of her search into the crime that got away from her in the early days of her career - this is a terrific book, and deserves good attention." -Leslie Gardner, founder ArtellusAnna Faktorovich is the Director of Anaphora. She has a PhD & taught college English for 4 years.