“An accomplished lawyer proves adept as a novice sleuth in this surprising thriller.“ —Kirkus Reviews

A serial killer is littering the south shore beach of Long Island with the bones of his female victims stuffed into burlap bags. Nick Mannino, The Good Lawyer and former South Bronx Legal Aid Attorney born into a mobster dominated family, is a complex and compelling character—his constant court battles nothing more than a futile effort to hide and deny a haunting truth about himself and worse—a sinewy bloodline marred by unspeakable crimes. Then this brutal serial killer turns on him, and worse, his family.

As much a thriller as it is a mystery, with an ending as riveting as that in Silence of the Lambs, The Criminal Lawyer is also a love story, a novel of family secrets, and crimes beyond forgiveness.

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 “An exciting story…lots of emotional human interchange between mature people as they struggle in the wake of horrible serial murders.” —Lewis Weinstein, author, The Heretic

Author Bio:

Thomas Benigno is a legal thriller author best known for the writing of The Good Lawyer series. Benigno is a practicing lawyer that graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and is currently resident in Long Island, New York. He was one of the best lawyers ever to study law at Benjamin, and proved his proficiency very early in his career when he was made Associate Attorney at the recommendation of his New York Legal Aid Society Law Clinic Professor, Barry Scheck. While he was an associate attorney, he took up some of the most complex, intricate, and high profile cases and was the attorney for the infamous “Spiderman Rapist”. Asked why he took up cases that sometimes involved rapists and child molesters, he answered that he was hungry to prove himself and that everyone deserved legal representation.

”An indelible cast enhances this sharp, measured mystery.” —Kirkus Reviews

A malicious undercurrent plagues the remote hamlet of Cartersville, New York, where children have been going missing for over half a century with no explanation or concern.

When a disabled Vietnam veteran, reared in that town, collides in the heart of Manhattan with a teenage girl suffering from multiple personality disorder and memories of being trapped in a locked wooden box as a child, their budding connection slowly unravels memories that neither of them can leave in the past.

After two buried crates are unearthed at a remote construction site outside Cartersville with the bones of small boys inside them, and simultaneously, another local child goes missing, Nick Mannino, The Good Lawyer, and Paul Tarantino, a high-class fixer and former secret service agent, are drawn into the fray. Together they explore the disappearance over the years of not just one, but hundreds of children in and around this quaint but peculiar town.

With the help of a genius hacker, a dedicated reporter, and the only witnesses to the crimes—the alternate personalities of the traumatized yet innocent teenager—The Good Lawyer is about to embark on his most disturbing investigation yet: uncovering a sinister underground enterprise, and the criminal mind behind it.

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Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner, Psychological Thriller Fiction

“Superbly written, The Criminal Mind by Thomas Benigno is a sensational novel in the Nick Mannino series. Filled with mystery and suspense, it is a riveting story with an intricate plot, complex storyline, and intriguing characters. Spellbinding twists coil throughout, coming to a horrifying and heart-stopping conclusion. Distinctive characters who have acute moral, physical, emotional, and mental issues add context to the storyline. Their contrasting personalities, challenges, and attitudes give the plot definition and balance…Engaging and intense, it is a gripping novel with a compelling and suspenseful plot that promises to thrill fans of mystery, thrillers, and suspense.” —Readers’ Favorite

“Another fine story from Thomas Benigno, who has the ability to blend multiple plot lines into an exciting read.“  —Lewis Weinstein, author, The Heretic

Author Bio:

Thomas Benigno is a legal thriller author best known for the writing of The Good Lawyer series. Benigno is a practicing lawyer that graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and is currently resident in Long Island, New York. He was one of the best lawyers ever to study law at Benjamin, and proved his proficiency very early in his career when he was made Associate Attorney at the recommendation of his New York Legal Aid Society Law Clinic Professor, Barry Scheck. While he was an associate attorney, he took up some of the most complex, intricate, and high profile cases and was the attorney for the infamous “Spiderman Rapist”. Asked why he took up cases that sometimes involved rapists and child molesters, he answered that he was hungry to prove himself and that everyone deserved legal representation.

“Make room Grisham, legal suspense fiction has a new senior partner.” —Mike Shain, The New York Post

A young, ambitious lawyer is eager to prove he is better than the father who abandoned him and worthy of the devoted mother who raised him beyond the siren call of the mobster dominated family he grew up in.

Working as a Bronx Legal Aid Attorney he learn show to twist the system, how to become an unbeatable defense lawyer, and he is peacock proud of his perfect record-not a single conviction. But it's 1982. The Spider-man rapist is on the loose and New York City is a city in fear. When an outraged rape victim commits suicide right before his eyes, searching for absolution, he grabs the headline case of a teacher's aide accused of molesting three students. Armed with a firm belief in his client's innocence, he knocks the pegs out from under the prosecution's case. When one of the children turns up dead, he discovers that his client may be strangely connected to the Spider-man. Digging deeper, horrifying revelations about his family's past collide with the true identity of the sadistic sociopath behind the Spider-man's rampage. In the process, this good lawyer comes face-to-face with his greatest conflict and deepest fear: to win, really win—save the city and even the woman he loves—must he sacrifice every principle he believes in and embrace his family's mafia past?

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“Gritty and true-to-life; a can’t-put-down read.” —Gil Clancy (d. 2011), award-winning commentator, CBS, HBO, MSG Network

“Benigno’s first effort is a crafty legal page turner, just as good in the courtroom as it is outside…Readers who like their courtroom thrillers packed with lawyer-speak and zigzagging plot developments should find much to savor.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Five stars. I loved The Good Lawyer.” —Readers’ Favorite

“The interesting glimpses of courtroom procedure and a cast of eccentric characters will intrigue readers.” —Publishers Weekly

“The Good Lawyer delivers a genuinely audacious twist that is both effective and very powerful. It's testament to Thomas Benigno's writing that The Good Lawyer remains believable throughout...By the end of the novel, there's a sense of something really epic (on a human scale) unfolding.” —Bookspot

“Benigno's mastery comes through in introducing and developing character after character and weaving them into a complex and totally believable story that connects them all together in the end…I hope we hear more from Thomas Benigno.” —Men Reading Books

Author Bio:

Thomas Benigno is a legal thriller author best known for the writing of The Good Lawyer series. Benigno is a practicing lawyer that graduated from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and is currently resident in Long Island, New York. He was one of the best lawyers ever to study law at Benjamin, and proved his proficiency very early in his career when he was made Associate Attorney at the recommendation of his New York Legal Aid Society Law Clinic Professor, Barry Scheck. While he was an associate attorney, he took up some of the most complex, intricate, and high profile cases and was the attorney for the infamous “Spiderman Rapist”. Asked why he took up cases that sometimes involved rapists and child molesters, he answered that he was hungry to prove himself and that everyone deserved legal representation.