The Big Bear

A challenging murder case tries a Mexican-American attorney's practice in this legal thriller I didn't kill her, the accused says. Gabby Garcia has heard it all before. Everything from out-right lies to minimizations, omissions and simple denials. Garcia has all the cases he can handle, but a new case is about to grab his attention. In physician Dr. Alan Newsome, a man accused of killing his wife, Garcia sees the ultimate challenge in his long struggle for recognition and worth. Gabby Garcia has clawed his way out of farm work to become a lawyer for the poor and disenfranchised in San Jose, California, only to abandon them for the lure of bigger and better cases. Alienated and numb to the world around him, Garcia stumbles onto a life-altering murder case that demands that he find the internal strength to prevail. Ron Ruiz, best-selling author and former defense attorney and prosecutor, writes from bareknuckled courtroom experience and the teeth-grinding memory of growing up the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California. His characters' agonizing relationships and search for self-discovery provide an engrossing illustration of ever-present issues of success and social class in the United States. Ruiz populates this tale of passion, crime and politics with genuine and vulnerable characters, each one struggling to solve his or her own mysteries.