About the Books

Gordon Seegerman is a slacker public defender, at risk for early onset Alzheimer's, obsessed with Barry Manilow, who can't keep out of the hottest legal battles in town. Welcome to the planet Misdemeanor Man.

The first in the series, Misdemeanor Man, won Mystery Ink Magazine's 2004 Gumshoe Award for best debut. It was short listed for a McAvity in the same category. And it was a BOOKSENSE pick in both hardcover and paperback. The second book in the series, I Right the Wrongs, was also a BOOKSENSE pick in hardcover. It will be out in paperback in April 2006.

Here's Gordy on Barry: "Barry is hope and hopelessness. Barry is love, desire, passion. Barry is exuberance and heartache. Better than anyone else in popular music, in a simple, direct, unpretentious way, Manilow reflects the essential, wondrous workings of human existence.

And here's Gordy on being Gordy:

My name is Gordon Seegerman. I’m an assistant public defender for the City of Santa Rita, California. I’m assigned, as I have been for nearly a decade, to the misdemeanor division. Each morning I wake up, drive sixteen minutes to my dank office in the basement of the Santa Rita municipal building, and settle into my job as a cog in the creaky wheels of the criminal justice system.

A file appears on my desk. A man has been arrested for a petty crime---stealing a slice of pizza, or being drunk in public, or showing his genitals to someone who isn’t interested. I meet the man. I pretend to commiserate when he explains: they got the wrong guy; they planted the evidence; the witness is lying; I was holding the stuff for my cousin.

I nod a lot. I tell him everything is going to be fine. Later I discuss the case with a deputy district attorney. He or she makes the standard offer: seven months county jail or 100 hours community service or a stay at a drug rehab outfit. In turn, I make a half-hearted, short-lived, and uniformly ineffectual attempt to improve the deal. I take the plea offer to the client, who yells at me, says he wants a real lawyer, tells me I’m an idiot or worse. And then, in a few days, he pleads guilty.

I take as few cases to trial as humanly possible. I avoid promotion--to the felony division, to the serious cases—as I might the Ebola virus. What ambition I have I save for my music, for my commitment to Manilow. What energy I have I exhaust, mostly, handling my dad, who, perhaps simply to irritate me, ten years ago developed a rare form of Alzheimer’s. Imagine a five year old after a few shots of Jack Daniels ---that about describes my father.

My job is my job. I lay low. I try not to attract too much attention. Every two weeks I’m pleasantly surprised to find that the City has deposited a sum of money in my bank account. I can’t say I believe this money is earned, but I’m not inclined to return it.

Misdemeanor Man Reviews

Mystery Readers International nominated Misdemeanor Man for a 2004 Macavity Award for Best Debut.

Mystery Ink Magazine awarded Misdemeanor Man its GUMSHOE award for Best Debut Mystery of 2004.

Misdemeanor Man was a BOOKSENSE TOP 20 Pick and a BARNES & NOBLES EDITORS' PICK

The Mysterious Bookshop in New York selected Misdemeanor Man as its FIRST MYSTERY PICK, June 2004.

Misdemeanor Man was one of the Kansas City Star's TEN BEST MYSTERIES OF 2004.

Misdemeanor Man was a POISONED PEN Mystery Bookstore selected FIRST MYSTERY, June 2004.

"[A] daffy, delightful first novel . . . . [M]ore than a few inspired plot twists . . . . Schaffer has a good eye for the oddities of human nature, a skeptical mind and a nice way with a phrase."

  - The Washington Post

""Misdemeanor Man" [is] a refreshing, happy surprise. . . . unusual . . . hilarious . . . . stands out from the pack."

  - San Francisco Chronicle

"Misdemeanor Man is one of the freshest and most original mysteries in a long time. . . . Schaffer writes with a sly wit and wonderful gift for characters. . . . If you're tired of the conventional legal thrillers that overflow bookstore shelves, do yourself a favor and try something with personality and panache. Misdemeanor Man is a gem of a novel that deserves to be discovered."

  - The Chicago Sun-Times

"[C]harming and original . . . a genre-busting legal thriller that's everything a normal legal thriller is not. . . . [I]t's poignant, smart and memorable. And, best of all, it's funny."

  - The Buffalo News

"Schaffer weaves a crackling mystery, with surprises at every turn, equal doses of humor and suspense and a refreshing frankness about the realities of the criminal justice system. "

  - Newsday

"[A] remarkable debut . . . . [A] memorable, frenetic comedy of errors . . . . A rambunctious . . . absurdly funny satire of the modern legal thriller."

  - January Magazine

"The best Barry Manilow mystery I've ever read."

  - The Kansas City Star

"Compelling . . . . fast moving, unpredictable, often hilarious romantic and irreverent legal thriller.."

  - Nob Hill Gazette

"Once there was Erle Stanley Gardner. Then there was Scott Turow. Then there was John Grisham. And now there is Dylan Schaffer–a talented new voice in that oft mined mystery sub-genre: the legal whodunit. . . . [Misdemeanor Man] is fast paced and hard to put down: the term I believe is page turner. . . . [Narrator] Gordy Seegerman is an original. Let’s hope he will be heard from again."

  - CompulsiveReader.com

One of the summer's "best new releases. . . . [A]n entertaining legal thriller . . . ."

  - San Francisco Magazine

"Those who like quirky comedy mixed with mystery will feel right at home" with Misdemeanor Man.

  - Booklist

"The thinking man's John Grisham. For a guy who isn't me, Dylan Schaffer can really write."

  - Kinky Friedman, author of The Prisoner of Vandam Street.

"San Francisco lawyer Dylan Schaffer's superb debut pits an engaging public defender against a stacked legal system in a case that shouldn't see the light of day. With a winning protagonist and a fast-paced plot, Schaffer is a fresh new voice in a crowded and highly-competitive field. It makes you hope that he can take time away from his law practice to focus on writing a sequel. Highly recommended."

  - Sheldon Siegel, New York Times best selling author of Final Verdict

"A terrific debut. With wit, compassion, and tremendous humor, Schaffer has created a lovable reluctant hero in Gordon Seegerman. Misdemeanor Man is the rare legal thriller that never forgets to tell the most compelling stories—those that occur outside the courthouse."

  - Alafair Burke, author of Judgment Calls and Missing Justice

"A terrific read — the best legal fiction I've read in years, hands down. Thrilling, funny, and heartrending in turn. A totally unique, genre-smashing page-turner."

  - Barry Scheck, criminal defense lawyer, and co-author of Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right

I Right the Wrongs Reviews

For the second year in a row, BOOKSENSE has chosen the latest MISDEMEANOR MAN MYSTERY, I RIGHT THE WRONGS, as a recommended July read.

"Seegerman is one of the most complex and interesting mystery heroes to surface in a long time. . . . Schaffer . . . writes with wry and subtle genius."

  - Chicago Tribune

"Twisted in its own special way . . . . 'I Right the Wrongs' is the entertaining kind of page turner you'll pursue to the end, then look around for the next in the series."

  - The Tampa Tribune

"Dylan Schaffer excels at bringing an amusing approach to the legal thriller. 'I Right the Wrongs' moves at a brisk pace as Schaffer expertly weaves the seriousness of racial tension, political grandstanding and Alzheimer's with wry humor. . . . The author never falters in his pitch perfect tone . . . ."

  - The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

". . . a great big puppy dog of a book, exuberant and eager to please. . . . Schaffer attempts to persuade readers of Manilow's greatness, but his fandom doesn't get in the way of the increasingly complicated legal elements. There are other subplots, both humorous and not, but Schaffer is able to juggle them all and still produce a credible performance both in the courtroom and on the stage."

  - Publisher's Weekly

"Schaffer's follow-up to Misdemeanor Man dispels the notion that sequels are inferior to originals: this second mystery featuring Gordon Seegerman rocks. . . . "

  - Booklist

"Schaffer's follow up to Misdemeanor Man" is "a wry mystery . . . . drop dead funny."

  - Rocky Mountain News

"[W]itty. . . . a decidedly wry and frequently caustic look at the grinding wheels of a legal system run amok. . . . Schaffer has created a likable, foible-rich protagonist who, despite himself, remains the hero of his own life. And if this "misdemeanor man's" dilemmas are often funny and even borderline bizarre, it is the frenzied pathos with which Schaffer treats him that makes Gordon Seegerman all too human. Here's a guy most of us would love to have as a son, or maybe a brother. Even if we might sometimes want to twist his head off."

  - January Magazine

"[A]nother fun-filled, quirky go-round . . . . . [O]dd, lovable characters . . . . [A] rewarding read."

  - Chicago Sun-Times

I Right the Wrongs is "a treat . . . an over-the-top romp with a generous heart and a couple of nice twists at the end."

  - New Orleans Times-Picayune

"I Right the Wrongs" is the entertaining kind of page-turner you'll pursue to the end, then look around for the next in the series."

  - San Antonio Express-News

"In I Right the Wrongs, Dylan Schaffer's establishes himself as one of the finest writers of legal drama working today. Picking up where he left off in last year's stellar debut, Misdemeanor Man, Schaffer's engaging Assistant Public Defender and Barry Manilow afficionado, Gordy Seegerman, returns foranother compelling case involving everything from a high profile athlete, drugs and a stolen team mascot. With a winning protagonist, artfully-drawn characters and a tight, nuanced plot, Schaffer demonstrates once again why he is a fresh voice in a crowded field. It makes you hope that he can take time away from his busy law practice to write full time. Highly recommended."

  - Sheldon Siegel. New York Times best selling author of THE CONFESSION