"Another literate, gripping legal thriller, by the author of A Cinderella Affidavit a consummate storyteller completely at ease with his material interesting, believable, and often very funny."
- Kirkus Reviews

Tommy Crimmins, the leader of the South Boston mob, has been on the lam with his girlfriend ever since he was indicted on RICO charges. His jailed partner reveals that he and Tommy have been FBI informants for two decades. Blistered by the ensuing publicity, the FBI is shamed into offering a six-figure reward for Tommy's capture.
If this sounds like a certain case still in the headlines, it's no accident. That case was the inspiration for Michael Fredrickson's new novel, Witness for the Dead (Forge Books, 2001), in which two lawyers, a cook, and a bumbling mafioso are all scheming to track down Tommy-some for the reward, others for revenge. The FBI is pursuing its own agenda, Tommy's girlfriend trails breadcrumbs through her online dealings with greyhound rescue groups, and the governor just happens to be Tommy's older brother. The resulting mix is a compelling, realistic, and mordantly funny trip through Boston, its legal community, the criminal justice system, and disorganized crime. How could it not end happily?

The author of a highly acclaimed first novel, A Cinderella Affidavit (Forge Books 1999), Michael Fredrickson is general counsel to the Board of Bar Overseers.