From bestselling crime novelist (and deputy district attorney) William P. Wood . . . A killer so savage (and so sly) that the brutal frenzy of his crimes makes an unassailable insanity defense—such is the opponent facing Tony Fraser, a young district attorney willing to risk anything, everything, for a sentence of death. Plotted against by court psychiatrists, tormented by vanishing evidence and fugitive witnesses, his own wife a target, Fraser finds himself checkmated by the accused—until he seizes an opportunity to go beyond the letter of the law. To experience the final, stunning climax of Rampage is to thrill to the tensions of a high-stakes capital case, to go behind the scenes of our justice system, and to find a dark and terrifying clockwork there.

  A one-man crime wave is shaking the peaceful city of Santa Maria, California, and no place is safe. Kenny Trask, an unpredictable, high-strung, shockingly violent convict, has just escaped from prison and is intent on putting together enough cash to bankroll a new life for himself, his ex-cellmate, and the female defense attorney he believes they must “rescue.�    Only one man is willing to stand in the way: Robby Medavoy, a cop who’s been called a hero, whose unorthodox style has fueled the resentment of rival officers and the suspicions of his superiors. With a contract on his life from his department’s SWAT team, Medavoy must put everything on the line to pull Trask in—his reputation, his survival, and, unexpectedly, the woman he comes to love.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Nash thought the brutal murder trial in his court would be like many he’d presided over before. He didn’t know it might lead to his own murder. Nash has been tapped as point man in a federal sting operation against the most powerful and dangerous of prey: corrupt judges. Risking his reputation and his life, Nash digs deep into a morass of dirty deals and uncovers a devastating plot of betrayal. The closer he gets to the truth, the more desperate the judges become—until they fight back with all the power at their command. It’s all coming to a head as the murder trial nears its verdict, a verdict that could spell death for not only the defendant but also for Nash himself.

Small-time operator Bobby Carnes took a shot at a big score, setting up a major drug sale with some high rollers in Marina del Ray. He went in with a few bags of crank-methamphetamine and a .44 and walked out a stone-cold killer: a suitcase full of cash in his hands and four bodies in his wake. Now Carnes is up for trial, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Keegan has decided to prosecute the case himself, prompted by his own private anguish. It’s a move that guarantees him media coverage in a brutal reelection campaign—a strategy that could easily backfire. For Keegan’s star witness is running scared, and if he loses the case, a brutal murderer will go free . . . and all of George Keegan’s dreams will turn to dust.

As head of California’s task force on narcotics and organized crime, Brock Andrews has earned his reputation as a tough, no-nonsense law enforcement agent. With his hardball tactics and skillful handling of informants, his team has successfully brought down some of the country’s most violent and powerful criminals. But it’s Brock’s superior who’s about to become his greatest adversary. Her name: Alison Andrews, First Assistant United States Attorney . . . and Brock’s wife. 
 Publicly, Alison and Brock Andrews are a dynamic power couple at the pinnacle of federal law enforcement. Privately, their marriage is on the rocks. And the growing tension between them has only worsened with Alison’s release of Edward Nelson, the disgraced CIA employee and international arms dealer Brock arrested months earlier in the biggest bust of his career. What Brock doesn’t know is that Alison has recruited Nelson as her most important undercover operator in a plot to ensnare a ring of domestic terrorists smuggling arms overseas. Nelson, a master manipulator skilled at deadly games, has a plan of his own—to turn Alison’s undercover operation inside out, unleash a secret army of heavily armed militiamen, and target Washington’s high-powered political arena for a terrorist act of unparalleled proportions. 
 Nelson is once again number one on Brock’s most wanted list. But with Alison protecting him from arrest, the only way to get to him is through an informant Brock has taken into custody. And while crucial information from this secret source helps Brock put together the pieces of Nelson’s insidious plan, it lays open more questions—and even more disturbing possibilities, including Alison’s complicity in criminal activity. Soon, Brock finds himself deep in a morass of shifting loyalties, outright betrayals, and hidden agendas that leave him running out of trust—and time. One thing is certain. Each hour matters, as Brock sets a dramatic trap to capture Nelson . . . and stop a terrifying attack on the heart of the nation. But first, he has to uncover the most dangerous truth of all . . .

It started as a tragic but simple murder, an old woman killed in the street for her handbag. But as police detectives Terry Nye and Rose Tafoya investigate, they find very little that makes sense, and nothing that leads where they expect. Even stranger, Nye and Tafoya are pretty sure they’ve been under surveillance ever since they showed up at the crime scene. And when they discover some shocking forensic evidence, they know they’re in way over their heads. Dennis Cooper has been prosecuting homicides in the D.A.’s office for years, but he’s never seen a case like this one. The suspect that Nye and Tafoya have given him is no run-of-the-mill mugger. And there’s much more at stake than a conviction. This case has some very powerful people very concerned—and determined to stop Cooper at any cost.

THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

She looked like everyone's grandmother: white-haired, plump, bespectacled, and kindly. Only Dorothea Montalvo Puente's eyes, black and hard behind her glasses, hinted at the evil that lurked within. She was the rarest of murderers, a female serial killer--probably the most cold-blooded ever recorded in the annals of crime.

This shocking story of the gruesome murder of seven men for profit comes from bestselling author William P. Wood, the Deputy D.A. who had earlier prosecuted Puente for drugging and robbing elderly people. He knew intimately the malice that coursed through her veins, and thought he had seen the last of this callous and calculating woman. But her chameleon-like deviousness helped her reappear as a sweet, benevolent landlord--and later allowed her to escape police custody as they stood in her yard surrounded by the gaping graves. "The Bone Garden" chronicles the discoveries that ignited a media firestorm and transfixed a nation, putting an entirely new face on evil in this country.

Small-time operator Bobby Carnes took a shot at a big score, setting up a major drug sale with some high rollers in Marina del Ray. He went in with a few bags of crank-methamphetamine and a .44 and walked out a stone-cold killer: a suitcase full of cash in his hands and four bodies in his wake. Now Carnes is up for trial, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Keegan has decided to prosecute the case himself, prompted by his own private anguish. It’s a move that guarantees him media coverage in a brutal reelection campaign—a strategy that could easily backfire. For Keegan’s star witness is running scared, and if he loses the case, a brutal murderer will go free . . . and all of George Keegan’s dreams will turn to dust.

A one-man crime wave is shaking the peaceful city of Santa Maria, California, and no place is safe. Kenny Trask, an unpredictable, high-strung, shockingly violent convict, has just escaped from prison and is intent on putting together enough cash to bankroll a new life for himself, his ex-cellmate, and the female defense attorney he believes they must “rescue.�  Only one man is willing to stand in the way: Robby Medavoy, a cop who’s been called a hero, whose unorthodox style has fueled the resentment of rival officers and the suspicions of his superiors. With a contract on his life from his department’s SWAT team, Medavoy must put everything on the line to pull Trask in—his reputation, his survival, and, unexpectedly, the woman he comes to love.

It started as a tragic but simple murder, an old woman killed in the street for her handbag. But as police detectives Terry Nye and Rose Tafoya investigate, they find very little that makes sense, and nothing that leads where they expect. Even stranger, Nye and Tafoya are pretty sure they’ve been under surveillance ever since they showed up at the crime scene. And when they discover some shocking forensic evidence, they know they’re in way over their heads. Dennis Cooper has been prosecuting homicides in the D.A.’s office for years, but he’s never seen a case like this one. The suspect that Nye and Tafoya have given him is no run-of-the-mill mugger. And there’s much more at stake than a conviction. This case has some very powerful people very concerned—and determined to stop Cooper at any cost.

He was a war hero and a member of Congress. Now he’s dead—shot down the day after he made a scathing speech blasting corruption in Washington. For Sacramento police detectives Terry Nye and Rose Tafoya, the investigation is a time bomb. They have just twenty-four hours to find out if the congressman was killed because of his speech . . . or something far worse.
 Dennis Cooper is acting District Attorney during these critical twenty-four hours. He’s in for the fight of his career, with the FBI withholding vital information, a recklessly ambitious U.S. Attorney, and a nation poised on the brink of hysteria. Time is running out for everyone—and they know it.

As head of California’s task force on narcotics and organized crime, Brock Andrews has earned his reputation as a tough, no-nonsense law enforcement agent. With his hardball tactics and skillful handling of informants, his team has successfully brought down some of the country’s most violent and powerful criminals. But it’s Brock’s superior who’s about to become his greatest adversary. Her name: Alison Andrews, First Assistant United States Attorney . . . and Brock’s wife. 
 Publicly, Alison and Brock Andrews are a dynamic power couple at the pinnacle of federal law enforcement. Privately, their marriage is on the rocks. And the growing tension between them has only worsened with Alison’s release of Edward Nelson, the disgraced CIA employee and international arms dealer Brock arrested months earlier in the biggest bust of his career. What Brock doesn’t know is that Alison has recruited Nelson as her most important undercover operator in a plot to ensnare a ring of domestic terrorists smuggling arms overseas. Nelson, a master manipulator skilled at deadly games, has a plan of his own—to turn Alison’s undercover operation inside out, unleash a secret army of heavily armed militiamen, and target Washington’s high-powered political arena for a terrorist act of unparalleled proportions. 
 Nelson is once again number one on Brock’s most wanted list. But with Alison protecting him from arrest, the only way to get to him is through an informant Brock has taken into custody. And while crucial information from this secret source helps Brock put together the pieces of Nelson’s insidious plan, it lays open more questions—and even more disturbing possibilities, including Alison’s complicity in criminal activity. Soon, Brock finds himself deep in a morass of shifting loyalties, outright betrayals, and hidden agendas that leave him running out of trust—and time. One thing is certain. Each hour matters, as Brock sets a dramatic trap to capture Nelson . . . and stop a terrifying attack on the heart of the nation. But first, he has to uncover the most dangerous truth of all . . .

Superior Court Judge Timothy Nash thought the brutal murder trial in his court would be like many he’d presided over before. He didn’t know it might lead to his own murder. Nash has been tapped as point man in a federal sting operation against the most powerful and dangerous of prey: corrupt judges. Risking his reputation and his life, Nash digs deep into a morass of dirty deals and uncovers a devastating plot of betrayal. The closer he gets to the truth, the more desperate the judges become—until they fight back with all the power at their command. It’s all coming to a head as the murder trial nears its verdict, a verdict that could spell death for not only the defendant but also for Nash himself.

"Compelling. . .A bloody showdown between manipulative killer and dedicated prosecutor from which no one emerges unscathed." —San Diego Union Hector Molina controls Gangland. From behind prison bars, he rules a ruthless gang of renegades who deal in extortion, drugs, and death.  U.S. attorney Claude Massingill is determined to expose Gangland. He’s got Molina locked up as a protected witness for a trial that’s sure to make headlines—and Molina couldn’t ask for a better hideout than the one the government is giving him.  Now, Assistant D.A. Mike Swanson needs to penetrate Gangland. . .and fast. He’s got to break through the federal fence, get to Molina, and convict the notorious prison ganglord of murder. . .before someone ends up dead. 

Bestselling author William P. Wood spins this dark, riveting tale of a beloved Sacramento cop killed in a bizarre accident, and the hunt to track down his killer-a fast-paced thriller of murder, deceit, haunting pasts, and one man's dangerous scheme to fight for those he loves. Ensor is no ordinary cop. He's a hero, winner of the Medal of Valor, devoted family man and coach, helping at-risk kids. But the driver who struck him down and didn't stop isn't ordinary either. He's Judge Frank Stevenson, up-and-coming member of the bench, also devoted to his wife and daughter, involved in charities and good works. In a split second he did something completely uncharacteristic that changes his life and the lives of everyone close to him. Terry Nye is a couple of weeks from retirement as a detective, head of Major Crimes. He's trying to pack thirty years of bloody experiences and hard lessons into those two weeks for his new partner, Rose Tafoya. Rose is a young detective, smart, more than a little ambitious, but also insecure. Together she and Nye are a powerhouse team. He's determined to find Ensor's assailant, and he's going to make sure Rose doesn't make the same mistakes he did, especially the unforgivable one that has come back to darkly haunt him after Ensor's accident. With the city in turmoil after Ensor's death, the hunt for the cop killer rushes ahead relentlessly. The guilty and innocent are sucked into the intense investigation-and everyone will realize that their lives can change in the blink of an eye. "No one writes a better police procedural than Bill Wood, and Sudden Impact is his best one to date-lucid prose, meticulous legal detail, and unforgettable characters struggling in various moral quandaries. Terrific, unputdownable stuff." -John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Juror and The Hunt Club "William Wood is a master of suspense. Sudden Impact is Wood at the peak of his powers, tense and eloquent, with characters and a story of political intrigue and riveting tragedy." -Steve Martini, New York Times bestselling author WILLIAM P. WOOD is the bestselling author of eight novels and one nonfiction book. As a deputy district attorney in California, he handled thousands of criminal cases and put on over 50 jury trials.Two of Wood's novels have been produced as motion pictures, includingRampage, filmed by Academy Award winning director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist, Rules of Engagement), andBroken Trust, filmed by Jane Fonda Films with the screenplay by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne.Wood's books have been translated into several foreign languages. He lives in Sacramento, California."

Bestselling author William Wood spins this dark, riveting tale of a beloved Sacramento cop killed in a bizarre accident, and the hunt to track down his killer--a fast-paced thriller of murder, deceit, haunting pasts, and one man's dangerous scheme to fight for those he loves.

Officer Tommy Ensor did not see the car that struck him down on a rainy night in California's capital.

Ensor is no ordinary cop. He's a hero, winner of the Medal of Valor, devoted family man and coach, helping at-risk kids. But the driver who struck him down and didn't stop isn't ordinary either. He's Judge Frank Stevenson, up-and-coming member of the bench, also devoted to his wife and daughter, involved in charities and good works. In a split second he did something completely uncharacteristic that irrevocably changes his life and the lives of everyone close to him.

Terry Nye is a couple of weeks from retirement as a detective, head of Major Crimes. He's trying to pack thirty years of bloody experiences and hard lessons into those two weeks for his new partner, Rose Tafoya. Rose is a young detective, smart, more than a little ambitious, but also insecure. Together she and Nye are a powerhouse team. He's determined to find Ensor's assailant and he's going to make sure Rose doesn't make the same mistakes he did, especially the unforgivable one that has come back to darkly haunt him after Ensor's accident.

The city is in turmoil when Ensor dies and the hunt for a cop killer rushes ahead relentlessly, moving from Nye and Tafoya to Stevenson and his wife. The guilty and innocent are sucked randomly into the intense, high-powered investigation. Nye and Rose face death in a shoot-out; a politician's sad, dirty secret is exposed; and ambitions threaten to destroy the investigation.

The hunters and the hunted know the stakes are life and death.

Frank Stevenson knows he's being hunted. Stevenson is both stunned because he didn't stop that rainy night and steeled to do whatever he has to do to avoid the hunters. Even if it means committing more crimes. He's not just protecting himself. He's fighting for those he loves.

Stevenson comes up with a brilliant scheme to throw Nye and Tafoya off the track. But even if it works, Stevenson is tormented wondering how he can sit in judgment on others now.

A final hard moment of reckoning arrives for the hunters and the hunted. Everyone will realize that their lives will change in the blink of an eye.