Books by Charles Cutter

The world-class Port Huron-Mackinac sailboat race has just finished at Mackinac Island. As soon as the boats dock, the sailors head for the legendary Pink Pony. But the night takes a grisly turn, and Jimmy Lyons is found dead the next morning in the bar, strangled by a string of Christmas tree lights.Murdo Halverson, a wealthy manufacturer from Detroit and Jimmy''s former partner, is arrested for the murder. It turns out that the free spending Jimmy was broke. Each of his crew, including Murdo, had a reason to kill him. As did his wife, Jane.Burr Lafayette, recently divorced and the deposed head of the litigation department of a major Detroit law firm, is recruited to defend Murdo by his wife, Anne, and his mother, Martha, the widowed matriarch of the family.A man at loose ends, Burr is a brilliant litigator who prefers boats and dogs over courtrooms and clients. But he''s not a criminal lawyer, and this looks like a losing case. Did Murdo kill Jimmy or was it someone else?

Helen Lockwood''s boat was found drifting off Sleeping Bear Dunes with no one aboard. A year later, her body was found in a shallow grave on South Manitou Island. She had been in court, fighting with the National Park Service, which was trying to take her family''s four-hundred-acre cherry orchard for the new national park.Burr Lafayette, recently divorced and the deposed head of a major Detroit law firm, had kept the Park Service at bay for seven years. But now Helen''s husband, Tommy, is arrested for her murder. It seems he had been trying to sell the orchards to the Park Service ever since Helen went missing. All of the evidence points to Tommy, but there''s no shortage of suspects.A man at loose ends, Burr is a brilliant litigator who prefers sailboats and dogs over courtrooms and clients. He''s not a criminal lawyer, but he''s convinced there is a clue somewhere that will unlock the truth.