Fabulous and Brunette: Betrayal at the Border by Mark M. Bello - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway

Betrayal at the Border

by Mark M. Bello

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GENRE: Legal/Political Thriller

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BLURB:

In Betrayal at the Border, attorney Zachary Blake returns to tackle two cases that strike at the heart of our nation's contentious immigration debate.

In Riverview, Michigan, undocumented immigrants Miguel and Mary Carmen Gonzalez are determined to realize the American dream. They find jobs at a local filler plant, have children, and lead an all-American life, that is until ICE raids their plant . . .

Canan and Karim Izady are naturalized citizens of the United States. They have immigrated legally from Kurdistan and have an American born daughter, Hana. Unable to persuade her mother to follow the young family to America, Canan and Hana travel to an ISIS hotbed so the child may meet her grandmother for the first time. With the war over, what could possibly go wrong?

Two unique immigrant families, two uniquely dangerous consequences of America’s dysfunctional immigration system. Enter Zachary Blake, superstar lawyer.

But, for the first time in a long time, Blake is out of his element—immigration law calls for the expertise of his specialist/partner, Marshall Mann. Together, two extraordinary lawyers take on a terrorist network and a broken immigration system. And master investigator Micah Love returns, racing against the clock to prevent tragic circumstances. In our politically charged, anti-immigrant international climate, will a Hail Mary be their only move?

Award-winning legal thriller author, Mark M. Bello, pits our nation's broken immigration system against important human and social justice rights issues, spinning a tale that shines a bright light on the everyday fears of immigrants all over these United States. Can Blake, Mann, and Love prevent a Betrayal at the Border?

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EXCERPT ONE:

The Gonzalez children were both born in Lincoln Park. The city was a part of the Downriver Community, southwest of Detroit. Their little three-bedroom bungalow was the only home they had ever known. In a city of approximately 37,000, only 20% were of Latino descent, nearly a 50% increase since 2010.

Emma and Emilio’s parents, Mary Carmen and Miguel Gonzalez, immigrated to Lincoln Park in 2011 when Mary Carmen was pregnant with Emma. Papa found a job, mixing compounds at an adhesive and filler plant in nearby Riverview. Emma was born soon after her parents moved into the house. Two years later, her little brother was born.

When they were old enough to be placed in daycare, Mama secured a job at the same filler plant as her father. The two siblings depended on each other. They were attached at the hip until Emma was old enough to go to Kindergarten. It was a very traumatic time for Emilio. He started behaving as if his sister died.

Emma promised to play with him after school, but Emilio carried on to the point where Emma pushed back and refused to go to school. Promises of candy and ice cream after Mama got home from work finally persuaded both children to go separate ways. As time went on, they adapted to the new routine.

Two years later, Emilio started Kindergarten, and all was forgotten—the siblings were reunited at Raupp Elementary School. Both children spoke fluent Spanish and English and did well in school. The children were now entering fourth and second grade, respectively, and thriving.

The Gonzalez children made friends easily and were well-liked in the school. Emma and Emilio were Americans. Although Mama taught them Venezuelan games and customs and tried to convey a sense of their Latino heritage, the kids had experienced life in no other country but America. They spoke fluent English, celebrated the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, and proudly recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Emma collected dolls while Emilio collected baseball cards—he worshipped Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and treasured his 2012 Cabrera Triple Crown card. Emma and Emilio did everything other American children did.

Their parents were determined to raise them in America, with American values and an American education. They dreamt of a better life, with higher education and, perhaps, affluence for their children. But these dreams were clouded by a secret reality—the Gonzalez family, as ‘American’ as they appeared, protected an important family secret, far more important than the Frozen game. This one could derail all of their dreams.

Emma and Emilio were taught to be careful and quiet, even though they didn’t understand why this was a big deal. But they knew Mama and Papa feared their secret would one day be discovered. Their parents’ fear was so intense; Emma and Emilio were frightened too.

Emma was conflicted. Mama once taught her that telling and keeping secrets was bad. She shouldn’t tease her little brother by telling him she knew something he didn’t know. She shouldn’t keep things from her friends, and, most of all, she shouldn’t keep any secrets from Mama and Papa. So, why was this secret okay?

Mama carefully explained the delicate situation to her children: She and Miguel came into the country legally but stayed longer than they were welcome. As a result, Mama and Papa were not citizens and did not have the protection some of their friends’ parents had. They could be picked up by the police at any time, put in jail, and even sent back to Venezuela, where conditions were terrible, especially for people who ran away and were later returned by government mandate. It didn’t matter if their minor children were citizens. If the family secret were discovered, her mother decried, it could mean hasta la vista, forever.

The threat of permanent separation from her parents terrified Emma. A secret preventing her from losing them, perhaps forever, was one worth keeping. Emilio was too young to understand, but Emma made him pinky swear to silence.

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GUEST POST:

Everyone Loves a Hero

Practicing law as a plaintiff trial lawyer is a David v. Goliath experience. A small firm or sole practitioner is often required to take on large corporate defendants and huge, multi-attorney, silk-stocking law firms.

Zachary Blake first appears in my debut novel, Betrayal of Faith. He is failing, both personally and in his business. Once a highly successful attorney, the young lawyer has let success go to his head and his life is on a downward spiral. Zack ignores his practice, his partners, his wife, and his children. He turns to the bottle, gambles, and spends much of his time in strip clubs.

His partners kick him out of his practice, his wife divorces him and takes everything, and Zack finds himself accepting juvenile and criminal assignments and screwing those up. He shows up in court, one day, hungover, half drunk. He's chastised by the judge, removed from the assignment list, and laughed out of court by his colleagues. He returns to his office a broken man, physically and mentally. The man who once was Detroit's King of Justice with a key to the executive lounge in his office building is now, for all practical purposes, an alcoholic bum.

He's sitting in his office feeling sorry for himself and the telephone rings, a call from an old client. Her sons have been molested by a priest, the church is covering up the incident, and she needs advice. Zack's initial inclination is to sell her and her kids out for a quick buck, take the money and run. Hee tries to do just that, the client fires him, and Zack receives the ‘kick-in-the-pants’ he needs. He pleads with her, begs to be permitted to continue the case. He can and will do it her way, he promises. True to his word, he resurrects past skills, cleans up his act, tries the case, and obtains a record twelve figure verdict.

When the second book, Betrayal of Justice, is written, Blake is engaged to his former client, is at the top of his game again, and begins a period in his life where he leverages his wealth and fame to take on a variety of "Goliath" type defendants, beating each one of them and exposing their avarice, dishonesty, and willingness to do anything for political or financial gain. Zack is fearless in court. He becomes a substantial hero, a vocal advocate for social justice, taking on the likes of an evil, bigoted, dishonest president of the United States (Book 2, Betrayal of Justice), a white supremacist and a small-town police force (Book 3, Betrayal in Blue) a racist cop and police department in a cop on black shooting incident (Book 4, Betrayal in Black), a greedy, evil gun manufacturer and a negligent school district in a school shooting incident (Book 5, Betrayal High) a wealthy sex offender and appeals court judge, the president's choice for a seat on the United States Supreme Court (Book 6, Supreme Betrayal), and, finally, the U.S. Government and its broken immigration system (Book 7, Betrayal at the Border).

With each new case and client, the past is all but forgotten. Zack is brash, amusing, charitable, talented, smart, inventive, fearless, and compassionate, an advocate’s advocate, feared by the defense in courtroom and boardrooms all over the country.

Zack takes on multiple ‘Goliaths’ and beats them, resolving cases for amounts previously unheard of in civil litigation. His criminal clients are exonerated, and he make sure the government pays dearly for their mistakes. As we go through the book list, Zachary Blake becomes a ‘Goliath’ himself, taking on lost causes, representing people pro bono, representing and donating to charities, doing well by doing good.

Blake marries his former Betrayal of Faith client, becomes stepfather to her two boys, a force to be reckoned with, and, truly, America's "King of Justice."

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AUTHOR BIO & LINKS:

As an attorney and civil justice advocate, author Mark M. Bello draws upon over 40 years of courtroom experience in his Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series.

A Michigan native, Mark received his B.A. in English Literature from Oakland University and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. After working extremely high-profile legal cases, Mark wanted to give the public a front-row glimpse of what victims face when standing up for justice.

Combining his legal experience and passion for justice with a creative writing style, Mark not only brings high-quality legal services to his clients but captivating novels to his readers.

When Mark’s not writing legal and political novels, he writes and posts about fairness and justice in the civil justice system on his website, Legal Examiner and NotFakeNews. In his spare time, Mark enjoys traveling and spending time with his family. Mark and his wife, Tobye, have four children and 8 grandchildren.

For more information about Mark, please click here (https://medium.com/authority-magazine/lawyer-and-author-mark-m-8e59acf7b054)

Mark loves hearing from his readers! Drop him a line on the Contact page or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or Bookbub.

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