Interview & #Giveaway: Proxy Legal Thriller Series by Manning Wolfe
- Archaeolibrarian
- 2 hours ago
- 13 min read
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@manningwolfe @partnersincrimevbt
Dead By Proxy: A Lawyer On The Run
Quinton Bell is supposed to be dead.
He left behind his old life, his name, and the one mistake that nearly destroyed him.
Now, in Houston, he’s a criminal defense attorney hiding in plain sight.
When a high-profile murder case lands on his desk, Quinton is pulled back into the spotlight—whether he wants it or not.
The courtroom is packed. The pressure is relentless. And every move he makes risks exposing the truth about who he really is.
Because this case isn’t just about guilt or innocence.
It’s about survival.
And if Quinton loses control of the narrative—even for a moment—his past won’t stay buried.
Someone is watching.Someone knows.
And the closer Quinton gets to the truth, the closer he gets to losing everything.
Start the Proxy Legal Thriller Series today!
Dead By Proxy is the first book in the edgy Proxy Legal Thriller Series. If you like memorable characters, smart gritty action, and jaw-dropping twists, then you’ll love Manning Wolfe’s fast-paced page-turner!
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Byron was not jaded or trapped into being an attorney as many he knew were and he was not in it for the money, although that part was nice. And, he was not naive, as he was aware of severe injustices in the criminal justice system and felt improvement was needed. Byron continued to be on the playing field because he was one of the last true believers. The system was the best available right now and he actually trusted the outcome, most of the time.
Having deceased parents, one semi-estranged sibling in California, and no current plans to marry, Byron embraced the law as his mistress and his life. He simply loved it all. As most careers went, loving it meant he was devoted to it and good at it. He never glossed over a precedent or twisted a legal argument beyond its parameters. He was thrilled every time he set foot in a courtroom to do battle for his client, guilty or innocent.
Across the aisle, the prosecutor, Sebastian Roberts, relished this chance to incarcerate another criminal. Roberts moved his short spark-plug-of-a-body, decorated with a vest and bright paisley bow tie, around the courtroom as he laid out the federal government’s view of the case. He looked at Byron and his client, then back to the twelve chosen members of the jury.
Byron organized his thoughts, felt excitement tingle through his fingers and toes, and stood up at the defense table. In defending Killian Tyrone, Byron’s opening argument went something like this: “Your Honor and members of the jury. Today, I’d like to introduce you to my client, Killian Tyrone, the accused in this case. Now, I know what the prosecutor said about what he did, and that is probably swirling around in your brain right now, but I’d like for you to take a step back and listen to both sides of the story before you make a decision about my client’s behavior, guilt, or innocence. You also heard his inference about defense attorneys, that would be me.” He smiled and the jury laughed. “I’ll leave it to you to decide, but I have no intention of tricking you or trying to hide the ball.”
Byron pointed at his co-counsel, Michael, a shorter, younger version of himself, but with brown eyes. “My colleague, Michael Everett, and I will present Mr. Tyrone’s side of the case and, when we’re finished, I’m certain that you will find him not guilty.”
Byron smiled at the jury and took pride in the fact that when he won, he won fair and square, and he instilled these principles in his protégé, Michael. Byron encouraged Michael not to be blinded by the legal system, nor be immune to the tricks of the trade. Byron used the tools expertly, but he wanted to win with an equal playing field, or not at all, and the law allowed for plenty of ways to win. To Byron, what was the point if cheating was involved? That only proved he was the best cheater, not the best lawyer.
Hunted By Proxy: A Lawyer On The Run
Can attorney Quinton Bell hang on to his new life, as he hides in plain sight, in this lawyer-on-the-run suspense thriller?
Hunted By Proxy takes readers on a heart-pounding ride through the life of a criminal defense attorney whose world was wiped out by the very client he tried to save.
Quinton establishes a new life and law practice in Houston and thinks he’s outrun the dangerous adversaries who chased him there. As he begins to relax, he receives a cryptic message that shatters his illusion of safety. He’s threatened by a diabolical and relentless pursuer. But who?
Quinton is trapped in a quagmire of deception, betrayal, and unlikely alliances. With each passing moment, the noose tightens, and he must draw on every ounce of wit to outsmart those who still want him exposed, or worse, dead.
Will Quinton find a way out, or will he forever be a target in a deadly game of cat and mouse?
Hunted By Proxy is the second gripping installment in the edgy Proxy Legal Thriller Series. If you like memorable characters, smart gritty action, and jaw-dropping twists, then you’ll love Manning Wolfe’s fast-paced page-turner. Best read in order.
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Quinton heaved a box of thick books onto the conference room table in the new Law Office of Quinton Lamar Bell in Houston, Texas. He’d recently moved to The Galleria area around Westheimer and Post Oak and opened a solo practice. Quinton was now what they called a loop lawyer, one who offices around and outside the 610 Loop. It circled the city from Interstate 10 to Highway 45 to Highway 59 surrounding the downtown high-rises poking out of the ground in the middle of the ring. He had been working downtown for the last year but, seeking distance and maybe a little safety from the legal community, found his perfect new office and began to make it his own.
Clients were not hard to come by as Quinton had created a reputation on his last big case, a murder involving the defense of his friend and lover, Joanne Wyatt. That seemed a lifetime ago, and he had become a loop lawyer in part to get a fresh start, but also to protect his former firm, Jamail, Powers & Kent, from his past life in New York City. That’s another story, for another day, but it involved Quinton’s pseudocide off the Staten Island Ferry.
Quinton Lamar Bell was not his real name, it was Byron Douglas, but only he knew that and one other person. A potentially dangerous person. When Quinton had opened his new office, he thought he was the only one on earth who knew he had faked his own death in New York and come to Houston to hide in plain sight. He looked different with a little plastic surgery, and had assumed not only the face, name, and demeanor, but the entire life of a childhood friend. He did so, not because he hated his prior life but because it was too dangerous to live it anymore. Besides, Q, as he’d dubbed his friend and benefactor, no longer needed his name or his face as he had been cremated and sprinkled in the Gulf of Mexico. So, in essence, Quinton had been killed twice, and he wasn’t even dead.
The new Quinton had worked for a downtown Houston firm at the insistence of his faux father, Judge Sirus Bell, who was also now deceased, in order to establish himself as Quinton. When he’d left the downtown firm, on good terms, he’d agreed to split any profits fifty-fifty on the files that were open prior to his departure. Any new cases were all his, even if they were referred by the old firm. It was generous to Quinton. He’d been supported a great deal by the three women partners in his prior office and would not forget their kindness. It was one of the reasons for the separation and move, to protect them, and to get out of their hair.
The women’s firm didn’t really want criminal cases running through their office and Quinton didn’t want the firm to get caught in the crossfire, in the event that his past came back to haunt him. And his past did haunt him. He could never go back. He’d broken the law, lied, cheated, stole, and taken Quinton’s legacy as his own. Now, he went through each day hiding in plain sight and living the life of a dead man.
After Judge Bell’s death, he’d found that he, as Quinton, was the sole heir of the Bell estate. He’d put most of the inheritance into a charitable trust, but had kept one asset, and only one asset. He loved the Bell house in Galveston, a beautiful Victorian home near the beach, that he could not bear to part with. It was the source of many childhood memories with both his friend, Q, and mentor, Judge Bell.
Giving the bulk of the estate to charity was the right thing to do, but if the authorities found out about his true identity, his altruism would not stop them from charging him with crimes from fraud to murder. Yes, murder. That’s the aforementioned part of the long story for another day.
With the help of Judge Bell, Byron had stolen Quinton Bell’s persona, deliberately adapted to his new life in Houston, and felt that he had truly escaped the danger he’d left behind. After a while, it felt to the new Quinton like he’d learned another language and was now immersed in it. He actually became the new Quinton Bell, a fusion of his former self and new persona speaking the acquired language as if he’d been born to it. Still, he’d walked on proverbial eggshells every day for months, finally settling in, to what he thought was a fairly safe place.
That is, until a strange card arrived in the mail at his new office. It revealed his former name, Byron Douglas, shook him to the core, and left him wondering who knew about his past and what they wanted from him. It had been several weeks since the card had been delivered. One side was adorned with a photo of the New York skyline and the Staten Island Ferry. The other side had a cryptic note: “Hello, Byron. I know who you are, and I know what you’ve done. Be seeing you.”
No demands, no further contact, and no requests of any nature. It was like waiting for the proverbial ‘other shoe’ to drop. Was he going to be blackmailed? If so, why send the card? The sender wanted something, but what? Would Quinton one day be arrested without further notice? Law enforcement wouldn’t send a warning. Who was the sender, and what did they have planned for him?
“Be seeing you.” It gave him a chill. Waiting to find out was worse than the many scenarios he imagined would flow from his discovery.
Alive By Proxy: A Lawyer On The Run
Quinton Bell built his second life on one rule: hide in plain sight.
In Houston, he is a brilliant criminal defense attorney known for impossible acquittals. In New York, he was someone else entirely. That man is supposed to be dead.
When Houston Wildcatters linebacker Marcus Hale—known to fans as Halestorm—is arrested for the brutal murder of his powerful agent, Daniel Price, the city is ready for a spectacle. The headlines are merciless. Harris County wants a conviction, and Hale’s career, reputation, and freedom are on the line.
Hale swears he didn’t do it.
What begins as a high-profile murder case quickly spirals into darker territory. Hale's past is littered with unanswered questions and secrets long thought buried. The deeper Quinton digs, the clearer it becomes that this murder may be tied to something far older, and more dangerous, than anyone suspects.
In the courtroom, every revelation raises the stakes. Outside it, someone is watching Quinton.
Someone who knows the truth about the life he left behind.
Now Quinton must defend a client the world has already condemned while protecting the identity that has kept him alive. Because this case is about more than murder.
It may be the one that exposes them both.
From bestselling legal thriller author Manning Wolfe comes the explosive third installment in the Proxy Legal Thriller Series—a razor-sharp courtroom thriller packed with secrets, suspense, and twists you’ll never see coming.
In this game, survival is the only verdict that matters.
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Exclusive 3-Chapter Preview
Chapter 1
Lightning slashed the Houston sky, illuminating the street for a fraction of a second before plunging it back into darkness. Rain hammered the pavement, pooling in gutters and rising fast. The bayous were already swollen, their muddy currents surging over the banks, consuming roads, homes, yards, everything in their path.
Daniel Price stood at his townhouse window, watching the water creep up his driveway. The power had gone out over an hour ago, leaving him in the dim glow of a flickering candle. A sharp knock at the door made him turn.
He wasn’t expecting anyone, especially at this hour and in this weather.
Another knock. Louder this time.
Urgent.
He unlatched the door and pulled it partially open.
A figure in a dark blue, rain-soaked poncho stood on the threshold.
“Jesus, you’re soaked,” Price said. “Get in here.”
The blade flashed in the candlelight.
Chapter 2
On the 610 Loop, Quinton Bell hustled into his office and dropped down behind his large wooden desk. He’d finished a hearing in the downtown courthouse and had hurried to get back to his office before rush hour hit.
The Law Office of Quinton Lamar Bell had only been open for about a year, and he was already turning away clients.
But Quinton Bell was not his real name.
It was Byron Douglas.
When Quinton opened his Houston office, he thought he was the only person alive who knew he had faked his own death in New York and stepped into the life of his dead best friend. He had taken the face, the name, and the future of Quinton Bell.
Now he lived each day alive by proxy, hiding in plain sight.
The phone rang.
Cassidy West was calling from jail.
Her client, Houston Wildcatters linebacker Marcus Hale, was being questioned for the murder of Daniel Price.
Chapter 3
Sheryl Benton sat in the dimly lit viewing room, her hands folded tightly in her lap. On the other side of the one-way glass, five men stood shoulder to shoulder in matching gray sweats.
Marcus Hale stood in slot number three.
Officer Gere’s voice was calm. “Take your time, Mrs. Benton. If you recognize anyone, just tell us.”
She leaned forward, uncertainty settling into her chest.
“Third from the left,” she finally whispered. “Maybe.”
That one word changed everything.
Behind her, Detective Clive Broussard stiffened.
And in the corner, Quinton Bell adjusted the cuffs of his tailored suit and watched the lineup begin to tilt toward disaster.
Continue reading Alive By Proxy today.
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Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I’m an attorney and novelist living just outside Austin, Texas. Before turning seriously to fiction, I spent many years practicing law, and that experience shaped the way I approach storytelling. The law exposed me to conflict, ambition, fear, and human nature at very close range. Those same elements sit at the heart of a good thriller.I’ve always been drawn to stories where ordinary lives collide with extraordinary pressure. Legal thrillers became a natural fit because they combine high personal stakes with moral dilemmas and suspense. Over time, writing evolved from a creative outlet into my primary career.
What was the inspiration for this book?
The inspiration usually begins with a single question that stays with me long after I first think of it. In the Proxy Legal Thriller Series, I was interested in the idea of pseudocide and hiding in plain sight. It’s suspenseful to know that the “other shoe” may drop at any moment.
I’m also fascinated by characters who are forced to navigate competing loyalties. In thrillers, the external danger matters, but the emotional conflict is what gives the story weight. I wanted to write a book about always having to “walk on egg shells” due to the consequences of living with secrets.
Can you give us a glimpse into the research that went into writing this story?
My legal background certainly helps with courtroom procedure and the rhythm of criminal cases, but I still spend a significant amount of time researching details. Readers today are incredibly sharp, and authenticity matters. Also, I have experts all around me. My brother-in-law is a lawyer and gun expert, and my sister-in-law is a judge. They both call me out if I go too far afield of the facts.I research locations because setting plays an important role in atmosphere. Whether it’s Houston, Galveston, or a small Texas town, I want the environment to feel lived in and recognizable. That said, I usually select locations where I’ve spent some, if not a great deal, of time for the main venue of each story.
What does your typical writing routine look like?
I tend to divide the process into two phases: planning and execution. Early on, I spend time outlining scenes, building character motivations, and working through possible twists. Once I have the structure in place, the writing itself becomes much more intuitive. So, I guess I’m a plotter with a dose of panster between the plot points.I usually write in long stretches when I’m deep into a project. I’ve learned that consistency matters more than inspiration. If I show up often enough, eventually the work begins to take shape.
Do you have a message or anything specific you’d like to say to your readers?
First, I’m grateful. Readers have more entertainment options competing for their attention than ever before, so the decision to spend time with one of my books means a great deal to me.I also appreciate hearing from readers who connect with the characters or become invested in the larger series. One of the most rewarding parts of writing is realizing that characters I’ve created have become real to someone else, as they are to me. My goal is always to give readers an engaging story, memorable characters, and a few surprises along the way.
MANNING WOLFE, an award-winning author and attorney residing in Austin, Texas, writes cinematic-style, smart, fast-paced thrillers and crime fiction. Manning was recently featured on Oxygen TV’s: Accident, Suicide, or Murder.
Manning's legal thriller series features Austin attorney Merit Bridges, including Dollar Signs, Music Notes, Green Fees, Chinese Wall, and Killer Weed.
Manning's new Proxy Legal Thriller Series features Houston attorney Quinton Bell and includes: Dead By Proxy, Hunted By Proxy, and Alive By Proxy.
Manning is co-author of Killer Set: Drop the Mic, and twelve additional Bullet Book Speed Reads.
As a graduate of Rice University and the University of Texas School of Law, Manning’s experience has given her a voyeur’s peek into some shady characters’ lives and a front-row seat to watch the good people who stand against them.
Catch Up With Manning Wolfe:
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