Cape May Court House — Lawrence Schiller

No one in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, was surprised when Eric Thomas, a popular young local doctor, sued the Ford Motor Company for the wrongful death of his pregnant wife, Tracy. After all, the accident they were involved in was minor, and they were driving a big, powerful Explorer, a family vehicle. Nevertheless, Tracy died in the accident, leaving behind not just her husband but also her cherished young daughter, Alix, whom Eric Thomas would have to raise alone, with the help of Tracy's devoted parents, Doris and Donald Rose.

Backed by the medical examiner's findings, Dr. Thomas's lawsuit claimed that the Explorer's air bag inflated improperly, causing injuries that resulted in Tracy's suffocation. But what starts out as a simple product-liability case rapidly evolves into something altogether different when, after an exhaustive investigation, Ford alleges that Tracy Thomas died not from a defective air bag, but as the result of manual strangulation. Before long, the defendant, the giant automaker Ford, becomes a de facto prosecutor and plaintiff Eric Thomas, who was a passenger in the Explorer, stands accused of the murder of his wife.

Investigative journalist Lawrence Schiller, bestselling author of American Tragedy and Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, now turns his unflinching eye on this unusual case and, as only he can, creates a page-turning suspense story and a gripping legal thriller. Taking us behind the scenes, Schiller exposes the tactics used by the attorneys on both sides of this civil suit and uncovers the lie that eventually torpedoes one party's case.

Was Tracy Thomas killed in a car accident, or was the accident a cover-up for her murder at the hands of her ambitious young husband? In Cape May Court House, Lawrence Schiller gives you more than enough evidence to be judge and jury.