The Bastard’s Weapon by Joseph Orlando

The Bastard’s Weapon

The Bastard’s Weapon is the sequel to Orlando’s 2004 novel The Fisherman’s Son and is every bit as intriguing. This time John Palermo, the first-generation Italian American lawyer who is the protagonist of Orlando’s novels, is faced with a painful dilemma. In order to obtain justice for the widow’s and children of drowned Gloucester fishermen, he must prove his old enemy, Captain Joe Amalfi, is innocent of wrong doing as well. It is a painful choice and Palermo is well aware of the inequities in the law that have put him in this position. Additionally, he is struggling with the loss of his wife and the necessity of raising his children alone.

The Bastard’s Weapon takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end. Professionally, John takes on the case of his nemesis, Captain Joe Amalfi, who is found floating in a life raft alone in the icy Atlantic when his fishing boat sinks with his crew still aboard.

Amalfi’s emotional turmoil after this event is one challenge, among many, to John’s struggle to help the widows and children of the men on Amalfi’s boat, many of whom were John’s boyhood friends. As Amalfi’s condition worsens, John seeks to unravel the mystery of what happened on the boat that terrible day, sparking a gripping courtroom battle filled with surprise twists and turns and an ending that John could never have predicted.