An Education in Murder

About the Book

Diane David, a student at Cleveland State University Law School, is found murdered in late November in a small library study room.  At the scene of the crime, remnants of a paper David had been working on, apparently involving the Sioux Indian Reservation, are found clutched in her hand.  Mark Connally is assigned to the homicide as his first case.  He is a young detective who comes from a long line of police officers.  His father was killed in the line of duty.  He begins his investigation at the law school and meets a student -- Laura Mitchell -- who is instrumental in helping him throughout the case.  Despite starting from very different perspectives on life in general and the law in particular, they begin to feel that there may be common ground.

About the Author

Gerald Chattman was born in 1942 in University Heights, Ohio.  He attended the University of Michigan where he majored in English.  Thereafter, Chattman attended Case Western Reserve University and graduated as class valedictorian of the Law School class of 1967.  

After graduation, Chattman began practicing law in Cleveland with his father, Harold.  Chattman worked to expand the small practice and currently is the managing partner at Chattman, Gaines & Stern.  The firm employs over forty attorneys and is located in downtown Cleveland.  In addition to being a partner at the firm, Chattman is an active arbitrator for both the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

In his spare time, Chattman teaches as a member of the adjunct faculty at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.  He also writes a restaurant review column under the pen name "Gordon Blue."  He is active within the community, and has served on the boards of numerous charitable organizations.  He has a special affinity for charities dedicated to the health and welfare of children, especially the March of Dimes.

Chattman resides in Pepper Pike, Ohio, with his wife, Winnie.  He has two grown children, Elise and Greg, and a granddaughter named Arielle.