About Mark Lindquist

Biography of author and lawyer Mark Lindquist

Welcome to Mark Lindquist's author website. He also has a website for his law firm.

Sad Movies

Author and attorney Mark Lindquist was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He attended the University of Washington, then transferred to the University of Southern California.

After graduating, he worked as a copy writer for a movie studio. His first novel, Sad Movies, was based on this experience. Newsday called it, "Perceptive and hilarious ... one of the best sketches about a young man's attempt to find himself since The Graduate."

Sad Movies became a bestseller for Atlantic Monthly Press. It was published in seven languages.

While living in Los Angeles he wrote screenplays for several studios, and book reviews for The Los Angeles Times Book Review, The New York Times Book Review, The Seattle Times, and The Oregonian. He also wrote articles for Details, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Movieline, and other publications.

You can read some of his reviews and articles in the Links section.

Sad Movies by author Mark Lindquist
Carnival Desires

Mark's second novel, Carnival Desires, published in 1990 by Atlantic Monthly Press, chronicled his Hollywood years when he was working as a screenwriter, script doctor, book reviewer, and general freelance writer.

You can read some of his work from this period in the Links and Miscellaneous Materials section of this site.

Details magazine called Carnival Desires, "Great postmodern literature. Romantic and cynical, true and original, full of modern ideas and seductive moments... as of its time as such classics as Day of the Locust and The Last Tycoon."

Vanity Fair called it a "witty minimalist epic" with "the smart, spare prose only an outsider on the Hollywood inside can afford." It's available on Kindle at Amazon.

Carnival Desires by author Mark Lindquist
Never Mind Nirvana

Mark moved back to the Northwest and went to law school in 1992. Three years later, while still working as an author, he became a deputy prosecutor in Pierce County, Washington.

In July of 2000 People magazine named Mark as one of the "100 Most Eligible Bachelors" in the country.

That same year his third novel, Never Mind Nirvana, was published by Random House/Villard. It was subsequently published in five other languages.

Bret Easton Ellis wrote, "One of my favorite writers is back with a beautifully paced, original novel which moves so fast that once you start reading it becomes impossible to stop.... I totally welcome his return."

Peter Buck of R.E.M. wrote, "Hip deep in music, Never Mind Nirvana is a telling inside view that perfectly captures the rhythms and sights of late-nineties Seattle."

NMN was well reviewed everywhere from the New York Times Book Review to the Washington Post to the Detroit News to the LA Weekly.

Never Mind Nirvana by author and attorney Mark Lindquist
The King of Methlehem

In 2004 Mark became the trial team chief of the drug unit for the Prosecutor's Office and focused on aggressively prosecuting methamphetamine labs. Meth labs were reduced by over 95% in Pierce County.

He has successfully prosecuted murder, rape, drive-by shootings, child abuse, domestic violence and many other crimes. His high-profile convictions included the Tacoma Mall Shooting.

Casey Corr wrote a Washington Law & Politics article about Mark's work as an author and a prosecutor and how his writing and trial work merge. "It's a scene ripped from the pages of a legal thriller: the tough, tall, good-looking prosecutor making his closing argument in a murder trial."

Mark's fourth novel, The King of Methlehem, was published by Simon & Schuster in May of 2007. The Los Angeles Times said, "Lindquist once again has a view of the zeitgeist."

By the end of the month, King of Methlehem was on the Pacific Northwest Bestseller list. The paperback was published in May of 2008.

The King of Methlehem by author Mark Lindquist
Zen Lawyer

He also wrote a column, Zen Lawyer, for the Tacoma Pierce County Bar News. You can read some of the chapters in the blog section of this site. Chapter 10, for example, features a crash course on one-minute meditation.

On September 1, 2009, when Mark was serving as Chief Criminal Deputy, he was appointed as Prosecutor by an unanimous and bipartisan vote of the County Council. In 2010, he was elected to a four-year term. In 2014, he was elected to another four-year term with 96% of the vote.

As the elected District Attorney, he continued to personally prosecute significant cases, including the conviction of Tyler Savage in the rape and murder of a Special Olympian.

Under his leadership, the office made the community safer with a successful Elder Abuse Unit, Domestic Violence team, and High Priority Offender program, an objective, data-driven program that focuses resources on career criminals.

Mark was the first county Prosecutor in the state to file a lawsuit against Big Pharma to hold them accountable for their role in the opioid crisis.

The office also ran innovative alternative courts for drug addiction, mental health issues, and veterans. Under his leadership, the office was a leader in the state on multiple issues.

And, as the Tacoma Weekly summed it up, "On top of this, be brought bipartisanship, civility and integrity to the job."

For more information, visit his "Lawyer Mark Lindquist" site.

Mark Lindquist on Bangka Island, Indoesia
Personal Injury Attorney

In January 2019, Mark joined a personal injury law firm. He is continuing his commitment to justice, accountability, and the public good. His focus is on wrongful death cases, government negligence and misconduct, plane crashes, and other cases involving serious injuries.

Through much of 2019, Mark worked in Jakarta and on Bangka Island, Indonesia, representing forty-six victim families from the Lion Air crash. In March, they filed a lawsuit against Boeing. Those cases were successfully resolved in 2021.

He still has a pending case arising from the crash of Ethiopian Airlines ET 302. Mark appeared on 60 Minutes Australia, among other international news outlets, to comment on the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that crashed in both Indonesia and Ethiopia.

For a summary of his transition from local safety to global safety, you can read the Tacoma Weekly front page coverage. Mark discusses the article in a recent blog post.

In 2023, Mark formed his own firm, Mark Lindquist Law. He continues his work of vigorously representing clients and holding big corporations and governments accountable.

He represents the family of Kevin Peterson Jr who was shot and killed while running away from Clark County Sheriff's Deputies. WA. The case has been covered by multiple outlets, including this article in the New York Post where Mark is quoted. "Nobody should die over a fistful of Xanax."

Mark also represents the family of Jenoah Donald who was stopped by Clark County Sheriff's Deputies for a "defective tail light." Officer escalated the questionable stop into a fatal shooting. Jenoah was unarmed and never threatened the officers. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported there was no weapon in the car, but there was a screwdriver and a cordless drill. "A cordless drill isn't a weapon except in the movies," Mark said.

In addition to wide local media coverage, the case was featured in The New York Times. The Clark County Sheriff's Department has a disturbing pattern of misusing deadly force, including a recent incident where a Clark County Sheriff's Deputy shot and killed an off-duty Vancouver Police Officer. The same deputy was involved in the Kevin Peterson shooting. In both incidents he appeared "trigger happy," firing his weapon before he understood the situation.

Mark's other wrongful death cases include lawsuits against the City of Seattle. He represents the Yurek family in a tragic incident where a 13-year-old boy called 911 because his father was having heart issues. Medics delayed entry to the residence as they waited for a police escort because the city mistakenly listed the victim on a "blacklist" as combative with first responders. In fact, it was the previous tenant who was on the list. Mark successfully resolved the case for almost two million dollars.

In late 2023, Mark filed a $23 million dollar claim against the City of Tacoma. Jay Barbour was shot and paralyzed after a road rage incident. A few days prior to this, Tacoma Police Officers returned a gun to a shooting suspect who was underage and couldn't lawfully possess the gun. The suspect used the gun to shoot Barbour. All four local TV stations covered the story, including KOMO TV.  The Tacoma Weekly wrote a front page in-depth piece about Barbour, a beloved restauranteur who owns the Mediterranean Gyro Grill restaurants.

In early 2024, Mark filed a lawsuit against Boeing and Alaska Airlines for the door plug blowout at 16,000 feet that rapidly depressurized the plane and endangered the lives of everyone on board. He filed the lawsuit on behalf of passengers and is still accepting clients from the flight.

Whether it's an aviation case, a wrongful death, or any kind of significant injury, Mark is ardently dedicated to justice for his clients. Please visit his law firm website Mark Lindquist Law.

 

Author Mark Lindquist cover story

 

Author and Reader

As an avid book reader, Mark writes reviews for a variety of publications.

His blog, Miscellenous Mischief, is focused on book, movie, and music recommendations, along with miscellaneous updates and life lessons learned on a long, strange trip.

With four published novels over the course of 20 years, including three bestsellers, he is working on his fifth. He has the stories. He just needs the time. You can read about the latest progress in his blog post "Gratitude."

Mark has another blog on his lawyer website, which includes updates on his high-profile cases as well as community activity. He also has a Facebook Group and Instagram.

Mark lives with his wife and daughter in the Pacific Northwest, alternating between cities and Seabrook. He enjoys reading, movies, music, and going to the ocean with his family. One of his favorite quotes is from John F. Kennedy:

"We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came."