A rigorous, thoroughly engrossing mystery from a writer with immense potential.
A debut crime drama focuses on a fight for justice involving a lawyer and his obscure, young client accused of murder.
Criminal defense attorney Bequette spins a serpentine thriller chronicling the treacherous life and career of a Bay Area public defender much like himself. Joe Turner is a hard-hitting lawyer but finds himself rattled after a hulking murderer threatens his life and he narrowly escapes unharmed. Following that traumatic shake-up, he is appointed by a court to represent Oakland IceBoyz gang member Darnell Moore, who, at 19 years old, stands accused of the coldblooded, drive-by shooting death of rival Cashtown gangster Cleveland Barlow. The case frustrates Turner in that it suffers from a lack of direct evidence, as video surveillance on the street corner where the murder took place never shows Moore shooting Barlow, though a purported witness testifies otherwise. As the case develops, Moore proves to be a difficult, unreliable defendant, withholding critical details about his firearm possession (“That’s not my gun”) and misleading investigators about his alliances with the IceBoyz gang. Running alongside the case is the backstory of 9-year-old twin brothers Damon and Jesse Wendell, who are forced to tolerate another in a series of “too good to be true,” incapable foster fathers. They are tormented by relentless schoolyard bullying and sexual abuse by their current foster parent, which results in deadly retribution.
In-depth details embedded in the narrative reveal Turner to be a tough yet sensitive single Northern California legal professional prone to stress-drinking and flourishes of loneliness. His dynamic interplay with Andy Kopp, the wiseacre personal injury attorney with whom he shares an office, offers comic relief as Kopp’s wife attempts to set Turner up with an eligible woman to soothe his single man’s ennui. The simmering romance that ensues effectively leavens all of the hardcore defense attorney’s spadework nicely. Both storylines, Moore’s murder trial and the twins’ history of drama at home, eventually coalesce into a surprising intercourse of criminal defense and childhood self-defense and vigilante justice. These narrative elements bring the case to a rousing climax and a shocking conclusion that readers won’t see coming. Written from Turner’s first-person perspective, this series opener presents the protagonist as a resilient lawyer. At times, his behavior suggests he might be better suited as a detective, until the courtroom antics begin and he pokes holes in the prosecution’s case against Moore, who he believes is innocent. A father of twin boys, Bequette drew from his experience raising them, which bolsters the book’s authenticity. Short chapters keep the action and the momentum at a quick pace as Turner draws closer to exonerating his client amid a firestorm of twists and turns. Kudos to the author for inserting a bombshell zinger into the thriller’s last chapter; it’s a doozy. Anchored by a likable hero, this zesty, addictive tale incorporates plenty of criminal hijinks and courtroom melodrama and will satisfy fans of suspense novels and literary crime dramas.
A rigorous, thoroughly engrossing mystery from a writer with immense potential.Pub Date: May 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5092-3570-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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