GOOD LOOKIN'

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.