A dynamic cast drives this worthwhile legal thriller.
Atlanta lawyers fight to save an innocent man on death row in Rothman’s debut novel.
When a north Georgia diner’s owner and chef turn up dead, police arrest Joseph Owens, a busser who was fired just three days before and apparently had altercations with other employees. Owens goes on trial for murder and armed robbery, and though there’s no hard evidence that he committed the crimes (the .45 the victims were killed with is missing, for one thing), the circumstantial case is enough for the majority-white jury to reach a guilty verdict for the Black defendant, who receives a death sentence. Attorney Elena Samuels of the law firm Fox Stern, however, is so sure of Owens’ innocence that she convinces Greg Williams, her colleague at the same firm, to take the man’s case pro bono. They volunteer themselves as Owens’ counsel in the habeas corpus proceedings, where they intend to “raise every constitutional violation” they’re able to dig up in the trial record. When they’re not arguing with their firm’s managing partner, who’s unhappy about the lawyers’ dwindling billable hours, Elena and Greg reexamine the case and make a startling discovery. Rothman maintains a brisk narrative while showcasing the complexities of the American judicial system. The depiction of Owens’ trial isn’t merely a transcription of witnesses’ testimony; there’s a pretrial hearing, jury selection, and a sentencing hearing, as well, all delivered with succinct rounds of questioning and high-speed dialogue. All the major characters are well developed; the defendant is sympathetic but has his flaws (he’s undeniably quick to anger), and public defender Michael Delaney is a smart and capable attorney. The story ultimately shifts its focus to Elena and Greg, especially the latter’s troubles; for instance, he may be suffering from PTSD. He and Elena’s mutual respect enlivens their scenes together, and a touch of romance doesn’t hurt the duo’s solid professional relationship.
A dynamic cast drives this worthwhile legal thriller.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781685134754
Page Count: 298
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Recommended reading for every paranoid suburbanite who’s considering a move to the city, or to the Arctic wilds.
Character assassination reigns supreme, if not uncontested, in a Long Island suburb.
April Masterson loves her husband, corporate attorney Elliott; their 7-year-old, Bobby; and her YouTube channel, “April’s Sweet Secrets.” What she doesn’t love is whoever’s texting her warnings about how Bobby isn’t really in their backyard while she’s busy filming her videos or withering critiques of her baking show or veiled accusations about her past and threats about her present. Her best friend, former prosecutor Julie Bressler, may be bossy and opinionated, but surely she’d never turn on April this way. Who else might know enough to send April goodies like a picture of her kissing Mark Tanner, Bobby’s soccer coach? Though April struggles to get Elliot to take her ordeal seriously, even when she shows up at his office for a lunch date, he’s protected by his receptionist, Brianna Anderson, whose attachment to her boss goes far beyond loyalty. Then Julie turns on her; Maria Cooper, her friendly new next-door neighbor, turns on her; and in the most mind-boggling scene, Doris Kirkland, April’s mother, whose dementia has brought her to a nursing home, turns on her. McFadden releases an escalating series of toxins so deftly into the suburban atmosphere that it’s practically an anticlimax when someone gets killed and April instantly becomes the prime suspect. But that’s only a setup for the tale’s boldest move: switching its narrator from April to a fair-weather friend who frames the whole nightmare in dramatically different terms. As a special gift to her savviest fans, the author throws in an even more jolting epilogue that’s as hard to forget as it is to believe.
Recommended reading for every paranoid suburbanite who’s considering a move to the city, or to the Arctic wilds.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249600
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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