THE GUN TRIAL

A California lawyer fights to prove that a sporting goods chain is liable for a teen’s suicide in Manolakas’ novel.

In signing her latest clients, senior associate Sophia Christopoulos butts heads with two named partners—but, as this startup law firm gives all of its lawyers voting rights, she wins the OK to take on Wallace and Beth Holt’s lawsuit. Their son, while on summer break from Yale, bought a shotgun, went home, and fatally shot himself. They’re suing Sports Gear USA, whose clerks sold the boy the gun despite believing the 19-year-old looked “off.” Sophia is banking on a settlement, but the case doesn’t go quite as she hopes thanks to a never-ending “game of firm politics” with firm co-founder Derek White and the Holts’ own growing doubts, which worsen after locals ostracize them. As a potential trial looms, Sophia and her team, including a couple of first-year associates, pore over the evidence to show that Sports Gear should be held liable for the young man’s tragic death. Manolakas deftly highlights all the intricacies surrounding the deceptively simple lawsuit—the everyday lives of the characters cause ripples, from Sophia questioning her relationship with homicide detective Steve Rutger to another member of the firm grieving a brother lost to senseless violence, and the media and public opinion are detrimental as often as they are beneficial. Sophia is an exceptional lawyer who’s laser-focused on details and unruffled in most situations (immediately chastising herself if something manages to provoke her), but her tenacity sometimes comes across as intriguingly ice cold; she seemingly feigns empathy in the Holts’ presence (“Sophia played into the nurse’s caring nature and endured the two females’ fountains of tears”), more concerned about them potentially dropping the case than any trauma they’ve suffered. For procedural fans, Manolakas offers an authentic look at the legal system—all of the hurdles that must be cleared prior to stepping inside a courtroom that only multiply once the trial finally begins.

Personal and professional lives mingle in this diverting, realistic portrayal of the legal system.