GRUDGE MATCH

An undersung hero of courtroom drama (Executive Privilege, 2001, etc.) returns with an admirably complex novel about bitter betrayal and sweet revenge.

San Antonio DA Chris Sinclair is shaken when he discovers that eight years ago he helped put an innocent man—a cop, no less—in the slammer. It’s no surprise that life in Huntsville has been nightmarish for Steve Greerdon, since ex-cops wear a “brutalize-me” patch on their denim backs assuring them special treatment. Now, however, Greerdon’s free to chase the pound of flesh everyone assumes he’s eager to exact from the cops who framed him and the DA who tried him so successfully. But hold on: Greerdon is saying astonishing things, like: “Who set me up, why it happened? What difference does it make?” The past is dead, he insists, and the good life beckons. For his efforts to spring him once he realized his mistake, Chris Sinclair deserves only gratitude. It’s a nice attitude, even plausible in a way, but Chris is skeptical. Greerdon is still a certified tough guy. Is his ever-so-rational, bygones-be-bygones approach to be taken at face value? Or should Chris and others be deeply worried?

Laboring long under the shadows of Grisham and Turow, Brandon has yet to earn the recognition he deserves. But his 13th case—featuring multifaceted characters caught in page-turning dilemmas, his best since his 1990 debut, Fade the Heat—just might be lucky.