BASHERT

In this 1970s-set novel, a criminal lawyer defends his father-in-law against charges of fraud and embezzlement.

It’s August 1969, and Michael Goldman, a Manhattan criminal defense attorney in his late 20s, goes to Woodstock, where he has a liaison with a stranger, a beautiful girl he’d discovered sobbing in the mud and talking nonsense. An invitation to dry off in his van leads to passionate sex, but the next morning, she’s anguished to have lost her virginity after being tricked into taking a hallucinogen. Not yet 18, Shira Lefkovitz is an Orthodox Jew who’d never even kissed. Michael is smitten and wants to date Shira, but when she discovers she’s pregnant, he isn’t quite sure he’s ready for the altar. Nevertheless, they decide to marry, and Michael wins over Shira’s family. Her father, Moshe, is a respected cabalistic rabbi who helps get visas to Jews denied permission to leave Russia. The marriage is happy, but disaster strikes in 1972 when Moshe becomes a pawn in political machinations and is indicted for money laundering, bribery, and embezzling donations. He’ll go to prison unless Michael can defend him. Goldsmith presents a narrator who at first seems callow, ignoring Shira’s obvious incapacity at Woodstock, but soon shows finer qualities. Michael ensures that Shira can practice her more observant Judaism, stay connected with family, and have a supportive community of friends. He throws himself into helping his bewildered in-laws, mounting a spirited, intelligent (and somewhat devious) defense for Moshe. The case necessarily involves tangled political and financial matters, which Goldsmith handily clarifies as Michael highlights essential facts that could have been obscured by the prosecution’s blizzard of evidence.

An involving courtroom and family drama with strong connections to historical events.