MOUSE IN THE BOX

A cynical defense lawyer takes a case with the potential to alter his views of the justice system in Allan’s debut legal thriller.

Mason Mitchell has made peace with his livelihood. The criminal defense attorney represents Milwaukee’s worst: drunk drivers, drug dealers, armed robbers, and gang members (“The majority of Mason’s clients were guilty, the kind of people you would call criminals, and he was one hundred percent okay with that. It came with the territory, and he suffered no pangs of conscience”). Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mason is divorced, increasingly estranged from his daughter, lives alone, works long hours, and drinks a lot of vodka. Not all of Mason’s clients are clear-cut villains, however; take Lori Wells, a steakhouse waitress charged with attempted homicide for stabbing her husband. Lori has no memory of doing it, nor can she imagine why she ever would. Then there’s the higher-profile case of Michael Key, a Black high school football coach accused of killing his white wife. The public has already made up its mind regarding Key’s guilt, but, for once, Mason believes his client is truly innocent. The question is whether Mason is a good enough lawyer to keep the justice system from ripping either client to shreds. Allan’s incisive prose adeptly threads the needle between sincerity and satire, as when Mason drunkenly complains about his job to a disinterested bartender: “ ‘Most of the lawyers you see in here don’t give a rat’s ass about anyone they represent. Guilty, innocent, they could care less. They aren’t in the law business, they’re in the processing business.’ Mason was rolling downhill, and didn’t notice his bartender glance around for a plausible excuse to walk away.” The characters are compelling and the cases are intricate, inviting readers to quickly lose themselves in the procedural details. One hopes there are further Mason Mitchell thrillers on the docket.

A timely and well-told legal mystery.