A propulsive legal drama with a unique case, an unforgettable client, and a flawed but hardworking attorney.
A firsthand, true-life account of an attorney and a client both down on their luck and facing long odds for success.
In the early autumn of 1996, former Georgia state representative McCracken Poston Jr. was putting the finishing touches on a losing congressional election bid. Nearly a year later, Ringgold, a small town in the same county, was upended by a strange murder case. Alvin Ridley, a reclusive and odd-seeming TV repairman, placed a call to local police from a payphone, telling authorities he thought his wife Virginia had “passed out.” When they asked if she was breathing, Alvin said no, and it wasn’t long before the law began to suspect foul play. In the period between his wife’s death and his eventual arrest, Alvin ran into and then began badgering Poston, so much so that the failed politician—who had restarted his law practice upon leaving the state legislature for civilian life—agreed to represent Alvin, should it come to that, if Alvin promised to stop calling in the middle of the night and waking up Poston and his new wife, Alison. Once Alvin was arrested, the pair set about proving his innocence—not only of her murder but also of the charge that, prior to Virginia’s death, Alvin had imprisoned her for years. Defending Alvin was an uphill battle from the start for Poston, who had to routinely deal with outbursts and confusing behavior from his client, who once claimed—truthfully, it turns out—that he missed a court date because of a “giant spider bite.” Poston remained a loyal advocate for Ridley, but even he sometimes could not help but lose patience and lash out; it is in these moments between attorney and client that readers connect with the humanity of each man. At one point, Poston lost his cool and berated Ridley for his nonexistent hygiene and dirty clothes, insisting that he shower and change. Ridley arrived the next day “literally, wearing the same clothes again from yesterday. I was almost happy that he’d ignored my outburst about his hygiene. I still felt bad about it.” As the trial began to take shape after a critical continuance, Poston was finally allowed into Ridley’s home, where he began to realize that he—and the town writ-large—may have misunderstood the person they called the “Zenith Man.”
Readers will sympathize with Poston’s eroding patience and feel endeared to him for regretting his harsh treatment of his client; they will likely develop a begrudging respect for Ridley for not conforming to someone else’s conventions. By turns a humorous character study and a searing examination of the blind spots in our justice system, Poston’s work is an emotionally affecting page-turner sure to be loved by fans of true crime and courtroom procedurals. While many works centered on trials run the risk of becoming either too forensic and emotionless or too riddled with bias and attachment, Poston’s book manages to maintain an effective balance. Readers will both identify with and trust this narrator and are sure to enjoy riding alongside him through what must have been the strangest case of his career.
A propulsive legal drama with a unique case, an unforgettable client, and a flawed but hardworking attorney.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780806542799
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Citadel
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A powerful reiteration of principles—and some fresh ideas—from the longest-serving independent in congressional history.
Another chapter in a long fight against inequality.
Building on his Fighting Oligarchy tour, which this year drew 280,000 people to rallies in red and blue states, Sanders amplifies his enduring campaign for economic fairness. The Vermont senator offers well-timed advice for combating corruption and issues a robust plea for national soul-searching. His argument rests on alarming data on the widening wealth gap’s impact on democracy. Bolstered by a 2010 Supreme Court decision that removed campaign finance limits, “100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion” on 2024 elections. Sanders focuses on the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, describing their enactment of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” with its $1 trillion in tax breaks for the richest Americans and big social safety net cuts, as the “largest transfer of wealth” in living memory. But as is his custom, he spreads the blame, dinging Democrats for courting wealthy donors while ignoring the “needs and suffering” of the working class. “Trump filled the political vacuum that the Democrats created,” he writes, a resonant diagnosis. Urging readers not to surrender to despair, Sanders offers numerous legislative proposals. These would empower labor unions, cut the workweek to 32 hours, regulate campaign spending, reduce gerrymandering, and automatically register 18-year-olds to vote. Grassroots supporters can help by running for local office, volunteering with a campaign, and asking educators how to help support public schools. Meanwhile, Sanders asks us “to question the fundamental moral values that underlie” a system that enables “the top 1 percent” to “own more wealth than the bottom 93 percent.” Though his prose sometimes reads like a transcribed speech with built-in applause lines, Sanders’ ideas are specific, clear, and commonsensical. And because it echoes previous statements, his call for collective introspection lands as genuine.
A powerful reiteration of principles—and some fresh ideas—from the longest-serving independent in congressional history.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9798217089161
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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