Published by Melange Books,
17 June 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-68046-252-4
(PB)
Successful New York lawyer Jane Larson spends most of
her time working on major litigation cases involving enormous sums of money (and
making a healthy profit for her firm and doing pretty well herself too). But
when a really big case settles unexpectedly she finds herself with a few days
spare time so when legal assistant Francine, gauche and well-meaning, tells
Jane that her friend Gail Hollings needs a lawyer to act for her in a matter
involving a divorce settlement and custody of little Courtney, Gail’s previous
lawyer, whom Jane had known when they both worked together for Legal Services
for the Poor, having died of an accidental drugs overdose. But Gail has no
money and if Jane acts for her it will be unpaid – pro bono publico – and proceedings are due to start that afternoon.
Jane agrees to at least appear for Gail in the initial proceedings and to try
and find someone who will subsequently act for Gail. She is less enthusiastic
about the interest in Gail’s case shown by feminist reporter Carmen Diaz. Until
that is, Francine slip that Carmen had known Gail’s previous lawyer and
believes that his death was neither accident nor suicide. Which makes it
murder. In court Gail’s ex-husband Larry, also a lawyer, is revealed as having
lied about his resources and it looks as though Jane has scored a mighty
victory. Then someone tries to shoot Jane – is it the angry and vengeful Larry?
And then Larry is murdered, and Jane finds herself drawn into a maelstrom of
drug deals, gangsters and murder. Is her ex-partner, handsome lawyer David for
whom she still cares, involved in some way? The police think he may be. And
what is worrying Jane’s best friend Lee? Then there’s Jane’s new love, another
handsome lawyer, Bryan. Meanwhile, Gail is revealing herself as being more and
more grasping with a story that she will not divulge.
This
is an immensely entertaining and exciting story told with a dry, sardonic New
York wit which permeates not just the dialogue but the entire first-person
narrative. Recommended.
------
Reviewer: Radmila May
Kenneth Hicks
was born in Chicago, Illinois (1948) but grew up in Abingdon Township in
Pennsylvania and attended Haverford College (B.A.1970) and Columbia University
Law School (LL.B. 1976). Ken married his co-author Anne Rothman, a graduate of
Bryn Mawr College (B.A.1971), and they have lived in New York City for many
years and raised three children. Kenneth Hicks is the author of The Complete Hitchhiker (1973). He is
co-author with Anne Rothman of Theft Of
The Shroud (1984), Starfinder (1984),
as well as a series of books about children's names David's Book, Michele's Book, John's Book, Michael's Book, Elizabeth's
Book, and Jennifer's Book (all
1984).
Radmila May was
born in the U.S. but has lived in the U.K. since she was seven apart from seven
years in The Hague. She read law at university but did not go into practice.
Instead she worked for many years for a firm of law publishers and still does occasional
work for them including taking part in a substantial revision and updating of
her late husband’s legal practitioners’ work on Criminal Evidence published
late 2015. She has also contributed short stories with a distinctly criminal
flavour to two of the Oxford Stories anthologies published by Oxpens Press – a
third story is to be published shortly in another Oxford Stories anthology –
and is now concentrating on her own writing.
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