"compelling and enthralling legal thriller"
Thirteen year old Kendra Martin turns tricks to fund her
heroin habit. Two johns pull her into their car, beat her,
sodomize and rape her. They leave her for dead in an
isolated park. Two Samaritans find her and call 911. The
emergency room doctors save her life. After she recovers
she identifies one of the perpetrators as Frank Derringer,
an ex-con out on parole who is supposed to stay away from
underage girls as the condition for his continued freedom. Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid goes against the
advice of her immediate superior and decides to charge
Derringer with numerous felonies that will put him away for
a long time. At first her case looks solid but Frank's
defense attorney makes such a compelling argument that a
serial killer committed the crime that her boss and his
superior force her to drop out of the prosecution.
Samantha isn't willing to let the case slip away from her
and see justice perverted so she starts her own independent
investigation, an action that almost gets her killed. Alafair Burke, the daughter of well renowned crime thriller
writer James Lee Burke, has inherited her father's talent
for writing a compelling and enthralling novel. This legal
thriller has plenty of action scenes, surprises and
courtroom scenes so readers will find themselves thoroughly
enjoying JUDGMENT CALLS which is, as hard as it is to
believe, the author's debut novel. The protagonist has a
vulnerable side that will endear her to readers as well as
a bulldog tenacity that allows her to do her job in spite
of overwhelming odds. This reviewer can't wait for the
second Samantha Kincaid legal thriller. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 21, 2003
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