Thursday, October 16, 2008

Review: The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller

Manhattan lawyer Harrison J. Walker has, for the length of his twenty-plus year career, been known simply as Jaywalker. In court, the judge usually calls him Mr. Jaywalker. He is that rare criminal defense attorney who believes that a defendant deserves at least one person in his corner, even if the defendant is guilty as sin. This belief has helped Jaywalker achieve a high acquittal rate. Extremely high. Exceeding ninety percent, in fact.

In order to achieve this remarkably high acquittal rate, Jaywalker uses unconventional methods. Methods the court sometimes frowns upon, in the form of a disciplinary board who has decided that he must take a three year break. They allow him to finish ten of his current cases before his three year suspension starts. The first nine are relatively easy to wrap up.

The tenth case is Samara Moss. A beautiful young gold digger who is accused of murdering her wealthy older husband. The evidence is overwhelming, it seems to be an open and shut case for the prosecution. Except that she says that she didn't do it. And it is Jaywalker's job to defend her and prove that she has been framed.

The author has done a fantastic job of constructing a gripping courtroom drama. It is obvious that he is an experienced defense attorney himself and he creates an absorbing, interesting story that gives the reader all the flavor of being behind the scenes with the defense in a murder trial. Add to that a locked room mystery, a little romance and an easy to like protagonist. All in all, a very enjoyable novel.

I look forward to reading the second book in the Jaywalker series, Bronx Justice, coming in 2009.

The Tenth Case is published by Mira. ISBN 978-0-7783-2605-2

Order The Tenth Case from Amazon

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to read this review, but I think that cover is really scary. Thanks for the review.

The Tome Traveller said...

Yeah, the cover is a little scary but the book is not at all. It is the neatest possible murder and there is no graphic description or anything. The tone of the book is, surprisingly, not dark as you would expect. That was part of why I liked it. I am reading The Darker Side by Cody McFadyen right now, THATS dark, gritty, graphic.

Literary Feline said...

I liked this book as well. I've had a little experience with the criminal court system and was happy to see how accurate the depiction was of the process.

Michele said...

You've convinced me to add this to my tbr list. I love a good courtroom drama!

tashiana said...

this sounds very goood
samara(that is her name right?) didnt do it!
can you really be forced to take a three year (random) break for winning too many cases?


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Bibliophile, Anglophile, Traveller... I have been an avid reader all of my life, since I took the Dr. Seuss Dictionary away from my Mom when I was less than a year old because I wanted to read it myself. In college, where I earned my degree in English Literature, I was often asked "What are you going to do with it?" Now I finally have the answer to that question!!! Being employed as a Flight Attendant for twenty years has given me a lot of life experience and, better still, a lot of time to read. I love to travel for fun, too.