Indefensible: A Novel
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Davis, in a moment of weak parenting, decides to take his teenage daughter, Lizzie, along to a possible grave-site search in the woods. In a nice departure from the usual teenage-girl angst, Lizzie is mature and kind, and has a close relationship with her father. Nick doesn’t expect to find anything on this venture, but a body does turn up, and the bird-watcher who reported it is killed. A couple of drug dealers are the main suspects, but the story twists further when more bodies are found. As the case develops, Nick starts to suspect some of his own coworkers, prompting an attack of serious paranoia. In a bizarre twist, Nick’s most ardent opponent, a pugnacious defense attorney, becomes his sounding board and counsel. Nick has always put his faith in the justice system, but this case truly tests him, and he finds himself reexamining his own beliefs and those of almost everyone around him. Attorney Goodman easily makes the transition to fiction writer, as have his brethren Scott Turow and John Lescroart. --Stacy Alesi