Her Kind of Case

June 18, 2018
In this dull legal thriller from Winer (The Furthest City Light), Boulder, Colo., attorney Lee Isaacs, who now works for herself after a decade as a public defender, agrees to represent an accused killer, 16-year-old Jeremy Matthews, after being approached by his aunt, Peggy O’Neill. Jeremy’s parents kicked him out for not adhering to their rigid religious doctrines, and Peggy is the one relative who cares about him. Lee has a daunting task: her client has already confessed to the police that he, along with a gang of skinheads, participated in the murder of a gay man, though he claimed to not have known whether the victim was already dead when he joined in kicking the body. And Jeremy refuses to cooperate with her defense, forcing Lee to consider bargaining for the lowest possible prison sentence, even though she believes he’s innocent. Despite the author giving Lee a deceased bisexual husband and martial arts expertise, she fails to emerge as a distinctive character. The plot twists and climax won’t surprise anyone who’s read a similar book before.

Starred review from July 1, 2018
A seasoned criminal defense attorney must draw on her experience to save a teenage client who doesn't want to be saved.Over decades, Lee Isaacs has become one of Boulder's top criminal defense attorneys, but lately she has a lot on her mind besides work. She's about to turn 60, a number that gives her pause even though decades of taekwondo have kept her fit, if frequently bruised. She worries about her 84-year-old father. She misses her husband, Paul, who died five years ago. So when a woman begs Lee to defend her nephew Jeremy, Lee is initially reluctant. The 16-year-old is accused of--and confessed to--being part of a group of skinheads who stomped to death another young man when they found out he was gay. But as Lee gets information from her determined investigator, Carla, and then eventually from Jeremy, she thinks there may be a way to save Jeremy. Winer (The Furthest City Light, 2012), who was a criminal defense attorney for decades, brings vivid, insider knowledge of all things legal, from lawyers' black humor to the importance of details to a jury. Unlike many dull legal novels, though, this is filled with witty dialogue, believable characters, and quick pacing (it's a sure bet that the author never bored a jury). Lee is complex, funny, grouchy, and ambitious. It's just plain fun to hang out with her and her two gay friends; it's fun to listen as she and her dad talk late at night. And it's seriously impressive to watch her as a lawyer.If she were real, Winer's heroine would be your hands-down first choice if you got in trouble. But as a lucky and hopefully law-abiding reader, you have the right to buy her next adventure and remain silent for hours as you speed through the pages.

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