When Elise Vanderzell plummets from her bedroom balcony one gorgeous summer night, her children awaken to a nightmare.
Their mother is dead.
Their father is charged with her murder.
Lawyer Kate Lange knows all about nightmares. She's survived the darkest period of her troubled life and the wounds are still raw. Now she's been handed a case that seems utterly unwinnable: defending her boss, high-profile lawyer Randall Barrett. A prosecutor's dream suspect, Randall is a man who was cuckolded by his ex-wife. A man who could not control his temper. A man who had argued bitterly with the victim the previous day in full view of the children.
With limited criminal law experience, Kate finds herself enmeshed in a family fractured by doubt. Randall's teenage son is intent on killing him. His daughter wants only to feel safe again. And the entire legal community would like nothing better than to see Randall receive a public comeuppance. As Kate races to stay a step ahead of the prosecution, a silent predator is waiting for the perfect time to deal the final blow.
From Publishers Weekly
Callow's second legal thriller, the sequel to Damaged, suffers from spoiling references to its predecessor, and a slow plot. When beautiful Elise Vanderzell falls to her death one summer evening from the balcony of her Halifax, Nova Scotia, home soon after an argument with her ex-husband, lawyer Randall Barrett, who wants more access to his children, Randall becomes the prime suspect in what the authorities suspect is a homicide. Randall's troubled 15-year-old son, Nick, wants to kill him, and his 12-year-old daughter, Lucy, who promises to be as attractive as her late mother, is scared of him. The one person who supports Randall is an employee of his prestigious firm, lawyer Kate Lange. Plagued by her own demons, Kate agrees to defend her boss when the police charge him with murder late in the book. Kate redeems herself as a strong heroine, but whiny characters mired in their own misery and extended passages where nothing is happening will lose readers long before the exciting climax. (Jan.)
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Review
Lawyer Kate Lange is back with another case that will test her courtroom skills, judgment and nerves. The suspense is intense, the action shocking and the plot intriguing. 4.5 stars out of 4.5 stars. --RT Book Reviews