Originally published in the Mystery Writers of America anthology The Prosecution Rests and now available for Amazon Kindle, "Knife Fight" is engagingly told by defendant Travis Runnels, a previously convicted drug dealer, now on trial for the fatal stabbing of Diego Hernandez.
The story unfolds as Travis meets with public defender Alex Stone and follows her performance in court. When the case turns against Travis, he accuses Alex of using what he's told her in confidence to pursue her own agenda.
Former trial lawyer Goldman so enjoyed writing Alex Stone, he expanded her into a novel series, the first of which, Stone Cold, is due out next month.
Showing posts with label The Prosecution Rests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Prosecution Rests. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2012
Friday, May 22, 2009
"Follow Up" by Jo Dereske
From: The Prosecution Rests ed. Linda Fairstein. Little, Brown, and Co., 2009.
In the middle of a blizzard, Michigan parole board member Jeff Willett comes to the aid of a woman stranded in the snow. He learns the woman is the mother of a possible parolee, Danny Hartman, who served time of holding up a 7-Eleven. Desperate to deliver letters in favor of Danny's parole, Danny's mother breaks from Jeff when his car runs off the road.
Jeff searches for her for a while, but when he meets with Danny, the kid seems unwilling to talk or accept possible help from his mother. I wasn't sure whether Jeff wanted to help Danny's mother reach the parole board or if he just wanted to avoid the complications her letters would bring. Either way, this story is a well-delivered, bleak look at the system.
In the middle of a blizzard, Michigan parole board member Jeff Willett comes to the aid of a woman stranded in the snow. He learns the woman is the mother of a possible parolee, Danny Hartman, who served time of holding up a 7-Eleven. Desperate to deliver letters in favor of Danny's parole, Danny's mother breaks from Jeff when his car runs off the road.
Jeff searches for her for a while, but when he meets with Danny, the kid seems unwilling to talk or accept possible help from his mother. I wasn't sure whether Jeff wanted to help Danny's mother reach the parole board or if he just wanted to avoid the complications her letters would bring. Either way, this story is a well-delivered, bleak look at the system.
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