First Sentence: I've been around a long time.
Judge John Murphy is in a difficult
position. Lillian Adams, who has been
like a daughter to the Judge and his wife, is on trial for the murder of her
wealthy husband. Under pressure to recuse
himself, Judge Murphy knows prosecution attorney Haskins Sewell will do
anything possible to bring about a guilty plea in order to further his own
political career and remove Murphy from the bench. Murphy is in a fight for justice for Lillian,
and to save his own position.
Gerry Spence knows the law. He has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a
defense attorney, nor has he lost a civil case since 1969. With his first book of fiction, set in 1954, he
is starting off very well, indeed, and it is not often we find a legal mystery from
the perspective of the judge.
The
author's voice can make such a difference in the telling of a story. It is no surprise that Spence has a storyteller's
voice—"I'm a judge, and in the end we judges are killers like all the rest
of the killers. Some poor devil waiting
in a filthy concrete cell will start his march to the gas chamber when we sign
the order. It's our duty to kill
killers." He knows how to create a strong sense of place—"Winters get
long in Jackson Hole. Too damn
long. The people burn their woodstoves
twenty-four hours a day, and the smoke settles down on the valley in a dark
gray ground-hugging blanket."
As
opposed to most books which would go through the police investigation, Spence
takes one directly to the trial and the behavior of the defense attorney and
the prosecutor. The first interaction between them truly establishes their
characters. That's not to say that
forensic evidence isn't involved in the story, but it becomes critical in the
battle between the two attorneys. What
makes Judge Murphy such a strong, interesting character is his self-doubt and
insecurities.
From some authors, flashbacks can be
irritating. Here, they prove a
fascinating look at the characters. The
judge's internal musings show a man who truly understands the weight of his
office—"He tried not to see her [Lillian] as his child, but as just another
defendant at the dock…".
One is accustomed to tension and suspense
in a mystery. Although it is of a very
different type, both attributes are just as present and just as effective as a
car chase might be. In fact, it is taken a step further with a nice win for the
judge and a rousing closing argument by the defense attorney reminding one of
the importance of reasonable doubt. For
anyone who has served on a jury, the scene in the jury room rings painfully true. In fact, the scene was so well done, one might
have liked to see it extended.
"Court of Lies" is a very good, different legal mystery with a major twist, a surprising new character, and a powerful ending. Here's hoping for more novels from this legendary attorney.
COURT OF LIES (LegalMys- Judge John Murphy-Jackson Hole,
Wyoming-Contemp/1954) – VG+
Spence, Gerry – 1st book
Forge – Feb 2019
Posts
Legal novels can be very suspenseful. And, of course, I've heard of Gerry Spence, 'though I didn't know he wrote crime fiction. This sounds like an engaging story, and I can imagine there's a real air of authenticity to it.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first non-fiction book he has written. I hope there will be more.
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