The first of many cases...

This is my third "new John Grisham" of the year, following on from Mark Gimenez and Scott Pratt. This book is the first in the "Jaywalker" series.

Harrison J. Walker, better known to his few friends and many enemies as "Jaywalker", has problems. He's about to be suspended from being a lawyer. But he is granted permission to finish off ten cases that he has on his books. After dealing promptly with the other nine, he moves on to the titular tenth case.

This case involves Samara Tannenbaum, who he once represented on a driving-related charge. Samara is accused of murdering her much older multi-billionaire husband. In just about everyone's eyes, this is a slam dunk case. She definitely did it. All the evidence points that way. She's guilty as hell. Can she convince Jaywalker of her innocence? And can he believe in her enough to take this case to court and convince a jury?

This is a great debut novel. Once again, the obvious, lazy journalistic comparison is with John Grisham, the king of the legal thriller, and this book holds up well in such exalted company. The plot moves along at a fairly good pace throughout and builds towards an interesting climax. You might be able to work out which way things swing eventually, but there might also be some doubts in your mind. It's all very well crafted. I'm happy to say that Jaywalker will be back in "Bronx Justice", out later this year.

Recommended for fans of Grisham, Mark Gimenez, Scott Pratt and Michael Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer".