A Fool for a Client

The pinnacle of Sean Murphy's career as a revolutionary was the blowing up of a doctor and a three-year-old child in a busy shopping mall. But when he fled to New York and thwarted attempts to extradite him, he set in motion a chain of events that not even he could have anticipated.
Now Murphy is dead, and a 23-year-old American medical student stands trial for his murder in a case which has become a cause celebre in the USA: the People of the State of New York versus Justine Levy. Against all advice, Justine insists on conducting her own defence, proceeding to alienate jurors and refusing to co-operate with Rick Parker, a young, inexperienced black lawyer whom the judge has appointed to act as standby counsel.
In a case that polarises public opinion, some see Murphy's death as the execution of a terrorist while others see it as the murder of a freedom fighter. But was Justine a vigilante who acted as the avenging angel for society or was her motive more personal? As cracks begin to appear in the prosecution's case another question arises: did Justine, in fact, kill him at all?

Born and brought up in London, David Kessler lived in Israel for many years, but has now returned and works as a technical and business writer for a London computer company. His interests include physics, philosophy and international politics. A Fool for a Client is his first novel.