INTEREST OF JUSTICE

After her sister and brother-in-law are murdered, Judge Lara Sanderstone takes in their teenage son and finds that the killer is apparently now stalking her. By the author of Mitigating Circumstances. 150,000 first printing. Tour.

Sleeping with a cop would seem like the last thing a judge under investigation for dating a defense attorney should do, but Lara Sanderstone is such an intelligent, finely detailed character that even the unlikeliest plot twists work in this absorbing legal thriller by the author of Mitigating Circumstances. When her sister and brother-in-law are brutally slain, Lara's orderly life begins to fall apart. She inherits responsibility for their troubled teenage son Josh, who may have been involved in the murder; she is accused of judicial impropriety (for protecting her brother-in-law as well as for succumbing to the charms of a self-centered lawyer); and after fellow judge Leo Evergreen convinces her to release a defendant in one of her cases, the man's fingerprints are found in her ransacked house by Sgt. Ted Rickerson. Lara's budding romance with Ted, her attempts to win over her sullen nephew and crisp courtroom scenes combine to create an exciting narrative, related in propulsive yet unobtrusive prose. The ending is something of a letdown, but the novel is so generally entertaining that this seems only a minor flaw. Literary Guild main selection; film rights to Citadel/HBO; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

High-gear legal-action thriller about a judge caught up in a child-porn scam gone rotten. Here, ex-cop Rosenberg backs away from the vigilantism of her debut novel, Mitigating Circumstances (1992)--but not from her willingness to manipulate readers shamelessly, if skillfully. Superior Court Judge Lara Sanderstone has much in common with A.D.A. Lily Forrester, heroine of Rosenberg's first: Both are legal powerhouses in their late 30s; both work in southern California; both have families torn by violence--Lily's daughter was raped; Lara's sister and brother-in-law were murdered. But where Lily picks up a gun to avenge the crime, Lara works within the law, teaming up with a homicide cop who lures her into a romantic subplot that climaxes as he turns her limbs ``to rubber'' on the hood of his car. Also helping track down the killer is Lara's neighbor Emmet Daniels, who's got Lou Gehrig's disease; and the dead couple's abused 14-year-old son, Josh, whose slow winning-over by Lara mirrors the cop's winning-over of her. When the bodies are found, Lara learns that her sister was a hooker, blackmailing the older male pedophile who appears, face hidden, in a clutch of Polaroids. No doubt he ordered the killings, which are traced to a career criminal released from jail on the instigation of a top judge: Is that judge the pedophile? Pursuing assorted leads (including some fascinating computer-imaging), Lara dodges a brutal attempt on her life as the noose closes around the judge. The case winds up with a major twist, though--and with a de rigueur high- suspense finale, which finds Josh menaced by the pedophile, Emmet crawling up the stairs to his rescue.... Any writer who will pit a cripple against a maniac is a commercial force to be reckoned with--expect big interest in this smartly melodramatic crowd-pleaser. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for December; film rights to Citadel/HBO) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Lara Sanderstone is enjoying a successful career as a judge in Orange County, California. However, her world falls apart when her sister and brother-in-law are brutally murdered. Not only does Lara find herself with a mystery to solve but also with the responsibility for her 14-year-old nephew, Josh. Bitter and troubled, Josh proves to be quite a handful for Lara as the two try to communicate, get to know each other, and deal with their grief. The tension in the story builds effectively as the investigation unfolds and Lara and Detective Rickerson discover that a judge may be involved in the bizarre homicide. Rosenberg, an ex-police officer and author of the best-selling Mitigating Circumstances ( LJ 12/92), offers another irresistible page-turner that has already been sold to Citadel/HBO for a miniseries. Readers will be quickly caught up in Lara's hectic life as she struggles to uncover the truth. Recommended for most fiction collections. Literary Guild selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/93.
- Maria A. Perez-Stable, Western Michigan Univ. Libs., Kalamazoo
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.