Tara K. (RandomReader) reviewed Presumption of Guilt (Laura Chastain, Bk 1) on + 15 more book reviews
From Booklist
At the heart of Kelly's debut novel stands Laura Chastain, senior associate at Atlanta's prestigious Prendergrast and Crawley, who is surprised to discover she enjoys (and is good at) criminal defense work--far from a specialty of the "white shoes" firm! After she successfully defends the son of a corporate client against highly publicized rape charges, an Atlanta policeman strolls into her office, asking for help with charges that he killed a suspected child molester in custody at a police station. Despite management's misgivings, Laura's supervisor, poetry-spouting Tom Bailey, supports her desire to take the tabloid-ready, racially divisive brutality case. Still, there's more to Laura's new case than either brutality or frame-up; most of the institutions and people on whom Laura depends are involved in gun sales, murder, blackmail, or cover-ups. Vivid and involving. Mary Carroll
At the heart of Kelly's debut novel stands Laura Chastain, senior associate at Atlanta's prestigious Prendergrast and Crawley, who is surprised to discover she enjoys (and is good at) criminal defense work--far from a specialty of the "white shoes" firm! After she successfully defends the son of a corporate client against highly publicized rape charges, an Atlanta policeman strolls into her office, asking for help with charges that he killed a suspected child molester in custody at a police station. Despite management's misgivings, Laura's supervisor, poetry-spouting Tom Bailey, supports her desire to take the tabloid-ready, racially divisive brutality case. Still, there's more to Laura's new case than either brutality or frame-up; most of the institutions and people on whom Laura depends are involved in gun sales, murder, blackmail, or cover-ups. Vivid and involving. Mary Carroll
Sally A L. (grammasally) reviewed Presumption of Guilt (Laura Chastain, Bk 1) on + 30 more book reviews
Atlanta lawyer Laura Chastain is trying to untangle the web of lies that obscure guilt and innocence. She's defending an unscruplous white cop Jeff Williams who has no alibi and has been indicted for killing a black suspect held in custody. Her future hangs in the balance --- if Williams is lying it could cost Laura her career if he's telling the truth, that a deadly cover-up of murder and corruption is operating at the highest levels of the police force, it could cost her her life.
