Her Honor is a courtroom novel that introduces us to Kathleen Talbot, an attorney whose father has encouraged her political ambitions. When a family situation occurs, she decides to curtail her political climb towards becoming governor and accept a judgeship. A short time later she is appointed to hear a controversial case, the mercy killing of a brain dead victim by a police officer. It becomes a constant reminder of her own decision to have her father removed from life support and she begins to wonder if hearing this case is a conflict of interest for her.

This book was originally published in 1987 and it has a dated feel in the way men treated women during that time. I don't dispute that this attitude was real, just that so many years later it almost seems unbelievable. I think William Coughlin is a good writer and normally I love courtroom thrillers. This story was fairly predictable so there were no surprises. There were way too many characters and several subplots that kept this from being a page turner. Overall, I enjoyed the story and and it was an interesting glimpse into the judicial system. ( )