I very much enjoy a good legal thriller and was a little put off by the seemingly odd title to this novel, however after sitting on my shelf for awhile I got past the odd title and stepped into a rather good story line. The initial lead in of the story makes use of flashbacks to the past in order to background one of the main characters and his friend which I wasn't too big a fan of, I much would have preferred some sort of prologue or narration to cover the past aspect, but that's just me.

Once the lead in was done however the story really takes off with the murder of a local woman in a Florida backwater town called Bass Creek. A slow, almost retarded man is set up for the crime by a corrupt and lazy police officer and as the story unfolds we see a struggling mother try to raise the funds to provide for a defense lawyer, a lazy district attorney wanting to leverage the case for his career path and the failure of the justice system.

The story is quite moving at times and gets more gripping as it unfolds, if like me the flashbacks turn you off, you will be rewarded with an excellent legal thriller and court room drama if you persevere. Really enjoyed the way the story unfolded and the narrative expanded past the initial murder case into something more (I would say more but I don't wish to spoil it!). ( )

I got about a quarter of the way through this & just gave up. It was too predictable & the reader wasn't doing that much for me. I doubt I'd like it as a regular book, either. I couldn't care less about anyone involved. ( )

A simple young man enticed into visiting a sexy young woman's home. The next day she is dead, and he is framed for murder. A many-layered story of how this young man's circumstances affect others, including his father's best friend. Enjoyed it - it kept me reading.

Bookcrossing: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5457125/ ( )

A corrupt small-town Florida police department arrests Rudy Kelly, a "slow" 19-year-old, for a murder he didn't commit, and, after an ineffectual public defender fumbles the case, Rudy receives a death sentence. Flashbacks to the 1960s New York childhoods of Mikey Kelly and Johnny Tobin. Ten years after Rudy's conviction, Tobin, now a hotshot Miami lawyer bored with his life, leaves his firm and finds a new direction after reading about Mikey's death and starts looking into his son Rudy's conviction.

The first half of this book is quite strong and well-developed. However, its second half steadily deteriorates when Tobin and his cohorts become the central figures in the plot to correct the wrongs that were done.

Sheehan is an attorney that has been compared to Grisham. This is his first novel – and it shows. Most of his characters are thinly developed, their exploits are often unrealistic and contrived, his technique at foreshadowing serves to make many of the intended surprise elements too predictable, and the dialogue he has his characters speak is often cliche-ridden and corny.

Hopefully, Sheehan’s next outing will show some development in his skills. ( )

The book could have had some hard editing. It was a good read and the issue of capital punishment in the US was a central theme along with police corruption. The storyline was OK if a bit sentimental. The author is a trial lawyer so should know what he is talking about. ( )