Another sale book (I kind of stocked up at this last sale) and this one is quite good although very short.   That’s okay –  it’s not a really serious book – it’s quite humorous and a nice refreshing break from my usual fare.   That said,  the underlying crimes are very, very serious  –  chillingly serious.    Odd –  if I were in a different mood …

*******
The Neon Lawyer
by Victor Methos
2014 / 178 pages
read by Nick Podehl 4h 28m
rating:  A++  /  crime – legal 
*******  

Brigham Theodore has a brand new law degree,  passed his bar exam, and been certified to practice law in Utah.  Now he needs a job and rather than offer his services for free,   he’s hired by a local low-life defense attorney.   His first case involves a speeding ticket and he gives the defense of “entrapment” a try.   He loses.

But Tommy,   his new boss with a Russian accent,  doesn’t mind – he finds Theodore’s  defense rather original and promotes Theodore to a homicide  case.   Amanda Pierce is accused and has been arrested for the murder of  the man who abused and murdered her young daughter.  She did this in broad daylight and with several  witnesses.   She also admits to “meaning to kill him.”    Amanda  has pathetic history,  a disabled army vet,  divorced from an abusive husband and with no other family.    Now she faces the death penalty.

Meanwhile,  Molly Becker,  another lawyer in Tommy’s office, is quite friendly to Theodore and helps him sort things out because although he studies hard.   Theodore doesn’t really have a clue what to do,  but he follows his instincts (which are the same ones which used an entrapment defense on a speeding ticket).

I thought I’d get the 2nd in the series right after this,  but the ending is really intense.  Maybe the book after next.  (g)