Indefensible by Pamela Callow, a Mysterious Review.

Review: After an attorney is arrested for killing his wife, he hires his young associate to defend him, even though she has limited criminal trial experience, in Indefensible, the second mystery in the Kate Lange legal mystery series by Pamela Callow.

Randall Barrett had been arguing with his ex-wife Elise earlier in the day, but at the time she fell from her balcony to her death, he claims he was somewhere else. Their son, Nick, a 15-year-old boy with a learning disability, claims otherwise, that he saw his father club his mother, and toss her body over the railing. But Nick's relationship with his father has always been distant and troubled, and it's not clear whether he is a witness or has simply made up the story. Though a senior member of a law firm that bears his name, Randall's partners want to distance themselves from any potential scandal, and refuse to help. Left on his own, Randall hires an old classmate from law school, Eddie Bent, to do some leg work, and Kate, an associate at the firm who believes in his innocence, to represent him in court. But the enormity of the task facing Kate causes her to doubt whether she's up to the task, especially knowing that a man's life — a man she deeply respects — is at stake.

Indefensible is a superbly plotted and suspenseful thriller, with solid characters and a riveting, dynamic storyline. The legal aspect actually comes quite late in the book, with much of what precedes it setting up a complex, though absorbing family drama. With little to slow the action, readers will be hard-pressed to set this book down before its surprising denouement.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Indefensible.

Acknowledgment: Planned TV Arts provided a copy of Indefensible for this review.

Indefensible

A Kate Lange Mystery by Pamela Callow