Justice in June by Barbara Levenson, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz juggles two very demanding cases — one of which is being tried in the press, the other very much behind the scenes, out of public eye — in Justice in June, the second mystery in this series by Barbara Levenson.

As a favor to her boyfriend Carlos, Mary agrees to see his cousin Luis — "he really isn't my cousin exactly; he's the son of a friend of my father's brother, my uncle, but we think of him as a cousin" — who has been imprisoned after arriving in Miami on a flight from Argentina, only to discover he is suspected of being a terrorist. Caught in the glare of the media, Mary is quickly labeled a traitor herself, never mind the fact that Luis hasn't been charged with any crime. Meanwhile, Liz Maxwell, a respected judge, has retained Mary to represent her against charges that she's showing favoritism in her courtroom, a charge she vehemently denies … though she concedes if it came out she was having an affair with a married attorney who once tried a case before her, a trial in which he won, it might be misconstrued. And if that weren't enough on her plate, someone wants to make her job more difficult by assaulting her as she's getting into her car one night. But who and why — and if it's related to one of her clients — is unknown.

Justice in June is probably not inappropriately labeled as "legal chick lit", a light, breezy story — not so much a mystery, however — told from the perspective of a young 30-something woman balancing a new career as an independent attorney and an increasingly demanding romantic relationship with a sexy boyfriend. Of course, Mary and Carlos have their respective families to help move things along … or not, depending on one's perspective; the restaurant scene where they first meet is quite entertaining. Not unexpectedly, the two primary storylines (Mary's cases) eventually converge, though in a rather unlikely, if not improbable, manner. Still, it's logically handled well and all the various plot threads are neatly tied up in the end.

The verdict? Justice in June makes for a satisfying summer read.

Acknowledgment: Oceanview Publishing provided a copy of Justice in June for this review.

Fatal February
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover), February 2009
ISBN-13: 9781933515526; ISBN-10: 193351552X

Justice in June

A Mary Magruder Katz Mystery by Barbara Levenson