Uncommon Justice

If what you want from a thriller, even a legal thriller, is fast-paced action, a great plot and a twist at the end, Uncommon Justice may not be your fare. But if you delight in chracters you can care about, there are few legal thrillers better than this first entrant under the pseudonym Terry Devane by a best-selling author(Jeremiah Healy?). The attorney-protagonist, Mairead O'Claire, is young, an orphan, has a skin disfigurement and is so spunky you want to cheer for her. The attorney she hooks up with after quitting a stuffy if prestigious job, Sheldon Gold, lives with sorrow wrapped around his heart. Their secretary, Billie Sunday, is tough, plucky, and surviving her own tragedy. Their investigator, Pontific Murizzi, is equally memorable with his own secret and his loyalty. And the defendant, Alpha, accused of murdering a fellow homeless man, is as intriguing as he is devious. This character-driven novel centers around who really committed the murder of which Alpha is accused. There is some excellent courtroom tension and while much of it seems no surprise, there is a most satisfying twist at the end. Please give us more of Mairhead and friends, Mr. Devane.

This is a terrific book. The best one I've read in quite a while. I look forward to the next book written by Terry Devane. Hopefully, it will continue to have the same main characters.

Uncommon Justice is a fast paced "read" with four interesting multi-faceted leading characters. Although I could have done without the melodramatic "action-packed" climax, I was delighted to read on the jacket blurb that this will become a series.

Just a few months into her career as an associate lawyer at Boston's Jaynes and Ward, Mairead O'Clare finds herself totally bored. When her boss catches her daydreaming during a "seminar", he not only lectures her, but also warns her that her future (and perhaps the Western World) is at stake. Feeling no remorse, Mairead already loathes her role in the firm so she goes to the Commons to think about her future. There she meets criminal lawyer Sheldon Gold, who offers her a job with an office and lots of hard work at much less pay. After quitting her current job, Mairead accepts Sheldon's employment offer. He immediately sends her to the courthouse on a criminal case where they will represent Alpha, a homeless person accused of murdering a peer Old Man River. Alpha is intelligent and friendly, but refuses to fully cooperate with his attorney. As Mairead continues to obtain information, she gains an on the job education that thrills her even if the case is proving difficult due to the attitude of her slick client. UNCOMMON JUSTICE is a criminal legal tale that demonstrates why author Terry Devane is an award-winning writer. The key characters which include Sheldon, Mairead, their office assistant, and Alpha seem so genuine readers will believe their part of the case. The who-done-it seems obvious, but the twists and turns of the story line prove that there is more to justice than the obvious. Sub-genre fans have an uncommon treat with this intelligently written novel.Harriet Klausner