A Criminal Defense – William L. Myers Jr.
If it isn’t obvious by now, I tend to stay in the fantasy/sci-fi realm of fiction, but in between epic sagas, I like to squeeze in something completely different. I find it helps to break up the schedule, and I stay more focused if I’m not having to remember names, places, lore, history, and any number of other fantastical jargon EVERY time I pick up a book. A Criminal Defense slotted into that category for me, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.
A Criminal Defense, by William L. Myers Jr., takes place in Center City, Philadelphia and revolves around a young lawyer that finds himself caught up in the midst of a crime. One of his best friends from college approaches him about representation after he gets arrested and charged with the murder of a local, up-and-coming reporter with which he was having an affair. Oh boy, here we go.
I definitely DO NOT want to spoil the plot, so I’ll try not to get specific, but be warned.
In typical murder mystery fashion, A Criminal Defense starts off on the day of the murder, following Mick McFarland around the city as the stage slowly gets set for the rest of the book. Seems pretty typical really. Getting lunch, running, taking calls, having meetings.. All good. Admittedly, the weirdest part was the hyper familiar setting and reading about all the places I’ve been in real life. We learn that Mick and his wife, Piper, are on the rocks, and running a law firm is more challenging that it may seem. Finances are tight, and Piper doesn’t mind spending what’s left over. Everything seems pretty standard up until Mick gets a call from his friend, David Hanson, saying he needs a lawyer.
Already we start to feel for Mick, and the author does a good job putting us in the setting without making it all about the relationships. There are subtle references to the financial situation that we pick up on and that help flesh out the whole picture, and there are small quips back and forth that take us deeper into the minds of the characters without being too overt. The dialogue is fairly well written and mostly realistic, although this seems to be a floating target, but all things considered, the beginning is fairly casual and easy to follow while giving us enough to feel engaged.
Turns out David and Mick went to law school together back in the day, although David comes from big money, they get along, but it’s described that they weren’t super close. Mick also has a brother that works at the firm as the “enforcer,” so to speak. He was in jail for an undisclosed (as of the beginning of the book) crime and Mick feels like he’s doing him a favor by employing him. He’s kind of a flake, but seems well intentioned. Piper seems totally stuck up and had me annoyed for most of the novel. I kept wanting him to just leave her sorry ass, but he definitely does not. All of this is to say that the characters are great. There’s a sense of realism and natural flow to all of their relationships, something we can all relate to.
As the story continues, we get the usual lawyer stuff. Lies, bribes, more lies, altercations with the DA and his cronies.. all of it. David and his wife, who decides to stick with him, pull a couple of interesting maneuvers along the way, and Mick gets increasingly stressed about the whole thing. His brother is in and out of the picture. The cops keep trying to mess up the case. DA wants to cut a deal. And all the while, our hero is trying to keep the lights on at the office and his marriage together at the house. It’s thrilling and aggravating all at the same time. I felt Mick was so relatable, I was getting frustrated with his client just like he was.
The issue with A Criminal Defense is not with the writing. Some of the dialogue is a little cheesy, and some of the courtroom scenes are overly dramatized, but none of that hinders the reading experience. My biggest issue is the believability. Myers does such a wonderful job putting us in the scene and crafting the characters in a way that seems so real, that as the events start to unfold, occasionally I would remember I was reading a book.
It’s like when you’re watching a movie, and the longer you watch the walls start to disappear, and all you see is the screen. You forget all about the chair you’re sitting in and the weather outside. Everything else is momentarily suspended, and you’re there. The sounds, the smells, the scene.. you’re right there in the mix with the characters. But then that asshole waiter comes by with the check for the pizza and beer you split with your date, and shines his stupid little flashlight around making sure he doesn’t trip on anyones bag, and you suddenly snap back to reality, fully aware of the setting you’re in. It’s kinda like that.
Every once in awhile, something would happen (again, trying not to avoid spoilers) that would leave me questioning. They can’t all know each other, or they can’t all have been there, or they can’t all have the money to do that, and so on.. I actually enlisted my mother to help me out here. I asked her to read it so that I can figure out if it was just me, or if she felt the same way. TBD on that.
Really though, all things considered, I enjoyed A Criminal Defense. It was well worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone looking for the typical sort of legal drama. I can say, I was in no way expecting what happened in the end. I thought I had it in the bag about three quarters of the way through, but man was I wrong. Hats off to Myers for that. Seriously, well done. There is a sequel. It appears to be a new set of characters, but in the same setting. If it’s anything like this one, maybe I’ll have to buy it.
★★★★☆
