Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Damaged-Pamela Callow

Damaged
Pamela Callow
Mira, Jun 1 2010, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778327509

In Halifax, attorney Kate Lange handles mostly family law cases for her firm Lyons McGrath Barrett. She wants much more as she knows these cases do not help someone work their way up the ladder, but that is all her boss Randall Barrett assigns her.

Her current assignment is a custody case. Grandmother Marian MacAdam wants custody of her teenage granddaughter Lisa from her daughter the judge. Worried about her career by going after a judge and too frightened to do so, Kate strongly suggests Marian forget the custody argument. The lawyer also ignores her gut which screams for her to contact Child Protection Services. Soon afterward, Lisa is found murdered and Kate feels guilt for failing the youngster. Kate’s efforts for atonement lead her to her former fiancĂ© homicide detective Ethan Drake who is working the murder investigation that has ties to the affluent medical world.

Damaged is an intriguing Canadian medical legal thriller that grips the audience from the moment that a horrified Kate feels remorse that she allowed her fears to overwhelm her sense of decency as she knew the grandma made a strong appeal in the interest of her granddaughter. The key to the story line is Kate who is a classic scaredy cat who ends up in “Hell”, which could have broke her or given her a steel backbone replacing the mush. Fans will enjoy a sort of coming of age tale as the women who always chose flight now must choose fight fore the first time in her life against a powerful influential opponent.

Harriet Klausner

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