Guilty as Sin-Joseph Teller

Guilty as Sin
Joseph Teller
Mira, Jun 21 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780778312338

In the 1980s, starting as a teenager Alonzo Barnett was a repeat offender until he finally went straight. However, recently he was busted by the cops for allegedly selling drugs. Three lawyers defend him but each quits.

The court assigns attorney Harrison J. Walker as Barnett’s latest public defender. Harrison J. Walker realizes quickly the evidence is overwhelming as his client is guilty. However, Jaywalker wonders why the District Attorney has pulled out the biggest guns on a relatively minor case. As Jaywalker digs deeper, he finds strange ties to the FBI and crimes much worse than a simple drug bust. However, he also uncovers the real ethical dilemma of the case which goes back to Barnett’s time behind bars.

The fifth Jaywalker legal thriller (see Overkill, Bronx Justice and The Tenth Case) is as always an insightful exhilarating case as the heroic always in contempt lawyer takes on the sure loser hoping he is Buster Douglas. This time Jaywalker works on a defense for a kindhearted client who openly confesses he did the crime. Told mostly in flashbacks, fans will enjoy Jaywalker’s courtroom antics as he uses the dysfunctional jurisprudence system’s myopia to make a case for a not guilty verdict.

Harriet Klausner