Since his wife's death three years ago, attorney Michael Ryan's career has gone downhill. His relationship with his son, never good, has deteriorated into total estrangement. When his son is murdered, and his daughter-in-law accused of killing him, Ryan meets with prosecutors to demand that she be prosecuted as vigorously as possible and given no breaks.
Then Jennifer Kneeland Ryan appeals to Michael Ryan to defend her. As she presents her side of the story, his certainty of her guilt is diminished. As he probes into his son's business dealings, he becomes convinced that his failure as a father is complete – Ned Ryan was apparently a crook who cheated customers and partners. During the course of the trial, Michael Ryan's belief in Jennifer's innocence waxes and wanes. Jennifer, it turns out, has lied to her defense team. The prosecution makes the most of facts the defense did not know existed. Ryan is ready to drop the case several times, and only the reminder from his associate, Kassia Miller, that an attorney has a responsibility to give his client the best defense possible - regardless of his belief in her innocence - keeps him on the job. The list of possible suspects grows as Ryan finds out more and more about his son's business and personal life. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 30% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect - Big focus on forensic evidence Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? Legal Thriller Yes Legal Plotlets descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - lawyer creatures How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting City? Yes City: - New York Writing Style A lot of techno jargon? Yes Kind of jargon? - biology/medical Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |