An Amherst
professor, Sidney Cranmer, is caught in an FBI sting. Cranmer
receives a DVD containing child pornography which he says he never
ordered, but the FBI believes differently. Cranmer’s specialty is
Lewis Carrol who some believe was a pedophile because of the pictures
he took of young girls, naked or partially clothed. This specialty
leads the FBI to believe that Cranmer also enjoys child pornography.
Judge David Norcross
is assigned the case. He hasn’t rescued himself and now he’s
caught in a dilemma. His girlfriend, Claire Lindermann, is a
professor at Amherst and a friend of Cranmer. She believes he’s not
guilty which puts a strain on her relationship with David. To make
Norcross’ life more difficult, his brother is injured in a plane
crash that kills his wife leaving David with two young nieces who he
feels unprepared to care for. Having children is a contentious issue in his relationship with Claire.He
doesn’t feel able to care for children, and she wants to be a
mother.
This is an excellent
legal thriller. The plot has a number or twists. It’s very
difficult to figure out what’s happening until near the end of the
book. Probably the best part is the realism of the courtroom scenes.
The author, Michael Ponsor, spent thirty years as a US district
judge. He uses this background to give an authentic tone to the
novel.
The characters of
David and Claire are realistic. People with careers trying to decide
whether to make a family late in life have particular difficulty
deciding whether their careers are compatible with being parents. I
thought the author handled this difficult topic with great
sensitivity. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy legal
thrillers with well developed characters and authentic background.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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