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"Miguel flinched. The object the guy held was unquestionably a gun, pointed at his face. Metallic clicks signaled that the man was about to fire."

Legal thrillers have captivated readers since the era of pulp magazines when emerging attorney-turned-author Erle Stanley Gardner first created the iconic Perry Mason. Writers like John Grisham, Steve Martini, and Scott Turow have kept the tradition alive with numerous bestsellers, capitalizing on their own law careers to write realistic courtroom dramas. Neufeld, a professor of linguistics and psychology has no such advantage, yet he proves himself fully capable of keeping up with the professionals in his suspenseful and entertaining entry into the genre.

Forrest Spencer, a criminal lawyer whose skill and dedication to his calling has unfortunately resulted in getting too many criminals back on the streets, finds himself representing a young Mexican man, Miguel Martinez, who inadvertently killed a drunk police detective who attacked him. While the cause of the man's death is not in doubt, the State has an abundance of circumstantial evidence that points to the crime being premeditated. To save his client from the possibility of execution, Spencer must use all of his gift of persuasion to convince an increasingly hostile jury that his client's supposed guilt is not "beyond the shadow of a doubt."

Neufeld's protagonist is interesting, complex, and one to watch in the future. However, part of what makes this book so good is that the author has chosen to tell it from multiple points of view. For example, Kara's character truly comes alive as Neufeld explores the effects of personal experience and racism on a person's perceptions of truth. Overall, this book is a well-written start to what promises to be an excellent new series.

John E. Roper for US Review of Books