The Rule of Law, 18

Attorney Dismas Hardy is called to defend the least likely suspect of his career: his longtime, trusted assistant who is suddenly being charged as an accessory to murder in this instant New York Times bestseller from the undisputed master of the courtroom thriller (The Providence Journal). Dismas Hardy knows something is amiss with his trusted secretary, Phyllis. Her strange behavior and sudden disappearances concern him, especially when he learns that her convict brother--a man who had served twenty-five years in prison for armed robbery and attempted murder--has just been released. Things take a shocking turn when Phyllis is suddenly arrested for allegedly being an accessory to the murder of Hector Valdez, a coyote who'd been smuggling women into this country from El Salvador and Mexico. That is, until recently, when he was shot to death--on the very same day that Phyllis first disappeared from work. The connection between Phyllis, her brother, and Hector's murder is not something Dismas can easily understand, but if his cherished colleague has any chance of going free, he needs to put all the pieces together--and fast. A whip-smart, engrossing novel filled with shocking twists and turns, The Rule of Law is vintage Lescroart, drawing on parallels between real-life and hot-button issues while also providing top-notch entertainment (The Real Book Spy).