Heather D. reviewed on 1/17/2009 + 36 more book reviews

The quiet town of Hudson Ferry, which its residents see as a refuge from the turbulence of big-city life, is rocked by the news that Laurie Coles, a teacher at the Snug Arms Nursery School, has been charged with sexually molesting four- and five-year-old children. The prosecutor is district attorney Peter Harmon, graduate of Harvard Law School, whose housemate, Serena Wiley, also a lawyer, shares his interest in the case. The court-appointed defense attorney is Harry Hull, a beer-guzzling, meat-and-potatoes lawyer with little experience in criminal law. It's an open-and-shut case, and Harry takes it knowing that his job is simply to go through the motions so that Judge Mathes can ensure a quick conviction. He begins to dig deeper, however, when it becomes clear that Mathes, known as "the hangman," has no intention of giving Laurie a fair trial. The author clearly knows law from the inside, and provides a multitude of perspectives--parents, jurors, lawyers, even a few courtroom buffs--in order to depict the complexities of the case. This taut and topical legal drama, filled with convincing details, is a terrific read.

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