Starred Review Hope springs eternal, wrote poet Alexander Pope, but optimism is wearing thin for San Francisco law partners Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez. The pair of legal eagles, who remained in business after their marriage went bust, is working to stop the execution of Nathan Fineman, a onetime Mob lawyer accused of gunning down three people at a Chinatown restaurant. Fineman’s health may be failing, but his mind is very much alive. He’s convinced San Francisco cops planted the murder weapon on him as payback for his successful defense of drug dealers in a notorious local case. Fineman’s claim is more than just an indictment of the SFPD; it’s an emotional blow to Daley, whose late father was one of the first cops to reach the scene on the night of the murders. Minutes turn to days as Mike and Rosie seek evidence that might exonerate their client (and possibly implicate Mike’s much-respected old man). Drug dealers, wily lawyers, crooked businessmen, and conflicted cops populate the pages of this latest in a best-selling series from Siegel, a practicing attorney in San Francisco for more than 25 years. A compelling cast and plenty of suspense put this one right up there with the best of Lescroart and Turow. --Allison Block
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
In Siegel's straightforward sixth novel to feature San Francisco defense attorney Mike Daley (after 2004's The Confession), Nate Fineman, an attorney on San Quentin's death row, enlists Daley and his law partner, Rosie Fernandez, who happens to be Daley's ex-wife, in a desperate effort to gain a stay of execution. Fineman, who's scheduled for lethal injection in less than nine days, was convicted 10 years earlier after being found in a Chinatown alley clutching the gun used to murder two drug dealers and a lawyer who'd been meeting in a nearby restaurant. The defendant had been on the SFPD's persona non grata list since he'd managed to get charges dismissed against yet another local narcotics trafficker. Daley pursues the theory that his new client was framed by the boys in blue, despite the complicating factor that Daley's own father was one of the policemen responding to the triple homicide. The courtroom action builds to a predictable resolution sure to please Perry Mason fans. (May)
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From Booklist
Starred Review Hope springs eternal, wrote poet Alexander Pope, but optimism is wearing thin for San Francisco law partners Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez. The pair of legal eagles, who remained in business after their marriage went bust, is working to stop the execution of Nathan Fineman, a onetime Mob lawyer accused of gunning down three people at a Chinatown restaurant. Fineman’s health may be failing, but his mind is very much alive. He’s convinced San Francisco cops planted the murder weapon on him as payback for his successful defense of drug dealers in a notorious local case. Fineman’s claim is more than just an indictment of the SFPD; it’s an emotional blow to Daley, whose late father was one of the first cops to reach the scene on the night of the murders. Minutes turn to days as Mike and Rosie seek evidence that might exonerate their client (and possibly implicate Mike’s much-respected old man). Drug dealers, wily lawyers, crooked businessmen, and conflicted cops populate the pages of this latest in a best-selling series from Siegel, a practicing attorney in San Francisco for more than 25 years. A compelling cast and plenty of suspense put this one right up there with the best of Lescroart and Turow. --Allison Block