Probable Cause

In Stockley's lucid and moving sequel to Expert Testimony , unpretentious Arkansas lawyer Gideon Page, recently laid off from his law firm, sets up a bare-bones solo practice. His first client is Dr. Andrew Chapman, a black psychologist charged with murder: the retarded daughter of local realtor Olivia Le Master died during a risky, last-resort shock treatment Chapman administered. Chapman's affair with the white realtor and Page's ruminations about the loss of his own part-black wife to cancer allows Stockley to bare the casual racism of well-meaning whites and blacks while underscoring its effect on courtroom dynamics. The oddball clients whom Page takes on to pay the bills brighten the narrative as the conflict between Chapman's and Page's ideals and their desire to win the case is observed through the eyes of his teenaged daughter Sarah and her girlfriend. Stockley provides sheer reading pleasure in this admirably resolved, insightful and dramatic story, packed with vibrant, though flawed, characters. (Oct.)