Conflict of Interest

This gripping first novel combines a taut courtroom procedural with the personal and professional struggles of its protagonist and narrator, Ted (Teddy Bear) Stevens, an esteemed Tallahassee, Fla., criminal attorney whose life is on the verge of disintegrating. Separated from his wife, Beth (who has denied him visitation rights to see his daughter), and plagued by a severe drinking problem, Stevens becomes court appointed lawyer for Bobby Jackson, who is accused of murdering his mistress, local newspaper reporter Linda Stiles, a woman with a questionable reputation. In fact, Stevens not only represented the victim in a recent divorce action but became her clandestine lover as well. This conflict of interest makes him the easy target of a blackmailer, who threatens to reveal his secret, which compels Stevens to shamefully conceal evidence that could exonerate his client. Ensuing events spin Stevens out of control, and he is arrested for drunk driving. Haunted by shadowy flashbacks of the crime scene, and his alcoholic blackout the night of the murder, Stevens is brought to the brink of suicide and forced to risk one last courageous maneuver. Writing in prose that is both straightforward and resonant, Lewis, a native Floridian and Tallahassee trial judge, clearly knows his legal and geographic territory. Better, he knows how to render a world filled with both evil and compassion. This well-crafted drama rings with authenticity all the way to its heart-stopping conclusion. (Apr.)