Breakneck pacing and an attention to procedural detail distinguish Kopp's latest (after Absent Witness), a legal thriller centered around two controversial issues—gay rights and abortion. Following the acquittal of two gay bashers in criminal court, attractive Wisconsin attorney Ann Monroe agrees to represent the young victim, Bill Robinson, in a civil suit. Ann suspects that there was an egregious breach of conduct on the part of the D.A. and possibly even the jurors, which caused Robinson's assailants to be set free, but when she probes further, she finds that all the major players are unusually tight-lipped about the case. Meanwhile, a fundamentalist group known as the Lambs of God, which doesn't take kindly to her firm's liberal bent, has labeled Ann the Antichrist and begun sending her threatening letters for her interference in its Planned Parenthood protests. As the threats and attempts on Ann's life escalate, she begins to realize that there may be a connection between the two cases. The novel's frenzied pace and constant action help keep the tension high, but Kopp's dialogue is flat, focusing largely on the mundane, and her protagonists are only marginally developed. A minor romance between Ann and a co-worker also adds little to this largely plot-driven tale. (Apr. 2)
