Criminal Appeal

Nora Lumsey, a lawyer serving as law clerk to an Indianapolis appeals court judge, is a ""big-boned"" woman who declares: ""Big-boned women stick their noses where they shouldn't, are curious about everything, aren't afraid to get dirty, like to get dirty. We try too hard, hold too tight, talk too loud."" In this prickly and surprising debut, Nora finds herself pursuing justice rather than the law and jeopardizing not only her nascent legal career but also her life. A young, deaf, black boy, Dexter Hinton, has been convicted of shooting and killing an elderly white woman during an attempted purse snatching. Although he was only 10 at the time of the crime, the boy's (tainted) confession has led to trial as an adult, conviction and a long sentence. Against her better judgment, Nora is drawn into the case and gets personally involved with a number of people with whom she shouldn't even associate: the boy's grandfather, Carl, a near neighbor; Owedia Braxton, a teacher of deaf students; and Dexter himself. First reluctantly, then stubbornly, Nora fights her judge, politicians and white and black gangs because she's convinced of Dexter's innocence. Acute characterizations of a rich diversity of characters--black and white, rural and urban--mark Schanker as an author to watch, as does a well-concealed shock ending that rings elegantly true. (Sept.)