The One-Eyed Judge

At the start of Ponsor’s melodramatic sequel to 2013’s The Hanging Judge, the FBI busts Amherst College professor Sidney Cranmer after he accepts delivery of a DVD containing child pornography. Cranmer has written a biography of Charles L. Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) in which he argues that the author of Alice in Wonderland was not a pedophile. Federal judge David Norcross, known as the one-eyed judge for injuries he suffered after being shot in the face, handles the case, despite his witnessing the aftermath of Cranmer’s arrest and his being involved with Amherst professor Claire Lindemann, who is familiar with the accused. Meanwhile, he gets some devastating news concerning his brother, the U.S. commerce secretary. The subplot involving David’s efforts to help his brother’s children distracts from the main story line. As Ponsor warns in an author’s note, the subject matter is highly upsetting; some readers who soldier past the graphic descriptions of abused children may not feel the effort was worthwhile. Agent: Robin Straus, Robin Straus Agency. (June)