The Midnight Call

Late one night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., attorney Jessie Martin, the heroine of Millman’s uneven debut, is awakened by a phone call from her friend and mentor Terrence Butterfield. “I think I killed someone,” he says. Jessie and her fiancé, Kyle Emory, rush over to Terrence’s house to find police officers on the scene, who soon take the blood-covered Terrence into custody. Even though the 18-year-old victim was like a kid brother to Jessie, she resolves to prove Terrence’s innocence. As a corporate lawyer, she’s unprepared to handle a high-profile criminal case, so she asks the Hudson Valley’s top criminal defense attorney for help. In what appears to be an open-and-shut case of first-degree murder, Jessie risks forfeiting her career and destroying family relationships for her friend’s sake. The tricky legal maneuvering intrigues, but the plot offers few surprises, and Jessie’s actions toward the end will strike many as unconvincing. That Millman writes with verve promises better for next time. (June)