Missing Witness

In his promising debut, trial lawyer Campbell delivers an intriguing, if often overly technical, story of long-buried family secrets and the blurred line between lies and the truth. In 1973, Doug McKenzie, a new associate at a prestigious Phoenix firm, is thrilled to work with famed trial lawyer Daniel Morgan. When the son of a wealthy rancher is shot dead in his home, Morgan and McKenzie are hired by the victim’s father, Ferris Eddington, to defend his daughter-in-law, the beautiful Rita Eddington. McKenzie has known the Eddingtons since childhood and can’t believe Rita killed her husband. But when the only other suspect is Rita’s mentally disturbed 12-year-old daughter, Miranda, McKenzie knows it will be the trial of his life. While Campbell certainly knows the ins and outs of the legal system, the plot meanders in the middle, becoming too bogged down with procedural particulars to sustain the reader’s interest. Despite an outcome that’s not as surprising as it should be, legal suspense fans will be well rewarded. Author tour. (Sept.)