REEF DANCE
John DeCure, . . St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-312-27297-5
A reef dance is surfing jargon for being stuck in one place and unable to move, aptly reflecting the dilemma of attorney J. Shepard in this edgy, in-your-face legal thriller. Stuck in the deepening grind of custody cases and a workload so overweighed that lawyers refer to clients as "Mother," "Father" and "Minor," not out of insensitivity but through sheer necessity, Shepard spends his days in a rut, unable to get out from under his staggering caseload and dreaming of surfing. One day a high-profile case involving baby-seller Sue Ellen Randall leads him, through many roundabout routes, back to his deceased mother and her uncertain fate. The author spent two years defending parents and children in dependency court before becoming a state bar prosecutor; he's also contributed to
Reviewed on: 08/06/2001
Genre: Fiction
Mass Market Paperbound - 368 pages - 978-0-312-99504-1
Other - 464 pages - 978-1-4299-7278-9