Last seen in bestseller Green's The Letter of the Law
(2000), feisty Dallas lawyer Casey Jordan must contend with illegal immigrants, abuse of power and pure unadulterated evil in this rousing legal thriller. When a U.S. senator from Texas known only as Chase, the kind of guy who frequents coke whores and kills puppies, suspects one of his undocumented workers, Elijandro “Ellie” Torres, of messing with his wife, Chase shoots Ellie and fakes the death as a hunting accident. Casey, who practices law out of an abandoned gas station, takes on the case of Ellie's widow, Isadora, and baby, Paquita, who are taken into custody by immigration officials and then deported. Casey's hunky love interest, PI Jose O'Brien, aids her in the ever-broadening investigation. Most of the characters are pretty much off-the-shelf, but Green throws in enough unexpected twists to distract readers from the plot's overly familiar aspects. Fans of Green's 12 previous novels will be perfectly satisfied. (Feb.)