Third Bullet

Late one night while tending the bar in his saloon, Mike Monett shoots and kills a young black man, James Franklin, during a fight. Although Monett pleads self-defense, the police charge him with premeditated murder in what seems to be an effort to mitigate rising racial tensions in the small upstate New York town of Dentonville. Well-known trial attorney Abel Creighton Jr. is hired to defend Monett against the district attorney's accusations that he stalked and killed Franklin. Creighton and his young, talented assistant Jennifer Rand mount a skillful defense in which luck is as important as tried-and-true trial techniques. Although they are never completely comfortable with Monett's account of the fight, they still work to disprove the testimonies of several key witnesses. It is only several months after the trial that Creighton learns the true reason for the killing. Though lawyer and first-novelist Stream does not always deliver graceful prose, his courtroom scenes are gripping. He is adept at highlighting the moral dilemmas attorneys often face, as well as the shortcomings of our legal system. (September 24)