The Last Plea Bargain

Veteran attorney Singer turns out another admirable legal thriller that will again draw comparisons to the inestimable John Grisham. Jamie Brock, assistant DA for Milton County, Ga., doesn’t do plea bargains. She’s about justice, but the lines blur when she faces defense attorney Caleb Tate, accused of murdering his wife, Rikki. Tate, who defended the man convicted of murdering Brock’s mother, hatches a plan that dams the system and makes Brock question all she believes about justice. As Brock and lead detective “LA” Finnegan build a murder case against Tate and, perhaps, a relationship, Brock must also deal with Mace James, attorney for her mother’s murderer and death sentence opponent. Brock must unravel the impossibly knotted strings of her mother’s death; her father’s possible malfeasance; an execution; Tate’s role and the roles of two trusted advisers: her boss and her psychiatrist. Singer skillfully loosens the strings and reweaves them into a tale that entertains, surprises, and challenges readers to rethink justice and mercy. Agency: Alive Communications. (Mar.)