First Victim

This gripping legal thriller from Babitt (Saving Grace) examines the fine line between justice and revenge. Alice D. McKerrity, a New York City judge, is presiding over the trial of William Henry Young, who’s “charged with first-degree murder for killing a woman during the course of committing two other crimes: rape and torture.” As his victim was pregnant at the time of her death, the case is garnering even more than the customary attention in the press. Young’s demand to act as his own attorney puts more pressure on the judge, whose home life is also becoming increasingly stressful as her husband’s early-onset dementia worsens and her relationship with her daughter, Alexis, unravels. Alice, who starts having horrific nightmares, begins to suspect Young may have committed similar crimes before, though a search of his record doesn’t reveal any evidence of this. Told from the points of views of Alice, Alexis, and a childhood friend of Alice’s, this vivid courtroom drama builds to a harrowing action-packed finale in the woods of upstate New York, the location of Alice’s worst nightmares. Psychological thriller fans will be well satisfied. Agent: Doug Grad, Doug Grad Literary. (June)