The #1 LAWYER

5 stars out of 5

Payback can be a you-know-what. Nobody knows that better than hotshot Mississippi defense attorney Stafford Lee Penney, when he finds himself on the receiving end after his latest courtroom win that means a suspected murderer walks out a free man. Shortly thereafter, he becomes the primary suspect in the murder of his estranged wife Carrie Ann and the man found beside her in her bed, and he has a new client to save - himself. But if he didn't do it, who did? 

Finding out is a monumental undertaking that's fraught with danger, but Stafford Lee has a great team to help him including his lawyer friend Mason Burnett and investigator Jenny Glaser. But first, he's got to get his own act together; devastated by Carrie Ann's death, his work ethic and personal life take a nosedive all the way to the beach, where he's forced to take a job as a lifeguard just to make ends meet. Along that path, he finds a law student named Rue, who's the sister of one of his former clients; she interns at his office and crashes at his place at night.

As the investigation progresses, several anomalies turn up as part of the police investigation of Carrie Ann's murder. Stafford Lee and his cohorts are threatened (and worse), and then another person related to Stafford Lee's original case turns up dead. Forget Carrie Ann, the police say, claiming they have an abundance of evidence to prove Stafford Lee is the culprit in the more recent murder. He's arrested, charged and hauled into court for what will be the trial of his life.

Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Stafford Lee, of course, doesn't buy his own guilt - nor do his office colleagues. So the race is on to at the very least find evidence that will give the jury reasonable doubt. Doing that means pretty much nonstop action, with at least one gobsmacking surprise along the way. Definitely a fun read, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson and Nancy Allen (Little, Brown and Co., March 2024); 432 pp.