RED VERDICT

4 stars out of 5

Ever since I started my working life 60-plus years ago as a legal secretary (for a whopping $250 a month), I’ve had a keen interest in the law. Never wanted to be a lawyer, mind you – it was the research side that called out to me. That career never happened, but even after many years as a print journalist, legal matters (and of course, books that included courtroom strategies), have remained a priority. What I’m saying is that it’s really hard for me to get bogged down in trial goings-on, but I felt that way a couple of times in this story (apparently the judge in the depicted trial did as well, admonishing attorneys for both sides to get a move on more than once). Mind you, that didn’t much dampen my personal enthusiasm for the book – I’m simply pointing out that this series entry is a bit more technical than its predecessors.

This is the fourth book featuring Nora Carleton, assistant district attorney for the Southern District of New York; I’ve now read – and recommended – all three. Every one has been an interesting, intriguing story (and, of course, scratched my legal itch).

As it opens, a frequent diner at a New York restaurant is fatally stricken during his meal. An astute hospital doctor suspects he was done in by a hard-to-detect nerve agent popular with Russian assassins. Not long after, other diners succumb to the same thing; quick action saves their lives and confirms the suspicion that the original victim had, in fact, been targeted. Nora and her long-time FBI Special Agent Benny Dugan (the latter married to Nora’s mother) begin an investigation, only to learn somebody messed up big-time; the dead guy isn’t the one they were supposed to eliminate.

Still more investigation points to someone close to the victim as being the intended target, and meetings with other agencies that have enough acronyms to make your head swim determine that the real target – and perhaps the victim himself – are Russian spies and that something went wrong. That, in turn, prompts visits to a private residence in Las Vegas reminiscent of a Jeffrey Epstein getaway (complete with young victims and links to at least one highly placed Washington, D.C., government official – who, understandably, will do what he can to make sure the public doesn’t start demanding to see files).

Finally, there’s that detailed trial – interesting in and of itself. But that’s not all Nora has on her plate; In the midst of everything job-related, she must deal with her beloved daughter, Sophie, who lives with her father during the week and is going through some issues of her own. None of the details are mine to share, of course, but I can say there’s never a dull moment (well, except when the trial attorneys get a little carried away). Everything gets resolved at the end, though, making for an entertaining and fast-paced adventure. My thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get my latest legal “fix” by way of a pre-release copy. Well done once again!

Red Verdict by James Comey (The Mysterious Press, May 2026); 352 pp.