Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Her Kind of Case by Jeanne Winer


First Line: Someone was knocking on her office door, but Lee didn't move or call out.

Lee Isaacs is about to turn sixty, and she's not quite sure how she feels about that. Perhaps in defiance of those advancing years, she decides to take on a tough murder case in which she will be defending a mostly uncooperative sixteen-year-old boy who has been accused of helping kill a gay gang member.

Her Kind of Case is my kind of book. The story is built around a slowly resolving mystery that captures the reader's attention and won't let go, but there's more to it than a good courtroom drama. It is a joy to see Lee Isaacs' personal story unfold.

Lee is an older single woman who has achieved career and personal success. She's still mourning the death of her husband, but she fights the good fight each and every day: taking on cases that interest her and doing her best to win them, going to the dojo to keep her skill in martial arts honed, and staying in touch with an interesting and supportive group of a few friends.

Lee is an introvert and very self-contained, and that black belt in martial arts means that she's used to pain and not showing it-- a very useful tool in the courtroom. Her dry sense of humor is delightful. Yes, the story is a very good one, but she is the real reason why I had to keep turning those pages. Lee brings readers right into the heart of what it means to be the type of lawyer that all those bad jokes are not about.

Her Kind of Case does involve social issues that confront us today, and one of the best things about the book is how the author treats the character of Jeremy, the teenage boy accused of the murder of a young gay man. Not only do readers' opinions of the boy change as the story progresses, but so do the attitudes of the characters around him. When I finished reading Jeanne Winer's book, the first thought in my mind was, "I hope she's writing another. I want to see more of Lee Isaacs!"

Her Kind of Case by Jeanne Winer
ISBN: 9781610882286
Bancroft Press © 2018
Hardcover, 320 pages

Legal Thriller, Standalone
Rating: A
Source: the publisher


 

7 comments:

  1. Lee sounds like my kind of character, Cathy. I love it that the central figure here is no longer in her twenties, or thirties.... And so nice to see that she is also strong and empowered. Of course, the fact that the story is well done, too helps...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wondering how much the character takes after her creator...

      Delete
  2. Exactly my kind of book. A legal mystery with social issues and a great woman protagonist.

    Can't wait for this. My library doesn't have it. Drat. I'll have to bug them. I may have to buy it, but I hope not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're one of the people I thought of as I wrote my review, Kathy.

      Delete
  3. Happy Dance coming. The library has this book on order! Now all I have to do is be patient, but I'm 2nd in line. Whoopee! I'll drop everything to read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope the first person doesn't take forever to read it!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!