Edgar nominated in the Best First Novel category.
The premise is a mystery warhorse: Two people are seen entering a room; shots are heard; the two people leave the room, leaving behind a murdered third person. It's clear that one of the two is a murderer, but with no witnesses, it's impossible to prove which, allowing each of the two to use the other to get an acquittal on the grounds of reasonable doubt. In Campbell's nifty courtroom drama, the two are Rita Eddington and her 12-year-old daughter, Miranda; and the murder victim is husband and father Travis Eddington.
Campbell does a marvelous job of finding new twists on this familiar setup. Some of it feels like legal double-talk -- what are the odds that the same law firm (the same lawyers, even) would be allowed to defend both Rita and Miranda? -- but Campbell gets through those bits with style and panache enough that you almost feel guilty for noticing the unlikeliness of it.
The setting is unusual -- 1973 Phoenix -- the characters are memorable, and the ethical quandaries are doozies. The courtroom scenes are suspenseful and entertaining, and the puzzle of who's really guilty plays out fairly, with ample clues for the sharp reader.
Not a groundbreaking novel, but a solidly written piece of entertainment. I enjoyed it greatly.
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