Olivia Randall, a fortysomething criminal defense attorney in New York City, hasn't seen her former fiancé Jack Harris in decades. Thus Olivia is surprised to get a call from Jack's teenage daughter Buckley, who's worried about her dad.
It turns out Jack is accused of murdering three people, one of whom is a man named Malcolm Neely.
Neely's disturbed son - who should have been institutionalized - killed Jack's wife Molly during a shooting spree, and the police speculate that this was a revenge killing with collateral damage.
Olivia's partner Don urges her not to take the case, but she does anyway.
Malcolm Neely and the other victims were shot in a park in the early morning, and the cops have CCTV footage showing Jack in the area, with a picnic basket that could conceal a gun.
Jack explains that he was there to meet a woman named Madeline, for a 'picnic date' that was set up online. However, the woman never showed up. Jack has a convoluted story about how he 'met' Madeline and arranged the meeting, and he urges Olivia to find Madeline to corroborate his story.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Buckley - who's upset about her dad - is staying with Jack's best friend Charlotte.
Charlotte actually helped set up Jack with Madeline - who's starting to look like a catfish.
As Olivia looks for evidence that exonerates Jack, she learns things that make her doubt his innocence. Nevertheless Olivia is VERY determined to help her former boyfriend, in part because she's ashamed of things she did to him in the past....things that had unfortunate consequences.
Olivia holds her own when she spars with the prosecuting attorneys about bail and discovery, and it's interesting to see the lawyers interact in courtroom scenes.....which I always like.
The story culminates in a dramatic climax, but I didn't find it wholly credible. Still, I enjoyed the book, which is an entertaining mystery.
Rating: 3 stars
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