The Substitution Order

Starred review from May 27, 2019
Prominent Virginia attorney Kevin Moore, the narrator of this exceptional legal thriller from Clark (The Jezebel Remedy), is reduced to working in a fast-food sandwich shop after a drug and alcohol binge led to the suspension of his law license and the end of his marriage. He’s hoping to keep his head down and wait for reinstatement, but his life is upended when he’s approached at the sandwich shop by a stranger who calls himself Caleb. Caleb represents an organization that monitors the information received by “virtually every group with a disciplinary board” to identify people vulnerable to being coerced into participating in a fraud scheme. In Kevin’s case, Caleb asks him to agree to a lie—that he committed malpractice a few years earlier by failing to execute a purchase order for land that cost a client millions. When Kevin refuses, he’s set up for a probation violation and framed for even more serious charges. Clark does a masterly job combining Kevin’s plans to get himself out from under with a powerful portrayal of human frailty. John Grisham fans won’t want to miss this one. Agent, Sloan Harris, ICM.

Narrator David Aaron Baker is spot-on as listeners are treated to a multilayered story and a colorful cast of characters in this legal thriller. Kevin Moore, a talented young lawyer, finds himself disbarred and separated from his wife after a summer of drugs and debauchery. As he works to rebuild his life, Kevin is approached by a mysterious stranger who wants him to join a multimillion-dollar scheme or risk having his life ruined again. As Kevin attempts to stay on the straight and narrow, everything goes wrong. Baker expertly voices Kevin's wide range of emotions as he fights to clear his name and battles the legal system he has always defended. Listeners will find themselves rooting for Moore every step of the way. K.S.M. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine