Missing Witness

July 23, 2007
In his promising debut, trial lawyer Campbell delivers an intriguing, if often overly technical, story of long-buried family secrets and the blurred line between lies and the truth. In 1973, Doug McKenzie, a new associate at a prestigious Phoenix firm, is thrilled to work with famed trial lawyer Daniel Morgan. When the son of a wealthy rancher is shot dead in his home, Morgan and McKenzie are hired by the victim’s father, Ferris Eddington, to defend his daughter-in-law, the beautiful Rita Eddington. McKenzie has known the Eddingtons since childhood and can’t believe Rita killed her husband. But when the only other suspect is Rita’s mentally disturbed 12-year-old daughter, Miranda, McKenzie knows it will be the trial of his life. While Campbell certainly knows the ins and outs of the legal system, the plot meanders in the middle, becoming too bogged down with procedural particulars to sustain the reader’s interest. Despite an outcome that’s not as surprising as it should be, legal suspense fans will be well rewarded. Author tour.

August 1, 2007
In Campbell's debut legal thriller, Dan Morgan is a Phoenix-based Perry Masonlike defense attorney trying to uncover the true culprit behind a murder. A woman and her daughter enter a home, gunshots are fired, and the woman's husband is killed; the outcome seems obvious. But, surprisingly, the father of the deceased asks Morgan to defend his daughter-in-law, and Morgan realizes that everything is not clear-cut after all. Morgan's assistant narrates, giving the story an odd hero-worship perspective. The main plot moves sluggishly toward its predetermined conclusion, and the lack of decent twists will bore fans of courtroom thrillers. Cut out all the scenes of the characters eating and drinking, and the text would be about 300 pages shorter. Campbell clearly writes what he knowshe practices law in Salt Lake Citybut he tries too hard to create a literary work as opposed to just a fun and interesting read. The characterizations are also all over the place. Purchase with caution. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/15/07.]Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.