False Convictions

December 21, 2009
A brisk plot with plenty of surprises more than makes up for stock characters in bestseller Green's entertaining third novel featuring Dallas attorney Casey Jordan (after Above the Law
). Casey is committed to working with the Freedom Project, a nonprofit group dedicated to exonerating the wrongly convicted. The group's founder, billionaire Robert Graham, offers Casey's legal clinic an annual pledge of $1 million to take on a couple of high-profile cases a year. Using DNA analysis, Casey proves the innocence of Dwayne Hubbard, a black man who may have been framed by the police, judge, jury, and lawyers for a female college student's murder 20 years earlier. Meanwhile, TV news journalist Jake Carlson believes that Graham isn't the altruistic, humble philanthropist he claims to be. Jake and Casey begin an uneasy alliance to scrutinize Graham's business dealings. Green credibly explores Casey's enthusiasm for the law and helping the poor.

February 15, 2010
Casey Jordan operates a Dallas law clinic that provides legal assistance to those who are unable to afford competent representation. Shes also a legal superstar; her most high-profile case was the basis for an acclaimed made-for-television movie, and shes in demand as a commentator on the cable networks. Billionaire industrialist Robert Grahams favorite philanthropic effort is the Freedom Project, an organization that works for the exoneration of individuals who may have been falsely convicted. Graham offers Jordan a million-dollar donation to her clinic if shell take on Dwayne Hubbards 20-year-old murder conviction in upstate New York. Casey reluctantly agrees and quickly finds herself immersed in the case and an ongoing cover-up involving the local legal, medical, and law-enforcement organizations. Green, a former NFL player, lawyer, and author of 13 mysteries, offers a generally believable plot, solid dialogue, a little romance, and a few choice dollops of humor as Jordan works her way through layers of obfuscation and self-serving small-town motives. Toss in a wild twist for another entertaining effort from a dependable veteran.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)