Peter Kirkland

Leland Munroe is navigating the judicial system with a different perspective, from Charleston to Basking Rock, from city to small town, and the small town Leland's hometown, from prosecutor to defense attorney. Justice is the desire from both perspectives, but only one side can win.

A local teenager has died in a boating accident during a night with friends, but only one is held responsible. All 3 teen survivors have different memory of the accident. What really happened? Whose memory is accurate?

As the case proceeds through investigative steps, a son wants to hire Leland to prove his mother was wrongly convicted of murder. How do you prove innocence when the conviction was 2 decades earlier? Whose memory will be accurate after 2 decades?

The courtroom drama and questions are always a highlight, and I knew that the author brought personal authenticity to his writing before I even read his bio after reading Book 1. Description of the fireworks in Book 3 illuminates the magic of his picturesque writing.

"At the crack of another firework, I looked up. It looked like spinning white raindrops, or tiny fish, were falling toward Hilton Head."
"When they burst, fiery blue nets spread across the sky, seeming to capture the falling white fish."

I was deeply disappointed, however, with 3 descriptions in particular. Prefacing a description with "old phrase" is not sufficient for inclusion of

"the higher the hair, the closer to God."

For an author who can magically describe fireworks, he can describe women without a cliche of the past and stereotyping.

"With her black-rimmed glasses and her gray hair up in its usual bun, she looked like a cheerful older librarian."
"She was short, built like a feminine fire hydrant, with a gray braid down her back."

Books 1 & 2 each received 4 stars, and due to the complexity of the threads of Book 3, I thought I would be giving 5 stars. However, I refuse to give 5 stars to a novel with descriptions of female characters in contemporary fiction that stereotype women.

Thank you to the author for the invitation to join the ARC Review Team and for the eARC from Booksprout. The views expressed in the review are my own.… (meer)

Leland Munroe had worked as a prosecutor in Charleston, South Carolina for 16 years but as a widower he now lives with his teenage son Noah in the small town of Basking Rock. Simone Baker is an Instagram health and wellness influencer and at the insistence of her management company hosted a party at her home. The evening was a success but the morning after was inconceivable. Leland has received an appointment reminder indicating he has a Zoom meeting with Simone after seeing her on television with a powerhouse defense attorney in Charleston. Why has Simone requested a meeting with him? He can't think of a single reason.

Each reader has different preferences including if a series is read in order of publication or "out of order" perhaps as the title is available at their library. This novel can be read as a stand-alone but I suggest reading this series in order. As in real life, the characters are evolving as individuals, in relationship roles (i.e., father/son, colleagues), in work/life decisions, and hopes for the future. Peter Kirkland evolves his characters seamlessly throughout the storyline.

This is the not the 1st novel that I read that took place in 2020, but it is the 1st novel with the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the storyline in that year. Peter Kirkland wrote this flawlessly not as an add-in but as the natural course of events that his characters suddenly experienced as part of their daily life.

The authenticity the author brings to his writing instigated his 2nd novel to become an automatic pre-order. I'll definitely continue that action as I'm already looking forward to Leland's next case!… (meer)