Shades of Justice

By Fredrick Huebner

Book Overview

A taut and suspense-filled thriller in the style of Scott Turow and Richard North Patterson, Shades of Justice takes the reader on a journey of discovery with forensic psychiatrist Will Hatton, as he searches for both reason and truth when an old friend confesses to the murder of her husband. The murder case that lures Will Hatton back to the Pacific Northwest island where he grew up involves a socially prominent and very successful painter, Laura Arcand. Laura is charged with the killing of her husband, Mark Talbot, a hard-driving businessman who runs the multi-million-dollar company owned by Laura's mother. For the prosecution, it is an open-and-shut case. But Laura's mother and her mother's longtime lover, Edwin Hauser, a well-known criminal defense lawyer, are convinced that Laura was mentally ill at the time of Mark's death and has no actual memory of events. They hope that the jury will find her not guilty by reason of insanity. It falls to Will Hatton, working with a young lawyer named Mary Slattery from Hauser's firm, to delve twenty-five years into the past and find the truth behind Laura's mysterious disappearance in the summer of 1972. Before their investigation is over, the circle of suspicion will widen to include not just Laura's and Mark's enemies -- for both had many -- but also their friends and loved ones. As Laura's trial peels away the many layers of deception, Will finally comes face-to-face with the ugly reality of just who did kill Mark Talbot -- and why.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1451667175
• ISBN13: 9781451667172
• Release Date: September 2011
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

I was prepared to be bored but the book wasn't boring

With our 10 inches of new snow and having run out of the library books I checked out I hit the pile of maybe books. Maybe I'll read this now because I don't think I will like it.Suprisingly the book kept my interest. The forensic pyschologist and the rest of the characters are realistic leaving only slight spaces of "Huh?" and they all behave true to the character type. Reading carefully you will pick up immediately who might very well have killed poor Mark but the author tends to sway you back and forth a bit leaving you going "Yeah she did, nah she couldn't have" very much like you are a juror. The ending wasn't a suprise because the clues add up and something is fishy in Denmark early on. The only fault I find is that the main characters do not pick up rapidly on that but the stress is laid consistantly that they are too close to the situation to see what is happening. There were some very satisfying parts where the obnoxious Moralistic Extreme Right Wing Bigots get knocked down and a few of the other characters meet a similar fate because they deserved it. In fact the only fault I can find is that each gets exactly what they deserve.Not a satifying book for obnoxious Moralistic Extreme Right Wing Bigots or incompetents in general because they see themselves but for those of us who want a sense of justice, it is pretty darn good even if my Noir attitude says Not everyone gets what they deserve and I have a hard time believing it.

Better Than Great

In 1997 in Seattle, highly regarded painter Laura Arcand is rushed unconscious to Harborview Hospital after trying to commit suicide. While the staff feverishly worked to save her life, Laura awakens for a moment screaming that she killed the two of them.Not long afterward in nearby Kitsap County, the corpse of Laura's husband is found near her mother's home. Someone shot Laura's husband Mark Talbott. Prosecuting Attorney Judith Watkins firmly believes the heathen Laura killed her husband. Besides the ER confession, other evidence points towards Laura as a murderer.Her mother's lover, attorney Ed Hauser, plans to defend Laura, whom he loves like a daughter. He brings in family friend, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Will Hatton to help and assigns much of the research to his top young lawyer Mary Slattery. With a religious fanatic representing the county going after Laura with an inquisition like vengeance, the defense team has its work cut out for them in what seems like an impossible case to defend.SHADES OF JUSTICE is a powerful legal-medical thriller that never slows down even when introducing the key players. For instance Will is met by the reader while testifying in Texas and Mary at the scene of the crime. This technique allows the audience to understand the defense team better while moving forward a strong story line. Fans of the combined sub-genre will want more works by Fredrick Huebner after completing this fabulous tale with a few surprising twists and turns even when the case is a sure shot win for the prosecution.Harriet Klausner