A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell

(11. - 1254.) A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell - Appearances can be deceiving in Dublin.

Paul Mulchrone is visiting a hospice. A patient, Margaret, calls him Gareth who is either her son or grandson. Paul speaks a little but mainly listens patiently. He says goodbye Ma. I thought he was her son.

He is actually just a guy performing 6 hours of charity work each week by going to hospices and hospitals and being whoever an elderly patient with confusion thinks he is in their family.

Paul knows he has “one of those faces”. It is “entirely ordinary, as was the rest of him …. His sheer ordinariness was the whole point. He was a medium everything; his features the most common in every category …. Collectively, they formed an orchestra designed to produce the facial muzak of the Gods”.

Hospital staffs know him as the “granny whisperer”.

An elderly man, Mr. Brown, attacks Paul, putting Paul in hospital. In his hospital bed Paul finds himself in a solicitor’s office though he knows he is not there. He can see and hear the solicitor, Greevy, reading  his Great-Aunt Fidelma’s will. That she is sitting on a donkey behind the solicitor confirms that he knows he is dreaming while still dreaming.

Counting every cent of every Euro, I thought Paul was living on government assistance. He is actually existing on 500 euros per month from Great-Aunt Fidelma’s estate and abiding by her conditions for the monthly stipend that include no other sources of income and the weekly charity work.

I expected it was a temporary arrangement given the modest amount but it turns out Paul has been living on the meagre monthly payments for seven years, four months and two weeks to frustrate the distribution of the estate to the Donegal Donkey Sanctuary. 

McDonnell is deft with irony edging into sarcasm. Detective Inspector Jimmy Stewart, a week away from a retirement forced by age, dislikes complications. He senses nurse Brigit’s enthusiastic statement on Mr. Brown’s attack on Paul, during which Mr. Brown dies of a heart attack, is going to mean complications. Stewart’s investigation is:

Dotting the “I’s” and crossing the “T’s”, waiting for the S and the H to show up.

Mr. Brown is not Mr. Brown, a lonely old Irish man, come home to die. Who Mr. Brown thought Paul was, must have been someone he hated.

Brigit appears to be an average nurse from rural Ireland with an average routine job of caring for the elderly. She is actually a passionate devourer of real crime stories. She is secretly delighted to be caught up in a real crime story. She had always believed that there “had to be some adventure, some magic left in the world”.

Paul has to go on the run and Brigit is eager to help him.

Who do you trust when you are uncertain why you are a target and who has identified you?

Paul understands Gerry Fallon, the big boss of Dublin’s underworld, is involved. Paul reaches out to a minor crime boss. Auntie Lynn is a 50 plus red haired looker. She is blunt:

“Son, not even God can help you.”

Facing a desperate situation, I was proud that Paul and Brigit reached out to a lawyer.

DI Stewart and another veteran officer, Detective Sgt. Bunny McGarry, are determined to keep Paul and Brigit alive.

Paul and Brigit find the most unusual safe house in all my reading days. 

The deceiving appearances kept happening through the book and I kept being deceived.

The relationship between Paul and Brigit is “complicated” to me though Brigit is a firm believer that:

“Nuclear physics is complicated. The middle east is complicated. Our lives? They’re actually pretty damn simple, we just somehow make them difficult for ourselves.”

Having decided self-help is the only way to save their lives the unlikely sleuths start investigating. Brigit proves adept at internet sleuthing.

The twists and turns in their investigating journey are fascinating.

McDonnell is a brilliant writer. Paul may have “one of those faces” but his mind is keen and his psyche unsettled. He is a unique character  but it is Brigit I will remember. Resourceful, determined and bright she is engaging. She is the final deception. I underestimated her.

The book has abundant subtle humour and occasionally scenes that made me chuckle, more accurately snicker, aloud.

The dialogue is amazing. It rivals Tana French’s The Seeker. I have now read two works of crime fiction with superb dialogue in 3 months. Both are by Irish writers. 

It is a grand book. Were it not for a bizarre ending, A Man with One of Those Faces would be a great book.

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow - The Trial

The second half of my review of Presumed Guilty
by Scott Turow is the trial of his stepson, Aaron, charged with murdering his girlfriend, Mae.

The opening statements of Jackdorp and Sabich are fascinating as they explore the evidence to be heard in far more depth than would occur in a Canadian jury trial. Both are good lawyers. Jackdorp seeks to hammer home the expert evidence he will need the jury to believe in order to convict. Sabich responds with comments on the weaknesses in that same evidence.

Sabich, a man I would consider suave and urbane, manages to speak in a folksy country tone while not talking down to the jury.

I wondered what alternative to Aaron might be provided by Sabich. Murder by a mysterious stranger is a hard sell to juries. An alternative in this case requires delving into, even attacking, Mae’s character and lifestyle. It is a delicate process for the defence. Sabich must be careful not to antagonize the jury.

How do you approach questioning Mae’s grieving mother, Charmaine, who is in a wheelchair? She has evidence that would help Aaron. 

The State calls Cassity who is Aaron’s best friend. Her evidence demonstrates the risks of not fully questioning a potential witness before trial. Lawyers dream of being able to cross a friendly prosecution witness. Sabich always does his homework.

Sabich faces a great challenge with a witness eager to help the defence. If believed, the witness will be helpful. He knows the witness will be savaged on cross. He knows far better than Aaron and Bea the consequences of a defence witness considered a liar by the jury.

Sabich’s representation of Aaron is tearing at his relationship with Bea just as he expected.

Turow ratchets up the tension when Sabich bolts awake in the middle of the night with the realization there is an alternative killer he had never considered. 

Aaron’s Grandpa Joe, with his migrant beginning, working man background, military service and blunt speech is a hit with the jury. He has the best response I have ever heard or read by a witness asked if he would lie for someone he loved:

“Oh, me,” says Joe. “Hell yeah. If it was the right thing to do, I’d lie for certain.”

Sabich’s cross of the State witness George Lowndes, who loves to hear himself talk, is deft and deflating. Turow is great at creating trial testimony. 

The intensity of trial work and the challenge of being old affects Sabich. He is as exhausted as Sandy Stern was in The Last Trial.

As inevitable in major trials there is evidence that surprises. Looking at photos requires careful attention. Cell phone records, while often tedious, can be important. Turow does not overlook such evidence in his books.

Seeking to score verbally in argument and comment during a trial with a clever remark is often ill-founded. Sabich comes to regret a somewhat flippant remark in his opening address. It should have been saved for closing.

Foot and tire impressions prove more absorbing than I would have expected. There is a Hollywood moment in the trial when Sabich is able to have an important People’s Exhibit struck which he then dumps into a garbage can. Jackdorp compounds the power by retrieving it and then being directed by the Judge to give it to her. She puts it out of sight. I was reminded of the real life Bruce Cutler defending John Gotti and expressing his opinion of the indictment by firing into a garbage can.

At the end of the trial the decision comes on whether Aaron will testify. Sabich cannot decide for him. It is very hard for the defendant to be objective. My experience is that accused are well advised to listen to the recommendation of their lawyer. It is the lawyer who has the experience in trials. 

If he does not testify the jury will decide if the State proved its case. If he testifies the focus shifts from the State’s evidence to Aaron. If he is believed he will walk out of the courthouse but if the jury does not believe him he will walk into a jail cell for the rest of his life.

Aaron wants to testify. As clear from The Last Trial Turow is clearly of the school of defence counsel that the accused should not testify in a criminal trial. There are great risks that the accused will lose control on the witness stand or be forced to admit contradictions or simply not be believed by the jury. 

If Aaron testifies Sabich is rightly concerned that Aaron’s criminal record, not revealed during the State’s case, will be in evidence and tarnish him. In Canada, the record would not be available for cross-examination if the accused does not lead evidence of good character.

The moment of the decision was the second most gripping moment of the trial for me. 

Most gripping was the verdict. There is no greater moment of tension in a courtroom than a jury coming back with its decision.

While I found the first 90 pages tedious at times the final 150 pages were absolutely compelling. 

I was surprised that Jackdorp and Sabich each tackled this case on their own. It is a complex murder trial. Each has an investigator aiding them Each investigator is experienced and helpful but they are not lawyers. Normally Jackdorp and Sabich would have had at least one lawyer assisting them. 

Each could have benefited from having a second lawyer. In particular, for Sabich in his mid-70’s another lawyer would have eased the burden of all the trial responsibilities. There are financial issues with hiring another lawyer but they were ready to hire a lawyer at the start of the case. Returning to The Last Trial, Sandy Stern had his daughter and legal partner, Marta, with him.

I expect it was because there is a perception of less drama in having two counsel rather than a lone litigator standing between the accused and a jail cell.

It is a twisty legal thriller in Turow’s best tradition. It would have been wonderful if it had been 350 instead of 534 pages.

****

Turow, Scott – (2000) - Personal Injuries (Third best fiction of 2000); (2003) - Reversible Errors (Tied for the best fiction in 2003); (2007) - Ordinary Heroes; (2011) - Innocent; (2012) - One L (My Review) and One L (Michael Selnes review) and Thoughts on Reviews of One L by Myself and Michael; (2014) - Identical; (2018) - Testimony and Lawyers and Opportunities in International Criminal Courts; (2020) - The Last Trial - Opening and Mid-Trial and Closing; (2024) - Suspect

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

(9. - 1252.) Presumed Guilty
by Scott Turow - Rusty Sabich is back. Nearing 77 he is living in the country. After his release from prison he had tried defence work as  court appointed counsel for the indigent. He has achieved the rarest combination of legal experience in the courts. Sabich has been a prosecutor, defence counsel, judge and defendant. I can think of no real life or fictional lawyer filling all those roles. Finding the representation of the guilty unfulfilling he has further added to his legal portfolio by now working as a mediator and arbitrator. 

Since moving north out of Kindle County he has found love yet again. He is living with Bea, a school principal, who is 23 years younger than Sabich. He is startled that a vibrant lovely woman would love him.

Unconsciously, he had followed the advice of a former lover that if you are looking for a happy life “you should look for someone who is happy”.

They were content with living apart until Covid forced a decision. They decided to live together. They have not decided about marriage. The teacher has settled the restlessness that had caused Sabich so much grief. He is content with his life. 

Bea’s black adopted son, Aaron, and Mae Potter, the “Barbie” like daughter of Skageon County aristocracy (father and grandfather have been county prosecutors) have had a volatile relationship since high school. Aaron is currently on a tight judicial release for possessing drugs that were actually Mae’s drugs.

Aaron and Mae have disappeared. Neither Aaron nor Mae are mature 22 year olds. While Aaron is trying to go straight, Mae is self-indulgent.

Aaron returns. 

Mae does not return and is not in contact. Her family gradually grows frantic.

The opening and back story stretch out for almost 90 pages when the action begins. It need not have taken that long to get to what every crime fiction fan knew was coming - Mae is dead and Aaron will be charged with murder.

It is a rare work of legal fiction that discusses the impact upon parents of the accused being advised their child is charged with first degree murder. Pain as a parent comes in many ways. Few can be harder.

With Aaron denying guilt, who will represent him at trial? With the best local lawyer begging off, a search is made through the Mid-West, handicapped by Aaron not wanting a black defender and by Sabich and Bea wanting someone who at least sounds country.

Ultimately, Bea and Aaron and Sabich’s son Nat all want him to take the case. It made me cringe, which was Sabich’s first reaction. To represent a family member in a major trial is a bad idea. Objectivity is the first problem. Concern over relationships with family members including the accused is second. Obsessing over making a mistake that would imprison a family member is third. The list could be longer. 

I knew Sabich was going to take the case when he went to see Aaron. A lawyer who does not want a case will refuse to see the potential client. It is almost impossible to say no directly to a person wanting your representation. Litigators love feeling wanted and a big case is irresistible.

Sabich convinces himself he is the best lawyer for Aaron. It is a blind spot for lawyers. Sabich tells himself he will not shirk from the responsibility to represent Aaron fearlessly no matter the cost in friendships and other relationships.

I thought of Jake Brigance in A Time for Mercy. He takes on the difficult defence of a teenager who shot and killed his sleeping abusive stepfather. It was hard because the victim was a police officer and the compensation is meager putting financial pressure upon Brigance.

Sabich is relieved of the financial consequences. He has no need to work.

The County Prosecutor, Hiram Jackdorp, is respected in the way the folks of Marenage County regard the God of the Old Testament - “unsparing, and uninterested in excuses from those who cross the line”.

Sabich’s “standard costume” for court "is a midnight blue suit, white shirt and muted red tie - hoping to send a subliminal message of abiding patriotism”. I doubt any juror in America would get the message.

The trial judge is Wendy Carrington, formerly the State Defender.

It is unusual for a judge to have antipathy towards a prosecutor. More often any ill will is with defence counsel. Jackdorp, in his seventh term as County Prosecutor, appears to relish the judge’s antagonism. 

Aaron’s belief he will walk out of court a free man dismays Sabich.

Inevitably, my thoughts turn to Turow’s book, The Last Case, where 85 year old Sandy Stern defended his good friend, Dr. Kiril Pafko.

Though Sabich does not say it is his last case he is in his mid-70’s.

My second post on the book will deal with the trial. 

****

Turow, Scott – (2000) - Personal Injuries (Third best fiction of 2000); (2003) - Reversible Errors (Tied for the best fiction in 2003); (2007) - Ordinary Heroes; (2011) - Innocent; (2012) - One L (My Review) and One L (Michael Selnes review) and Thoughts on Reviews of One L by Myself and Michael; (2014) - Identical; (2018) - Testimony and Lawyers and Opportunities in International Criminal Courts; (2020) - The Last Trial - Opening and Mid-Trial and Closing; (2024) - Suspect

Reading to Sharon

I exchanged messages with Anthony Bidulka about reading to my wife. Our exchange is below.

****

Dear Anthony,

I am glad to advise that a review copy of Home Fires Burn was in the mailbox last Thursday.

Netta from Stonehouse Publishing sent it to me.

Whether it is my age, soon to be 73, or just the excitement of getting a book in the mail I get a special pleasure in seeing a package from the post office that I know is a book.

There is a sense of anticipation different from seeing a book on a shelf in a bookstore or library.

I try to resist just ripping away at the package yet even when I slow down the wrapping ends up ripped. I do not have the patience to carefully open a parcel I know contains a book.

Holding a new book in my hands is a joy that began when I went to my first library, a small room full of books, in the basement of the school at Ethelton, the hamlet next to Meskanaw. I was 7. The exhilaration remains as strong 65 years later.

I was hoping a copy of Home Fires Burn would come my way. I have been anxious to learn of Merry Bell’s life in Livingsky before she moved to Vancouver and transitioned and then returned to Saskatchewan. I have longed to see her life story completed by hearing about those earlier years.

I have not completed the book.

I am reading Home Fires Burn in a way I have not read a book for 40 years.

As you know, Sharon cannot read a book. She has been interested in Merry Bell.

I asked if she would like me to read Home Fires Burn to her. She said that would be nice.

We started on the weekend. We have read the two prologues and are intrigued and involved with the story.

In the mid-1980’s when my Dad had severe vision problems and there were very few audio books I dictated onto cassettes a few of his favourite books about the outdoors and Western Canadian history.

The book he loved most was Three Against the Wilderness by Eric Collier. It tells the story of Collier, his wife and young son settling in the interior of B.C. and starting to re-establish an ecosystem by building by hand dams where there had been beaver dams. All the beavers had been trapped out. Seeing the potential of further revival they were able to get two pairs of beavers and Meldrum Creek and marshes were restored. I taped the book and Dad would sit in his room at the nursing home weaving the edging on trays, a craft he had learned at the CNIB, and listening to this book and some other books I taped. He never tired of listening to Three Against the Wilderness.

I had forgotten how you appreciate every word in a book when you read it aloud. It provides a different experience from reading with your eyes.

I am curious whether you ever read any of your books aloud from start to finish.

My review is going to be towards the end of the month. We are savouring 10 - 15 pages a day. 

I am heading out to the kitchen to sit at the table and read to Sharon who will be sitting in her armchair with a blanket curled around her.

All the best to you and Herb.

Bill

****

Oh, Bill. I love this message, especially the part about your dad. It will bring me joy to picture you and Sharon reading/listening to Merry’s final tale (in book form anyway).

Indeed, I do read each of my books out loud at least once before I send it to editors. The experience is different, richer in some ways.

Be well and happy reading.

Tony

Why Chief Justice?

As she has in both Full Disclosure and Denial, former Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin creates legal issues during Proof that draw my attention.

While McLachlin is very convincing on the challenges of family life for a lawyer, the obsession of her lawyer, Jilly Truitt, over the murder case she is conducting on a pro bono basis is not realistic. For a firm with two partners, herself and Jeff, I cannot see how she can devote all her time to the case and incur major expenses for the defence. I have been practising law for decades with 1-2 partners besides myself and there is no way she could limit herself to this case. There is reference to other income producing cases but no time spent upon them by her. Having but one case is good fiction but weak reality. In Denial, the second book featuring Truitt, McLachlin had Truitt dealing with the challenges of managing a major case and other files. There is abundant drama in that process. Law office economics demand she continue to bring income into the firm.

Later in the book she spends an inconsequential amount of time assisting other lawyers in the firm with their files. The firm continues to hemorrhage money for months.

As she works on Kate’s defence Truitt decides to personally question a major Crown witness, Selma Beams, the nanny for Tess.

For a lawyer to question Crown witnesses before trial is a delicate area. They have already provided statements to the police which are provided to the defence. They have no duty to respond to questioning by the defence. 

Truitt made me twitch when she did not identify herself as Kate’s lawyer at the start of a conversation with Selma. She passes herself off as a single mother looking for a nanny. Only when Selma asks Truitt who she is does Truitt identify herself for “lawyers aren’t allowed to misrepresent who they are”. Her recognition of her ethical responsibility is late, very late, in the conversation.

Beyond her questionable ethical approach Truitt risked her ability to defend Kate by questioning Selma. She is seeking new evidence or at least evidence that contradicts Selma’s existing evidence. If a lawyer elicits new or contradictory evidence, especially if it is in the form of a conversation with neither recording nor signed statement, from a witness that the witness subsequently denies or recants or claims she was misled, the lawyer risks becoming a witness. If a lawyer becomes a witness they must withdraw as counsel and another firm must take over the case.

There is a further issue involving Selma. It irritates me when McLachlin controverts legal procedure. She had Selma swear an affidavit in family law custody proceedings, that took place before the book, in which she states that she is entitled, because of her time with the parents, to give opinion evidence on their parenting abilities. She is not an expert. Only experts can give opinions. More subtly, Selma could have advised what she observed that gave her concern over Kate’s parenting of Tess and what actions she took because of those concerns. Selma’s opinion in the book would be disregarded by a real life judge and subject her admissible evidence on parenting to be regarded skeptically. Her conclusions on the best interests of Tess would be struck and sanctioned.

There is an adoption proceeding involved in the book which is purported to be legally done through a hospital. Only in fiction can a lawful adoption proceed without the consent of both parents or a court order dispensing with consent. The issue of an unlawful adoption would have been fascinating in the aftermath of the case concerning the rights of the biological and adoptive parents. A twist in the plot eliminated the question.

As with the earlier two books there is a legal aspect to the conclusion that is a purely creative legal proceeding that would never happen in a Canadian court. 

Once a charge is withdrawn the judge is functus. The judge cannot hear an admission of guilt to charges pending in a different court for any reason. Court is over with the withdrawal.

Authorial licence has been repeatedly invoked yet again by the former Chief Justice of Canada in her legal fiction. I despair.

****

McLachlin, Beverley - (2018) - Full Disclosure and Full Disclosure Within Full Disclosure; (2024) - Denial and The Law in Denial and What Would You Do If a Suffering Loved One Asked You to Kill Him/Her?; (2025) - Proof