Jan McNeil is a senior prosecutor in Flagstaff, Arizona. She
has been assigned to prosecute Jacob Hall, a white supremacist with the Ivory
Nation, for identiy theft though she really wants to pursue the leadership of
the Ivory Nation.
Living next door to McNeil is the rather mysterious Simon
Green who is a writer of police procedural manuals though he portrays himself
as the author of books on economics.
The best character in the books is Hailey Miller, a little
girl prosecuted by McNeil at 8, to whom McNeil has become attached
and wants to
adopt. Hailey speaks with the wonderful simplicity of children. She is sure she
cannot be adopted, no what McNeil tells her, as she is bad and on parole. (In
Canada she could not have been charged. Children under the age of 12 cannot be
charged under our criminal law.)
As McNeil prepares her case little things keep happening
such as a file gone missing or another file not being delivered. Paranoia,
never far from McNeil’s mind, rises for the prosecutor.
A bored Green finds the highlights of his day are watching
school children return home after school and meeting McNeil at her mailbox for
a chat.
McNeil’s brother, Johnny, is playing a greater role in her
life for which she is grateful. It has been some time since they have been
close.
I kept waiting for there to be some significant time in
court but it gradually dawned on me that In
Plain Sight was less a mystery than a romance novel. I can be slow at
detecting a romance novel. Relationships rather than mystery drive the story.
How did I not realize the beautiful young troubled
prosecutor and the handsome ambiguous man next door feature prominently in
romance novels? I expect it is because so many current mysteries feature the
beautiful and the handsome.
Still the author does tackle the presence of violent white
supremacists seeking to have their narrow minded intolerance take over America.
After finishing the book I was not surprised to read Quinn
is also a writer for Harlequin books. If you enjoy romantic suspense you will
enjoy the book.
In the book McNeil does present an image of prosecutors that
depresses me. It is clear McNeil has lost perspective on being a prosecutor. She
has become an avenger viewing it her responsibility to change and improve
society. The problems with being an avenger as a prosecutor are that it moves
you beyond your role in the justice system and means a loss of objectivity. It
is McNeil’s job to present the evidence and the law and let judges decide if
someone is guilty. By being willing to add questionable charges to Hall’s
original charge McNeil is perverting the system. As I watch television and read
of America’s judicial system I fear too many real life prosecutors are becoming
avengers. (Aug. 1/13)
****
My connection to this book is to the legal theme and McNeil,
a fellow lawyer, though not a woman to uphold the high ideals of prosecutors
simply presenting the law and evidence.
Bill - Thanks for sharing this. I'm not normally one for romantic suspense but this one does sound interesting. I always respect an author who can write an authentic child's voice.
ReplyDeleteYes. Your blog strikes a note of reality. In the States, many prosecutors are avengers. That's why there are so many people unfairly in jail, even on death row.
ReplyDeleteProsecutors often won't even look at evidence, which points at suspects other than those who they are charging and prosecuting.
Evidence is sometimes ignored or locked up somewhere and never presented that would help the defense.
Thankfully, nowadays the Innocence Project and law schools' law projects and civil liberties' organizations and legal aid groups pursue the truth.
Unfortunately, lack of funding -- and now, cuts in funding prevents even more objective investigations.
And defense attorneys, especially public defenders don't have funds and resources to do in-depth investigations for their clients.
Margot: Thanks for the comment. More romance than mystery in this one. Hailey is a great character.
ReplyDeleteKathy D.: Thanks for the comment. Our system does not work well with avenging prosecutors. While I am grateful for the Innocence Project the prospects of correcting wrongful convictions is grim. I do not believe there has ever been a time when a poor accused person had the same access to lawyers as the wealthy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on your last post. When I see people sentenced to long prison terms, even death row, on 1 1/2 hour trial with a public defender, it's so unfair. And that's no criticism of the overworked, underpaid attorneys who defend poor people.
ReplyDeleteI know some of them and if they weren't dedicated to the work, they wouldn't do it. But the resources aren't there.
There have been recent articles that thousands of people all over the U.S. can't afford any legal representation in so many cases, including foreclosures, etc.
Awful but true. And budget cuts are worsening the situation with legal aid.
Kathy D.: Thanks for the comment. In Saskatchewan a poor person will be eligible for a legal aid lawyer for defending charges that have a jail term. Sometimes legal aid will pay for a private lawyer at a reduced rate. On serious charges involving the poor I consider our legal system weighted towards the Crown and police because of the disparity in resources available to each side.
ReplyDelete