Defense of Others

THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL

One of Seattle's most flamboyant and successful criminal defense attorneys is murdered in his office, and the case lands on the desk of homicide prosecutor David Brunelle. Brunelle isn't about to shed a tear over the death of a longtime rival, but he has a job to do. The only things standing between him and a conviction are the facts and the law.

Once apprehended, the killer tells a story that, if true, would let him walk out the door. The dead man was everything Brunelle amoral, craven, unhinged. The killer and a friend went to him for legal help but things went sideways. Things were said. Tempers flared. The lawyer attacked his friend. He had no choice.

The law of self-defense extends to defending others. If what the killer says is true, he's not guilty of murder. Brunelle is ready to believe everything he said about the victim, so why shouldn't he also believe him about how the killing happened? Brunelle embarks on a voyage of discovery about his late opponent, and himself, to try to bring justice to a man who made a career of obstructing it.