An Innocent Client by Scott Pratt

Joe Dillard is a criminal defense attorney in a small town in East Tennessee.  He has a great wife and two normal kids but he’s just not happy.  His sister is a drug addict whom he has enabled too many times.  His mother has Alzheimer's and is failing fast.  Plus he hates his chosen profession.  His clients are the dregs of the earth, usually violent drug dealers and/or murderers who are arrested because they are guilty.  Dillard doesn’t go looking for these clients, the court appoints him to them because he is very good at criminal law and no one else wants to represent them.  Consequently, everyone associated with law enforcement which constitute most people he knows, hate him.  And what’s worse, Joe hates himself for helping these criminals get an undeserved break.  So on Joe’s birthday just before he blows out the candles on his cake, he wishes for just one innocent client.

The next day the body of a preacher, John Paul Tester is found in a local hotel room… he’s been stabbed numerous times and his penis is severed.  Special Agent Phillip Landers is called to investigate.  Landers surmises a sexually motivated killing and starts by visiting the local strip club.  Erlene Barlowe, the club owner denies ever seeing Tester but Landers finds that the preacher withdrew two hundred dollars from an ATM at the club the night of the murder.  Landers questions Barlowe’s employees and finds the preacher had groped the young attractive waitress, Angel Christian and that Angel and Erlene had left the club shortly after Tester.  Landers collects other evidence that leads to the arrest of Angel.

Erlene has taken Angel under her wing (pardon the pun) because she reminds Erlene of her beloved now deceased step daughter.   Barlowe has made good money from her business at the strip club so she hires Joe to represent Angel and pays him handsomely.  Joe soon realizes he may have his wished for innocent client and may be able to move on to a more honorable profession with the fee from this case.  But Joe’s life just cannot be that simple.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this legal mystery and feel like I’ve discovered a new author, Scott Pratt for my cache.  The protagonist is real and flawed enough to be likable… the plot interesting and believable.  Pratt puts me in mind of a young Grisham or Turow.  I plan to read more.