The Ex by Alafair Burke #1574

The Ex by Alafair Burke, received a nomination for the Edgar Award. It was also an Amazon editor’s pick. In her distant past when she was in college, then in law school, and later a beginning attorney, Olivia Randall was engaged to Jack Harris. But she was prone to having affairs, the evidence of which Jack tended to ignore until she really wiped his face in the evidence. Their relationship abruptly ended, and Jack went into an emotional tailspin that led him to a long psychiatric hospitalization. But, he soon found a new love with Molly who did marry Jack in what seemed to be a pretty ideal relationship. Jack’s marriage to Molly ended when she was murdered in a mass shooting by a teenage boy. Meanwhile, Olivia’s career surged forward and she became one of the best criminal defense attorneys in New York City. 

Olivia had no contact with Jack for two decades until she was urgently contacted by Jack’s 15-year-old daughter who pled with her to take her father’s case. Jack had been arrested for the murder of three people. She reluctantly agreed and from the beginning, it seemed that Jack had to be innocent, that the idea of him murdering people was beyond belief. However, as she got to know Jack better in the course of preparing his defense, she discovered a dark side to his personality that she had not previously known. Still, she felt confident about being able to successfully defend him, at least until she learned why the prosecutor was so certain that he had the stronger case.

 

This is a good story with an excellent plot and good character development. I listened to this book in audiobook format, and my only complaint was with the woman who did the reading. She was not sufficiently able to distinguish one character from another with her voice. And, there was a slurry quality to her reading, as if many of the characters were drunk. I think this story, at least with this book, is probably a better read than a listen. I’m ready for more Burke, but with a different reader if I happen to use the audiobook format.