Genre: Legal Thriller
Click book cover for Amazon.com
I came upon Robert Bailey's book, The Professor, last year and enjoyed it thoroughly. Although I am a fan of legal thrillers, often I find them redundant in plot and characterization. Bailey's writing rose above that, and I was thrilled to see his second novel, Between Black and White, featuring Tom McMurtrie and Rick Drake. Tom is a law professor and Rick was once his student. A disagreement turned them against each other, but a recent case, the one in his prior book, brought them back together.
Bocephus Haynes played an important role in the earlier book and is unfortunately the defendant in this latest book. Bo, a black attorney in Pulaski Tennessee, has spent his working lifetime seeking vengeance in this small town. In 1966, five year old Bo witnessed the lynching of his father by the local Ku Klux Klan. Bo recognized the voice of the ring leader of the Klan as his dad was hanged, and he was bent on vengeance.
It is no secret that Bo believes Andy Walton got away with the murder of his dad and is determined to make him pay. When Andy is found hanging from the same tree that Bo watched his dad lynched on, everyone is sure Bo is the killer. Bo turns to Tom and Rick to defend him, even though neither have experience in capital cases. Since they needed a local attorney to join their team, Tom turns to Raymond Pickalew. There is no love lost between Ray-Ray and Bo, but he is a tenacious lawyer with connections in the town.
Bailey does a great job making the reader feel the tensions in this small southern town.
It is a testament to his writing that the bigotry made me uncomfortable as I got to know the townspeople. His descriptions are complete without becoming repetitious, and his courtroom scenes kept my interest throughout. I would like to believe this was just a fictional account of a small Tennessee town, but I fear that some of the descriptions rang true. I really loved the book and am looking forward to the next in this series.
- Beverly
Publisher - Thomas and Mercer
Date of Publication - March 15, 2016
Bocephus Haynes played an important role in the earlier book and is unfortunately the defendant in this latest book. Bo, a black attorney in Pulaski Tennessee, has spent his working lifetime seeking vengeance in this small town. In 1966, five year old Bo witnessed the lynching of his father by the local Ku Klux Klan. Bo recognized the voice of the ring leader of the Klan as his dad was hanged, and he was bent on vengeance.
It is no secret that Bo believes Andy Walton got away with the murder of his dad and is determined to make him pay. When Andy is found hanging from the same tree that Bo watched his dad lynched on, everyone is sure Bo is the killer. Bo turns to Tom and Rick to defend him, even though neither have experience in capital cases. Since they needed a local attorney to join their team, Tom turns to Raymond Pickalew. There is no love lost between Ray-Ray and Bo, but he is a tenacious lawyer with connections in the town.
Bailey does a great job making the reader feel the tensions in this small southern town.
It is a testament to his writing that the bigotry made me uncomfortable as I got to know the townspeople. His descriptions are complete without becoming repetitious, and his courtroom scenes kept my interest throughout. I would like to believe this was just a fictional account of a small Tennessee town, but I fear that some of the descriptions rang true. I really loved the book and am looking forward to the next in this series.
- Beverly
Publisher - Thomas and Mercer
Date of Publication - March 15, 2016
