The Weight

Crouch puts his years as a litigator to good use in his third legal thriller featuring Fort Worth, Tex., attorney Jace Forman (after 2015’s The Word). Jace is approached by Cal Connors, a prominent colleague who specializes in going after Big Pharma, about representing him in a defamation suit. The magazine Texas Matters has published a cover story accusing Connors of paying off an expert witness to file false reports about a medication’s side effects. After passing on the opportunity, Jace ends up on the other side, defending the reporter, Leah Rosen, against Connors’s claims. Meanwhile, Leah’s piece has prompted a federal investigation into her target by an ambitious federal prosecutor, and both Connors and his colleague and daughter, Christine, don’t balk at considering murder to protect their interests. Crouch extends the suspense outside the courtroom with the acquittal of a creep, Michael Randazzo, who once abducted and tormented Leah and is now working on an elaborate revenge. Fast pacing and believable characters will make this a treat for fans of Steve Martini. [em](BookLife) [/em]