Juror Number Eleven

Terry Devane. G. P. Putnam's Sons, $24.95 (311pp) ISBN 978-0-399-14886-6

No sooner are criminal defense aces Sheldon Gold and Mairead O'Clare successful at getting Boston gangster Big Ben Friedman acquitted of murder than the eponymous Juror Number Eleven is found dead in her home just after she places an urgent call for help to O'Clare. Terry Devane's sophomore legal thriller brings back O'Clare and Gold and their support staff not to mention a host of colorful witnesses and suspects, from an elderly doctor who looks like Yoda and has a penchant for 20th-century Russian composers to a once-blind hardware store owner who miraculously regained his sight for another round of sleuthing, courtroom drama, rapid-fire dialogue and wry humor. (Putnam, $24.95 320p ISBN 0-399-14886-8)

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