cover image Imperfect Justice

Imperfect Justice

Cara Putman. Thomas Nelson, $15.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7180-8348-9

Washington, D.C., lawyer Hayden McCarthy starred in Putman’s Beyond Justice; now Hayden’s roommate, lawyer Emilie Wesley, takes center stage in this overly busy melodrama with a Christian flavor. A grainy video supports the theory that Kaylene Adams, who was trying to break away from her abusive husband, Robert, killed herself after shooting her two daughters: teenage Kaydence died and nine-year-old Kinley was critically wounded. Before the shooting, Kaylene left a note addressed to her Wall Street executive brother, Reid Billings, asking him to seek custody of her daughters with the help of her attorney, Emilie, should anything happen to her. Emilie, who knows Kaylene would never have harmed her girls, and Reid join forces in their common desire to understand what happened and to protect comatose Kinley. Their task is complicated by a stalker pursuing Emilie and her boss’s insistence that she leave the Adams case alone, as well as Robert’s refusal to let Reid visit Kinley in the hospital. The hopeful ending will satisfy fans of romantic suspense. Agent: Karen Solem, Spencerhill Associates. (Dec.)