The Advocate’s Daughter

Washington, D.C., attorney Sean Serrat, the hero of this gripping if improbable legal thriller from Franze (The Last Justice), has recently entered private practice after a distinguished career representing the federal government before the Supreme Court. With Sean’s name on the president’s shortlist for filling a vacancy in the high court, he faces the possibility of a long-buried secret resurfacing—30 years earlier, while serving with the U.S. Army in Japan, he helped conceal the senseless murder of a Japanese shopkeeper. In the D.C. subway, a stranger bumps into him and mutters, “They know, Sean.” Then Sean’s law student daughter, Abby, is found murdered in the Supreme Court library. Though the police quickly identify a suspect in the crime, Sean is compelled to do his own digging. The transformation of his family into sleuths strains credibility—especially when his wife whips out a metal lock-pick to break into a room. Cartoonish characters don’t help the over-the-top story line, but fans of Brad Melzer should be satisfied. [em]Agent: Lisa Erbach Vance, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency. (Mar.) [/em]