Darkness Drops Again

Maeve Shaw, the narrator of Manning’s solid debut, struggles to balance the demands of her job at a leading Chicago law firm, where she’s a 12-year associate, with those of rearing two small sons. Her work defending student loan companies accused of violating consumer protection laws isn’t likely to lead to a partnership. On the home front, her husband, Patrick, a senior manager at a major accounting firm, is increasingly distant, leaving Maeve insecure about their marriage. Then she sees a text to Patrick apparently from a lover, but before she can sort out its implications, she’s assigned, against her will, to a pro bono criminal defense case, which will only make meeting her billable hours quota even harder. A woman has been charged with strangling her 24-year-old daughter, a drug addict; the case seems open-and-shut, but Maeve’s initiative and smarts raise significant questions about the state’s case. Manning expertly doles out her sympathetic lead’s complex backstory as the plot builds to an uplifting ending. Fans of legal thrillers with a heart will be gratified. (Self-published)