The Darkest Web

In Wright’s uneven sequel to 2021’s The Darkest Flower, Allison Barton, a Charlottesville, Va., criminal defense attorney and single mother, takes on a former law school roommate, Jane Knudsen, as a client. Jane fears she may be arrested for killing her nasty, vindictive boss, whose body she discovered in his office. As Allison admits, they “were never quite friends,” and she was jealous of the stunningly beautiful Jane, believing rumors that Jane’s excellent grades were because Jane slept with her professors, which Jane never denied. After Jane is charged with murder, Allison struggles during the trial to build a defense while also trying to uncover the secrets her client would rather go to prison to protect. A brisk pace and a couple of clever twists elevate the story, but too often the plot veers into soap opera territory as Wright checks off such familiar tropes as the harried single mother, a precocious child, and a toxic workplace. Frequent mentions of Jane’s beauty and others’ reactions to it grow tiresome. Wright can entertain, but she breaks no new ground. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Apr.)