The Identity Thief: A Hollis Morgan Mystery

Two complex legal cases occupy Hollis Morgan in James’s bustling sixth and final mystery featuring the San Francisco lawyer (after The Bell Tolls). Hollis’s supervising attorney asks her to defend Justin Eastland, “a young man with reality issues” who’s been charged with identity theft. Another colleague introduces Hollis to Lindsay Mercer, a whistle-blower on a money-laundering scheme who has assumed a new identity after testifying in open court. Hollis’s initial meeting with the imprisoned Eastland is interrupted when Eastland is charged with murder. When Eastland is released (basically as bait for more serious crooks), Hollis uses a fellow ex-con whom she’s been mentoring to try to protect him. Meanwhile, someone shoots Lindsay dead before she can execute a harebrained scheme to fake her own death. Hollis’s relationship with Homeland Security agent John Faber adds a welcome touch of romance. Fans will be sorry to see the last of this fine heroine. (Feb.)