The Innocent One

In Edgar finalist Ballantyne’s The Guilty One (2013), solicitor Daniel Hunter successfully defended 11-year-old Sebastian Croll against a charge of murdering an eight-year-old friend. Ten years later, in this enjoyable if by-the-numbers sequel, the police want to question Sebastian after his Cambridge classics tutor, Frances Owen, is found murdered in her office. Daniel allays Sebastian’s fears, saying his trial as a child should be expunged and the police are doing routine questioning. When Sebastian’s past is leaked to the media, dangerous protests follow, forcing him to leave Cambridge. Meanwhile, Daniel, who still grapples with having grown up in foster care, contends with his wife wanting a separation, his seven-year-old son acting out at school, and his legal investigator turning up leads on the mystery of who his father was. As the police turn more attention to Sebastian, Daniel is backed into a legal corner that threatens his whole family. Good pacing and nice balancing of story lines help make up for some implausible character actions (Daniel’s son explains his actions in ways that even adults would struggle with) and a foregone conclusion. This works well enough as a standard British crime drama. Agent: Sophie Lambert, C&W Literary Agency (U.K.). (Nov.)