Book Review: Conviction

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Conviction     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Richard North Patterson
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Legal Setting
Series: Christopher Paget
Random House, Jan 2005, $25.95

Death row attorney Terri Paget is working the fifteen years old capital crime conviction of Rennell Price, who the State of California will execute with a lethal injection in fifty-nine days. Terri realizes that the retarded surly black man is not a good client and her chances of saving him from the death penalty are slim to none.

Terri with the help of her spouse and son looks back over time and quickly realizes that neither Rennell had much of a defense. The corpse of nine-year-old Thuy Sen was found in San Francisco Bay and the medical examiner immediately concluded that the cause of her death was choking on semen. Broadcast news ran the story with the picture of the young girl as its feature. This led to a neighbor claiming that Payton and Rennell Price, drug dealers, took the child with them while she was apparently coming home from school. Other evidence placed the victim in the Price vehicle. The circumstanti al evidence remains overwhelming yet Terri remains convinced that her client is innocent.

CONVICTION is an intriguing legal procedural in which the death penalty debate is incredible, extremely complex and in all honesty wordy (not a one sitting thriller by any stretch even for a reviewer with a multiple book a day habit). Surprisingly with that deep look and with solid courtroom drama, the cast never fully seems real as the law takes on a life of its own superseding any character. Those interested in understanding why the former Illinois Governor halted capital punishment should read Richard North Patterson’s strong view on the death penalty, just set aside plenty of time and don’t run for DA or Governor of Texas.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner