The Stalking of Sheilah Quinn: A Legal Thriller

While many of leading mystery novelists now have female detectives as their protagonists, Jeremiah Healy (author of the outstanding John Cuddy series) goes them one better and creates a female defense lawyer protagonist. Unlike the emerging stereotype of the female detective as Super Woman, Healy's character, Sheilah Quinn, is resourceful and much put-upon. She faces the kinds of frustrations that many women find confining -- the need to earn their own living, take care of an elderly parent, keep a social life without compromising their work, and avoid lecherous males. Although it would be nice for Sheilah if she were also Super Woman, her very real human qualities and problems make her both more interesting and appealing. Sheilah is also not John Cuddy in drag. That's a nice surprise as well. Healy also has the talent to create a gripping story. The other characters are also very memorable, especially Arthur Ketterson IV who Sheilah Quinn successfully defends on a murder rap (date rape and murder) only to discover that he really did do it. Not only that, he wants Sheilah to be next to join the fun (from his sick perspective).If you want to lose sleep, start reading this book in the evening. You won't be able to put it down. It's that interesting. I recommend a Saturday morning start for your reading instead.

There's not a trace of John Francis Cuddy in Jeremiah Healy's latest work. He has parted company with the Boston PI and has crafted a genuine thriller that uses courtroom scenes as backdrop, rather than the main focus. Healy also gambled on a multi-viewpoint style, but pulled it off brilliantly. We gain great insight into a wide range of characters, from Sheilah's inherently evil, serial killer client, Arthur Kesterson IV, to an obsessed trial judge Roger Hesterfield. All of the characters are real, with no stereotypes thrown in gratuitously, as happens so often in genre fiction. The Kesterson character is the most easily despised person I've run across in fiction in a long time. I will resist the temptation to talk about plot specifics, for fear of spoiling a great read for you, but the plot tangles keep coming and keep closing in on Sheilah Quinn, criminal defense lawyer. It's enough to discourage you from going to law school! Healy does his usual masterful job of dialogue and interesting and quirky minor and supporting characters. More than cops and lawyers, we get insight into Sheilah's romantic life, and how she deals with the real issues that arise between two members of a professional couple, each of whom has their own history. The romance doesn't slow down the plot, but gives us occasional breathers in the roller coaster ride that is this plot. Just when you think you know who did what and why, Healy pulls the rug out from under you. This is one terrific read. If we're lucky, we'll get a lot more of both John Francis Cuddy and Sheilah Quinn.