In the opening of Sheehan's exciting if clunky third legal thriller (after 2008's The Law of Second Chances), a series of killings in the city of Oakville, Fla., in 1993 leads to the conviction of Thomas Felton for murder. Eight years later, famed Miami lawyer Jack Tobin, now living in the backwater town of Bass Creek, succeeds in getting Felton's conviction overturned on a technicality. When Jack winds up on trial on trumped-up murder charges after the killer strikes again (a relative of a victim frames him), Jack turns to respected "lawyer's lawyer" Tom Wylie to represent him. To complicate matters, Jack rejects Tom's advice when it comes to his defense, because the evidence Tom wants to use will jeopardize the reputation of policewoman Danni Jansen, Jack's former lover. Sheehan can write a mean closing statement when the courtroom showdown finally takes place, and the conflicting loyalties of Jack and Danni keep the tension high, but readers should be prepared for some wooden dialogue. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Jack Tobin, the semiretired Florida trial lawyer featured in The Mayor of Lexington Avenue (2005) and The Law of Second Chances (2008), returns. Jack is initially reluctant to take the case of a death-row inmate, but when he discovers that the man was convicted on the basis of false evidence, Jack works his courtroom magic and gets the conviction overturned. Without blowing any of the author's surprises, let's just say things go rapidly and tragically downhill from there. Jack, locked in a battle with his own conscience, winds up on trial for murder. As a writer, Sheehan, a former trial lawyer, bears comparison to Scott Turow: his books are noteworthy not just for their intricate plotting but also for their literary finesse. In this one, though, Sheehan stumbles a bit. Right up to the end, the book is compelling and suspenseful, but rather than build to a conclusion, it sort of just stops. Jack is saved from an almost certain murder conviction by a last-minute, out-of-left-field plot twist that requires a major character to do a complete about-face (the scene feels as though it would be comfortably at home at the end of any random episode of Perry Mason). For a novel in which, up to the end, everything every character does is carefully thought out and completely believable, this scene feels sloppy and implausible. The weakest of the author's three novels, but, even with its misstep at the end, it's better than a lot of legal thrillers out there.--Pitt, David Copyright 2010 Booklist

Title character Jack Tobin, the protagonist in Sheehan's two previous novels (The Law of Attractions; The Mayor of Lexington Avenue), is a hotshot corporate lawyer who has retired to a small Florida panhandle fishing village and does pro bono work for an organization working to eliminate the death penalty. However, the case of Thomas Felton, who's scheduled to be executed in two months, presents Tobin with complicated issues. Felton is widely believed to have been the serial killer who terrorized a nearby college town eight years earlier, murdering seven coeds and the wife of Police Chief Sam Jeffries and threatening the daughter of Det. Danni Jansen. Still, Tobin finds a gaping prosecution error in Felton's trial for two other murders of which he was convicted. Pursuing justice for Felton presents a moral dilemma for Tobin with drastic and unforeseen consequences. Verdict Sheehan's trademark themes of friendship, love, guilt, and-particularly-redemption are here, but what is lacking is the skilled storytelling displayed especially in his debut, The Mayor of Lexington Avenue. The courtroom drama is still a strong suit, but other plotlines falter, making this more of a marginal purchase.-Michele Leber, Arlington, VA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.