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Set in New Orleans during the bleak years after Hurricane Katrina, “Seraphim” tracks a murder investigation by a defense attorney who is driven to exonerate his client at any cost.
Two young lawyers, Ben Alder and Boris Pasternak, arrive in the New Orleans public defender's office determined to represent those most in peril: kids who are to be prosecuted as adults. When 16-year-old Robert Johnson is arrested and charged with murder, the two set about constructing his defense, with Ben taking the lead. But years of heavy cases spark a burning recklessness in Ben. He does what he believes-what he knows-must be done. And in his fervor to absolve Robert, Ben spins a web to bend the narrative in his favor, one in which everyone is expendable-even those his young client loves most.
A riveting story of loyalty and grief that cross-examines an unjust criminal legal system, “Seraphim” combines the grit and realism of Richard Price's “Clockers” with the empathy and psychological complexity of Michael Chabon's “The Yiddish Policemen's Union.”
Two young lawyers, Ben Alder and Boris Pasternak, arrive in the New Orleans public defender's office determined to represent those most in peril: kids who are to be prosecuted as adults. When 16-year-old Robert Johnson is arrested and charged with murder, the two set about constructing his defense, with Ben taking the lead. But years of heavy cases spark a burning recklessness in Ben. He does what he believes-what he knows-must be done. And in his fervor to absolve Robert, Ben spins a web to bend the narrative in his favor, one in which everyone is expendable-even those his young client loves most.
A riveting story of loyalty and grief that cross-examines an unjust criminal legal system, “Seraphim” combines the grit and realism of Richard Price's “Clockers” with the empathy and psychological complexity of Michael Chabon's “The Yiddish Policemen's Union.”
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- SeriesSeraphim (Perry)