Jerry Kennedy

Jerry Kennedy has been aptly described by his ex-wife as "the classiest sleazy criminal lawyer in Boston." Now, Jerry must defend the man that no one else will: Billy Ryan. The longtime commissioner of public works has cut one shady deal too many. Even Jerry harbors no illusions about the man's corruption. "If they didn't have Billy for selling the apple to the serpent who peddled it to Eve," he figured, "it was because the serpent refused to testify against him. Professional courtesy and all that." Jerry also knows that the government can always get a public official if it really wants to-particularly when a plea-bargaining crooked state legislator named Jack Bonaventre is in good voice. The drama that follows in and around the courthouse is vintage Higgins, suffused with the stylish prose and sparkling dialogue for which he is known.

A dead body discovered in a rural Massachusetts wetland turns out to belong to a woman with a past: Sandra Nichols, missing for seven months. Wrongful death? Murder one? We'll leave that to Jerry Kennedy. Judge Henry Lawler has his own reasons for appointing classmate Jerry Kennedy to try the case of the Estate of Sandra Nichols v. Peter Wade, on behalf of Sandra's three orphaned children. An old hand at criminal cases, Jerry makes an exception for Judge Henry to try this civil case; after all, what are friends for if not to impose on a guy? In as much as Sandra was murdered several months before her body was found, alibis are fairly easy to come by-even for Peter Wade, her ex, who is the most likely suspect. Since the evidence is too elusive to establish Wade's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, wrongful death is the easier verdict; Jerry just needs to make Wade's guilt 51% certain.

Sizzling with betrayal and murder, Higgins' tale is sprinkled with earthy dialogue and savvy characters. When Sandra Nichols, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is found dead in a Massachusetts wetland, respected criminal defense attorney Jerry Kennedy sheds his reclusive life to become her children's legal guardian. He digs for evidence and turns up a missing clue that begins a domino effect-exposing the killer.