Are you a big fan of legal thrillers? Have the DVR set to record every episode of Law and Order and CSI? Do you ever pit yourself against the detectives to see if you can figure out who dunnit before anyone else does? If so, In Deepest Consequences by Scott Kauffman, is right up your alley, a tightly woven story of crime and retribution.

Calvin Samuels, is a public defender with a reputation for defending the underdog. He takes the hard luck cases other lawyers often shun, but he has an instinct about these things. He can tell when someone is being straight with him. That’s how it was with John Rogers. Calvin keeps him out of prison, but didn’t keep someone from doing a number on him and dropping him in the river. Police aren’t interested—just another drug deal gone wrong. It’s up to Samuels to uncover the truth.

Perhaps he can clear his personal guilt about John Rogers being gunned down by representing Mark Alexander, who is accused of killing two drug dealers. In his zeal, to defend Alexander, he buys into Alexander’s story about being a victim. There is only one problem with the whole story and it is Allison Morris, Alexander’s former lover. Her take on the whole situation paints Alexander as a mad dog killer. Calvin's job, which he is very good at, is to defend Alexander.

Samuels wonders if he is being lead down the wrong road by a clever criminal or maybe Allison Morris who can be very convincing is deceiving them all. Is it possible that John Rogers’ murderer is somehow involved in the whole situation? Maybe Samuels is defending his friend’s killer. Things never are what they seem when it comes to life or the courtroom.

In Deepest Consequences is told in a series of flashbacks, not unlike your typical cop show. Flashbacks are a little harder to grasp as a reader than a viewer. Calvin Samuels talks in terse, cryptic statements that seem to confuse more than illuminate the matter.

Calvin Samuels as an embittered, disillusioned lawyer is an intriguing and sympathetic character. Having Samuels paired with the lawyer he originally sparred against in the Alexander case is a nice touch.

In Deepest Consequences is typical of the legal thriller, slower than some, but more thoughtful than others. The reader doesn’t get any “ah-has” until the very end. I would recommend this for your legal thriller fan. It is as good or better than any televised crime drama.

Reviewed by Morgan Wyatt
© February 2007