Bad Lawyer

Sid Kaplan once had it a high-profile, dynamic career in criminal law, high profile fees too - and enough arrogance to alienate practically everyone he knew. So no one wept for Sid Kaplan when booze and cocaine plummeted him to disrepute. Now, though, a big case has come Sid's way, one certain to restore to him some of his old professional glory. Thelma Barrow, a housewife, has sought out Sid to defend her accused daughter, Priscilla, in a media-hot murder case. For Sid, the publicity more than compensates for the pittance Thelma can afford to pay, as the papers and news shows headline stories of drugs and violence and the murderous motives of a white woman who has suffered abuse at the hands of her black husband. Nor is Sid put off by the fact that Priscilla - who happens to be a babe - is probably lying about more than a few details. Then the drug dealers show up. They insist that Priscilla is holding out on them, that she's pocketed 450,000 of their dollars, despite her protestations otherwise. Matters grow more criminally perilous when the only two friends Sid has managed not to lose are killed. The case in this gritty, masterfully crafted crime novel is far more complex, and deadly, than anyone, especially Sid, ever imagined it could be.