"The Good Lawyer", by Thomas Benigno

This debut legal thriller is about a young lawyer’s crisis of conscience and is by far more than just courtroom scenes peppered with legalese jargon hard to understand. This book is a fractionized account of some of the grittiest cases Mr. Benigno dealt with during his time practicing as a Legal Aid Attorney in the South Bronx.

In a nutshell:

Told from the main character’s perspective, Nick Mannino, a young legal Aid attorney tells how he is given the opportunity to defend a teacher’s assistant accused of child molestation. Zigzagging is the hunt and apprehension of “Spiderman” a rapist and the excitement begins when Nick pieces together all the parts and a connection is made with other cases. This is only a very broad outline of a complex and believable plot that includes a mob connections and a necessary tad of romance.

I like the depiction of the main player, you can feel Nick’s ethical dilemma when he uncovers several more heinous crimes and is unable to reveal that his client’s is behind them. The author slowly introduces his co-conspirators in a crafty manner developing each one and weaving them into the main story till everything is neatly tied up in the end. We do have audacious twists some are easily guessable while others less but all add excitement to a very captivating story. This is a story that keeps a steady pace throughout and is written in a clear and dynamic narrative.

I zipped through this thriller in no time and enjoyed every single moment I spent with it. Well done.