The Tenth Case (the Jaywalker series) by Joseph Teller

Joseph Teller is another lawyer turned author from New York whom I discovered in my local library.

The Tenth Case is his first book.

The protagonist, Harrison J Walker or better known as Jaywalker, is a criminal defense lawyer who breaks rules. Name it, he breaks or bends it. In short, he does not play by the book but to the Jaywalker Method of practising law.  However, he is very passionate about his work and takes his work and clients seriously.  When he fights, he fights hard.  He is likeable. 

Teller has presented us with the simplest murder I have read in a long time. No complications. No twists and turns. No fast pace but a simple classic murder case.  A young wife sticks a knife into her elderly billionaire husband's chest.  A bloody knife, blouse and towel are found hidden in the wife's house, specifically in her upstairs guest bathroom.  There is no one else involved.  Money is the obvious motive.  Simple plot, not so easy to deliberate.  Read it and you will find that sometimes, you just don't know how things will turn out.

This youtube video introduces you to the renegade lawyer:



Basically, the book is clearly divided into two sections - 1) the murder and 2) the trial and verdict. 

It is written in two forms: 1)  narrative and 2)  dialogue of the Q & A type.

Teller is a unique writer.  He is different.  It is almost as if he is talking directly to us through his book, if that is at all possible.  He has the gift of the gab.  He writes succintly about the workings of the law and in the courtroom and portrays a satisfying and amicable relationship between the defense and the prosecution.  Although at times, the book can become quite explanatory like a textbook but as a whole, it is convincing and captivating.  I love it when I do not know who the bad guy is till the a-ha! moment.  As we all know, a first-time writer is still finding his/her niche and because of this reason, I am eager to know how Teller has developed his writing and his protagonist as I progress onto his second Jaywalker book, Bronx Justice, in a few weeks' time!

To know more about the author and the Jaywalker series of which the fourth book, Overkill, is being released on 1 August 2010, check out his website at http://jaywalkercases.com/

Rating: 4/5 (Intriguing read)