Uncommon Justice [Hardcover]

Terry Devane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2001

A new star joins the ranks of legal thriller writers with this exciting crash course on the difference between the law and justice.

Disillusioned with her first foray into corporate law, Mairead O'Clare leaves a high-powered Boston firm to join ranks with Sheldon Gold, a down-at-the-heels criminal attorney. Mairead barely knows how to find the courthouse, let alone how to navigate the treacherous waters of a criminal trial. She immediately finds herself thrust in the middle of a capital murder case when she is assigned to represent Alpha, a homeless man and self-proclaimed hermit charged with the murder of another homeless man on the banks of the Charles River.

Mairead's first job is to win Alpha's trust so he will participate in his own defense. As the investigation proceeds and the questions of guilt and innocence become murkier and murkier, she learns just how elusive the search for justice can be.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This legal thriller about the murder of a homeless man in Boston hangs on a garden-variety plot, but it introduces two wonderfully original lead characters who more than make up for any narrative deficiencies. Out front is Mairead O'Clare, a highly earnest young lawyer who has just been fired by one of the city's top law firms because she had the honesty to admit the work bored her stiff. Going out on a limb, O'Clare takes a job in a one-man office run by Sheldon A. Gold, a shrewdly clever yet humble attorney who is at least as eccentric as his new hire. Though he knows she has no criminal law experience, Gold assigns O'Clare the defense of Alpha, a homeless man accused of bludgeoning a fellow bum to death. The well-spoken, highly literate Alpha instantly makes things tough for O'Clare. He says he's innocent and claims he knows who the real killer is, but refuses to reveal any details until he testifies at trial. The plot moves along efficiently and enjoyably to a finale that clunks and grinds a bit too much, but O'Clare and Gold have stolen the show long before. O'Clare is a fine creation. An orphan disfigured by port wine stains a condition known as hemangioma that cover everything below her elbows, she's overcome much in her life, and has an unassuming personality that tends to make opponents underestimate her. Gold is similarly fascinating. An independently wealthy former boxer, he's a man who has suffered much the loss of a child, a wife who's gone mad, severe depression, even impotence. Together, O'Clare and Gold make a formidable, unpredictable and entertaining pair deserving of a return engagement. (Apr.) FYI: Devane is the pseudonym of an attorney and award-winning novelist who lives in Boston.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Mairead O'Clare abandons her corporate law career with a blue-blood Boston firm to hang up her shingle next to Sheldon Gold, a melancholy legal warrior who promises to show her around a courtroom at about a third of her former salary. O'Clare's first case in the real world has her defending an urban hermit called Alpha, who is charged with the murder of a fellow member of the Boston homeless community. With the help of Pontifico Murizzi, a former Boston cop turned private eye, Mairead ties the case to a construction site from which the street people pilfered building materials. A foreman who was friendly toward the less fortunate has vanished and the multimillionaire owner of the construction firm seems inordinately hostile. This is an excellent legal thriller written under a pseudonym by a Boston attorney and best-selling author. Strong characters, incisive dialogue, and irreverent humor define what one hopes is the first in a long series featuring O'Clare and her mentor, Sheldon Gold. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (March 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399147179
• ISBN-13: 978-0399147173
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,142,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new Series is Born, April 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Uncommon Justice (Hardcover)

Uncommon Justice is a fast paced "read" with four interesting multi-faceted leading characters. Although I could have done without the melodramatic "action-packed" climax, I was delighted to read on the jacket blurb that this will become a series.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic legal thiller, February 18, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Uncommon Justice (Hardcover)

Just a few months into her career as an associate lawyer at Boston's Jaynes and Ward, Mairead O'Clare finds herself totally bored. When her boss catches her daydreaming during a "seminar", he not only lectures her, but also warns her that her future (and perhaps the Western World) is at stake. Feeling no remorse, Mairead already loathes her role in the firm so she goes to the Commons to think about her future. There she meets criminal lawyer Sheldon Gold, who offers her a job with an office and lots of hard work at much less pay.

After quitting her current job, Mairead accepts Sheldon's employment offer. He immediately sends her to the courthouse on a criminal case where they will represent Alpha, a homeless person accused of murdering a peer Old Man River. Alpha is intelligent and friendly, but refuses to fully cooperate with his attorney. As Mairead continues to obtain information, she gains an on the job education that thrills her even if the case is proving difficult due to the attitude of her slick client.

UNCOMMON JUSTICE is a criminal legal tale that demonstrates why author Terry Devane is an award-winning writer. The key characters which include Sheldon, Mairead, their office assistant, and Alpha seem so genuine readers will believe their part of the case. The who-done-it seems obvious, but the twists and turns of the story line prove that there is more to justice than the obvious. Sub-genre fans have an uncommon treat with this intelligently written novel.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Cast of Characters, December 24, 2001

By 

Charles R. Slater - See all my reviews

This review is from: Uncommon Justice (Hardcover)

If what you want from a thriller, even a legal thriller, is fast-paced action, a great plot and a twist at the end, Uncommon Justice may not be your fare. But if you delight in chracters you can care about, there are few legal thrillers better than this first entrant under the pseudonym Terry Devane by a best-selling author(Jeremiah Healy?).
The attorney-protagonist, Mairead O'Claire, is young, an orphan, has a skin disfigurement and is so spunky you want to cheer for her. The attorney she hooks up with after quitting a stuffy if prestigious job, Sheldon Gold, lives with sorrow wrapped around his heart. Their secretary, Billie Sunday, is tough, plucky, and surviving her own tragedy. Their investigator, Pontific Murizzi, is equally memorable with his own secret and his loyalty. And the defendant, Alpha, accused of murdering a fellow homeless man, is as intriguing as he is devious. This character-driven novel centers around who really committed the murder of which Alpha is accused. There is some excellent courtroom tension and while much of it seems no surprise, there is a most satisfying twist at the end.
Please give us more of Mairhead and friends, Mr. Devane.