Review: Margolin’s Latest Crime Novel Takes Several Dark Turns | book reviews

Lockwood is representing Marjorie Loman, who is facing serious charges. First, Loman hires as a surrogate, carrying a baby for a couple who can’t conceive on their own. But she finds herself unable to return the little boy. So she violently accosts the legal parents, snatches the child and flees.

Lockwood takes on Loman’s case, and the story embarks on a wild, woolly ride that involves murder, embezzlement, hired henchmen, and enough other bad news to test Lockwood’s skills in the classroom. hearing.

Giving more plot details would ruin the read. But anyone who picks up this book will have a hard time putting it down.

Curiously, Margolin sometimes writes like a detective novelist, putting readers in the head of her female characters. A sample, from the mind of Lockwood:

“Most importantly, no matter how much she loved Stan, she didn’t feel the same overwhelming emotions she felt when she was with Jeff. When she was around Jeff, she felt like she was floating. The just seeing him made her smile.

On the other hand, the author can return to masculine humor. Describing the woman her client’s murdered husband hung out with in bed, Margolin calls her “a six-foot blonde who ran marathons, practiced yoga, and drained Joel’s bodily fluids.”

Manchester’s Harry Levins retired in 2007 as the Post-Dispatch’s senior editor.