A Dream in the Dark

JD Jackson’s smoky baritone hits the right notes in his performance of Justice’s second book in the “Wrongful Convictions” series (following They Can’t Take Your Name). Through her work with Project Joseph, attorney Liza Brown helps free wrongly convicted men like her father, who was executed before he could prove his innocence. While defending Dexter Diaz, who was pressured at age 14 to confess to a murder he did not commit, Liza is contacted by Moses King, a friend of her father’s, who has evidence that could exonerate Dexter. Liza enlists the support of her friend and former colleague Eli Stone, who helps her even as he struggles to come to terms with his wife’s death five years earlier. Jackson contrasts Liza’s mixed emotions while defending Dexter and her compassion for Moses. He makes Eli’s grief for his late wife nearly palpable and sensitively captures Eli’s range of emotions—simmering anger, frustration, and finally, a letting down of walls. The audio closes with an author’s note that provides additional information about the real people who inspired the characters of Dexter and Moses.