The Murder List

Second-year Harvard law student Rachel North dreams of being husband Jack’s law partner in Kirkland and North, defending those accused of crimes and, when their turn comes up on the Murder List, defending suspects who cannot afford an attorney. When she takes a summer internship with Assistant DA Martha Gardiner, detested by Jack, Rachel puts herself in the middle, but she swears she’s doing it to learn Martha’s secrets. While Rachel’s account of her internship unfolds in the present, the past is also essential to the story. Rachel was once chief of staff to Tom Rafferty, the president of the Massachusetts senate, until an office assistant’s killing was followed by a scandalous arrest. Jack Kirkland handled the defense, a second battle Rachel witnessed in court between Martha and Jack. This masterly plotted legal thriller with a twisted ending offers a riveting, character-driven story in which none of the three storytellers, Rachel, Martha, or Jack, can be trusted to tell the whole truth.