With prejudice

Gabriel Soto, the defendant in Peguero's unimpressive debut, is on trial for abducting, raping, and killing Melina Mora, despite Mora's body never having been found. The prosecution, led by Sandy Grunwald, an irritating type A lawyer, hinges its case on forensic evidence, principally strands of Mora's hair found in Soto's home on a farm in Homestead, Fla. Shortly before trial, a surprise discovery on the defendant's hard drive--a trove of exclusively homosexual porn videos--gives Soto's attorney new hope for acquittal by arguing that a man who had no sexual interest in women must be innocent, and forces Grunwald to regroup. Her manic trial prep, which includes asking the main police investigator to reenact Grunwald's theory of the crime by pinning her down with his body on a table in Soto's home, is too over-the-top to make her credible. Unrealistic courtroom scenes, as when Grunwald attempts to rehabilitate a witness on redirect with unobjected-to leading questions, don't help, nor does awkward prose ("Like refracting mirrors set up to face one another, their gorgeousness multiplied exponentially"). Legal thriller fans can safely take a pass. Agent: Michael Nardullo, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. (May)

A murder trial in Miami reveals ugly secrets in the criminal justice system. Told mostly through courtroom dialogue and flashbacks, this debut legal thriller follows the trial of Gabriel Soto, who has been charged with killing a woman he met in a Miami bar. But this book has higher ambitions, too. A former homicide prosecutor and current congressional investigative counsel, author Peguero wants to shine a light on the inequities and prejudices that influence the outcome of every trial. The story unfolds from the points of view of myriad characters: the attorneys using every trick they can to secure a courtroom victory; the jurors who must decide Soto's fate; and the witnesses and experts called to testify, who come to the stand with their own secrets and biases. From the start, Peguero reveals how each individual's past shapes the eventual verdict. An example: The foreman had an unpleasant encounter with a racist police officer that will influence his vote--though not in the way his fellow jurors suspect. This is a creative idea, but it comes at the expense of a compelling narrative focus. Some characters are little more than sketches, while others are cartoonishly drawn, such as the prosecutor, who orders a detective to pretend to assault her because she needs to feel what the victim felt. Meanwhile, she's sleeping with the reporter covering the trial, who offers to hold a big story for her (Peguero at least switches the usual genders of this cliché). The dialogue too often lapses into pronouncements during casual conversation. At one point a reporter actually says, "I am in the business of seeking out truth." Peguero eventually wrestles the story back to the question of Soto's guilt or innocence, but by then the damage is done. Addressing racism and injustice in the U.S. legal system is admirable, but the author too often forgets what makes a legal thriller work. An ambitious legal thriller about racism and injustice that loses its focus. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.