Investigative Constitutional Law Principles for Searches, Seizures, Interrogation and Identi... Book

PROTAGONIST: Jack Tobin, lawyer
SETTING: Florida
SERIES: 2 of 2
RATING: 4.25

Jack Tobin is a retired trial lawyer who has found new meaning in his life by representing death row inmates. He works pro bono and won't accept a case until he feels that his client is innocent. He's worked some real miracles in the courtroom, freeing criminals who have a death penalty or life in prison facing them. He finds the work fulfilling and is living a life of joy with his wife, Pat, in their own little paradise in Bass Creek, Florida.

Several events conspire to threaten his peaceful existence. First and most importantly, Pat is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, which is almost always terminal. They are deeply in love, and all Jack wants to do is to be there for his wife. But he's just met another man who may need him, a death row inmate named Henry Wilson. All the evidence points to Wilson's guilt; although Jack isn't completely convinced that Wilson is innocent, he agrees to represent him, sensing a kind of nobility to the man that won't let him rest easy.

In a parallel story, a thief named Benny Avrile has partnered with a female con artist to steal money from a rich man named Carl Robertson. The situation goes horribly wrong, and Robertson ends up dead. Benny is arrested for his murder and also becomes a client of Jack's, at the behest of a man who was important to him when he was growing up. Although reluctant to represent Benny since he doesn't appear to be innocent, Jack soon realizes that even if Benny is guilty, he deserves the benefit of excellent legal representation.

The real strengths of this book are the way that Tobin handles the investigations that will help him during trial, as well as revealing the flaws of the criminal justice system. Unlike in many legal thrillers, the evidence doesn't come easily to him at all. He chases many leads that go nowhere—this felt quite realistic and led to a sense of shared frustration, in that the clock is ticking and Wilson may end up executed before he can be proven innocent. The negative side of the approach was that the painstaking investigation did slow down the narrative somewhat—reality isn't always very exciting.

I was puzzled by the inclusion of several chapters which dealt with a football team that Jack was on as a young man. Although the chapters established a few of the relationships in the book, I felt there was too much page time dedicated to establishing this background. Perhaps Sheehan had another purpose to this that I was unable to see.

"Second chances" in this book refers not only to the opportunity that is provided to a person on death row but also to Jack Tobin, who must force himself to take a second chance on life after the death of his beloved wife. Sheehan did a wonderful job of engaging the reader's emotions; the segments dealing with Pat were powerful and moving. I hesitate to label THE LAW OF SECOND CHANCES a "legal thriller"—there is so much more to it than stunning courtroom scenes and fast-paced action. It's a quieter book than that, which made it all the more appealing to me.