Guilty - of being a good debut novel!

Former attorney Scott Pratt brings us his debut novel which explores the legal and political world of Tennessee.

Reverend John Paul Tester, a preacher, is murdered after visiting a strip club called the Mouse's Tail, and using the church collection plate to fund his fun little night out. A young waitress at the club is accused of killing him, and the club's owner (the streetwise Erlene Barlowe) hires the almost-but-not-quite-burnt out attorney Joe Dillard to defend her. Dillard sees this case as his last chance saloon, his retirement job, finally representing an innocent client and earning enough to quite the day job.

As if the case itself wasn't enough for Dillard, his mother is losing her battle against Alzheimer's and his damaged and drug-addicted sister is also a constant thorn in his side. And the preacher's son is also looking to avenge his father's death, in the name of the lord.

This is a great debut novel. The obvious, lazy journalistic comparison is with John Grisham, the king of the legal thriller, and this book holds up well in such exalted company. The plot moves along at a fairly good pace throughout and nothing sticks out that annoys you. The characters are all developed to about the right level and there's plenty to hold your interest throughout.

Looking forward to reading the next book in this series (surely there must be one in the pipeline!)