A lawyer defends a woman in a capital murder pro-life case in Alabama.

Blackstone Publishing, Inc., 2024, 270 pages

The Quartz County, Alabama, district attorney has charged Destiny Grace Harper with murdering her unborn twins—a crime punishable by death. However, Alabama v. Harper isn’t your ordinary homicide case. Harper’s babies suffered from a rare disorder called TTTS, a fatal condition if left untreated, but correctable with minimally invasive surgery. Harper refused the surgery on religious grounds, resulting in the death of both babies, and now Harper is on trial.

Enter Elvis Henderson, a traveling criminal defense attorney who roams the country in his campervan. He receives assignments from Hazel Curnow, a once iconic trial lawyer turned recluse. When Curnow assigns Elvis the Harper case, he balks—Quartz County is his home turf. He left Alabama under a dark cloud at age eighteen and has no intention of returning.

When Elvis arrives to meet his paralegal, Margaret Booth, they immediately realize the case is fraught with complications: a desperate client whose story keeps shifting; a local populace who vociferously defend the rights of the unborn; a charismatic minister whose family lords over the town; a ruthless DA with political ambitions; an old-school judge who relishes handing down capital convictions; and a sheriff who might just want Elvis dead.

An action-packed ride to a shocking verdict, The Out-of-Town Lawyer is a gripping legal thriller that explores family love, reconciliation, and the moral and legal issues that draw a fine line between tragedy and crime.

It's a very red-state trial.

Also by Robert Rotstein: My review of We, the Jury.

My complete list of book reviews.

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