"Misjudged" by James Chandler

In a small town of Wyoming... Emily, a divorce attorney is brutally murdered... Tommy, an ex- marine who was her client is charged with murder going by prima facie evidence... Polson, a honest detective who overlooks an evidence before making the arrest, later tries hard to get a fair trial for the defendant... Sam Johnstone, a disabled veteran suffering from PTSD decides to appear as the defense attorney... Ann Fulks, the prosecution attorney taking up her first murder trial, is desperate to get a conviction to boost up her career... Judge Daniels, at the verge of his retirement expects the case to be an open and shut one without any complications... A member of the jury is talking about the proceedings outside the court to a person who can be a suspect in this case too... 

With this interesting premise and well etched characters, does "Misjudged" manage to keep the readers hooked?

The novel introduces the primary characters with legal proceedings happening in the background. Though the idea is to introduce the nature of the characters and how the judiciary is run in the small town of Wyoming, the novel takes too much time dwelling into unrelated petty cases. But, once the stage is set for the murder trial, the novel picks up pace with some interesting courtroom moments and legal proceedings. The twists keep coming as the forensic evidence adds to more mysteries and some information is withheld from the defense due to the local politics. 

James Chandler

James Chandler builds up a brilliant legal thriller around the solid premise that is engaging for the most part. Though there are some loose ends, the novel is a decent thriller that has consistent high points and a convincing climax.