The Bottom Line: James E. Carroll is a master storyteller. Come for the murder mystery and riveting courtroom drama, but stay for the cunning corporate conspiracy.
James E. Carroll’s second Jamie Carson Legal Thriller, Cross Examination, focuses on Herbie Jones, a white collar worker whose gun possession charge – aside from a prior arrest for cocaine possession – seems somewhat out of character. Herbie is a star salesperson for Atoll Investments, a privately owned financial firm specializing in complex investment vehicles for wealthy clients. But Jamie doesn’t know the whole story yet.
Soon, we learn that the IRS has an active criminal file on Atoll. Meanwhile, an ex-girlfriend of the company’s research director, Karen Polito, was recently murdered. Subsequently, the gun Herbie is charged with possessing illegally is forensically confirmed to be the same gun that killed Karen. Herbie is arrested for Karen’s murder.
Jamie is convinced that his client has been set up. Carroll, showcasing Jamie’s strategic mind, makes literary magic as he meticulously plans Herbie’s defense. The night before Herbie’s initial arrest, he was knocked out in a bar fight. There was no record of Jones buying the murder weapon, nor were there any of his fingerprints on it. There was no evidence of him knowing about the gun, nor did he have any pets – a critical insight since an animal fiber was found on it.
But Jamie knows that simply raising reasonable doubt may not be enough to acquit his client. He needs an alternate theory. If Herbie didn’t do it, who did? The opening trial statement Carroll has written for Jamie is a rousing one, punctuated by a promise: “We will show you who had the motive to kill Karen Polito, and it wasn’t Mr. Jones.”
Carroll excels at crafting knuckle-biting courtroom drama, but the sections focused on pre-trial research are nearly as good. That’s especially true as Jamie and co-counsel Stephanie Marx take a hard look at the company Herbie works for. Atoll was selling investments in a shaky biotech product that was headed for IPO. On the surface, the murder victim didn’t seem to have any connection to the company other than a romantic relationship, but Jamie and Stephanie won’t stop digging until they find one. Thematically, Carroll deftly explores the shady world of investment vehicles for the wealthy.
Cross Examination weaves murder, courtroom drama, and corporate conspiracy into a thriller so sharp, it will leave you breathless by the time the verdict is read.
