Keeping Counsel- Rebecca Forster

The mechanics of the plot are well designed, the first requirement of any legal thriller. I have no idea as to whether all the detailed legal structure holds up, or even the total psychological profile of the killer, not that such exactitudes have much influence on the stories excitement. What is important is that I was drawn in, founding myself to be genuinely concerned for the safety of Tara and Shining. The menacing power of the killer seemed only too real. I had no trouble believing the mix of sexual attraction and repulsion that Tara felt for both the killer, and her ex-lover, Ben. People are a mix of often contradictory and always confusing quirks, characteristics that Forster plays very well. All the characters worked for me, all flawed, all, including the killer, a mix of good and bad. The only relationship I struggled to believe was Bill's with his mother, but here we are on the very fringes of the story. To be a five star book I felt I needed better legal resolution, through playing the story out a little longer. It crosses my mind that Forster felt compelled to pander to the mass of readers that don't like to read too long. I can't argue against commercial sense. Also note that I'm not suggesting that the ending lacked punch, it certainly had that. I see this novel as more of a psychological thriller than a legal one. It is so full of very penetration observations about what makes people tick. I am sure that I will be reading many more of Forster's books.

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