I picked up Hostile Witness (2004) by Rebecca Forster because I saw that it was free on Amazon. It's hard for me to resist anything that's free, but you tend to get what you pay for so I wasn't expecting much when I started reading. What I found was a courtroom mystery/drama that kept me interested until the end. I'm not hooked enough to go looking for more books in this series, but I wasn't disappointed.Josie Baylor-Bates is a former criminal defense attorney. Still haunted by the actions of one of her former clients, she is dragged back into the world of criminal defense by the daughter of her old college roommate. The sixteen-year-old girl is accused of killing her step-grandfather, a California Supreme Court Justice. Josie tries to figure out what really happened, protect the girl from the system and her parents, and deal with her own demons.
Josie is a likable character with some realistic problems and issues. The novel addresses some of the conflicts regarding criminal trials. I appreciated that the author explored some of the hardships of being on both the criminal and prosecutor's side. In addition, I appreciated Josie's relationship with her boyfriend. He was supportive and sweet but left Josie to live her own life and make her own choices.
Although this novel wasn't exactly groundbreaking, it was worth the read--especially since it was free. It reminded me of an episode of Law & Order: a little drama, mystery, and crime--centered around some charismatic characters.
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