When an eleven-year-old begs Sandy Moss to get a new trial for her father, the LA family lawyer has no idea what she’s getting into. Riley Schoenberg is as shrewd as any street-smart Jersey kid, and she certainly cons Moss, a former New Jersey prosecutor who should know better. Riley has Sandy running all over LA in E.J. Copperman’s And Justice for Mall.
When Sandy admits to her boss that she took Riley’s case pro bono because she couldn’t bill an eleven-year-old, Sandy’s boss laughs. Riley Schoenberg inherited 4.5 million dollars when her mother, Helen Nestor, died. And, Riley’s father confessed that her killed his wife. So, maybe Sandy can get a new trial, but it won’t help when Jack Schoenberg insists he killed his wife.
No case is normal for Sandy Moss. Why would her client get a phone call from her dead mother wanting to meet Riley at the mall? Although the police have the entire scene scoped out, Sandy’s still uneasy and she and her actor boyfriend, Patrick McNabb, are both at the scene. Sandy’s intention is to protect Riley. But, if the police can’t protect Riley against a woman with a grenade, how is a lawyer supposed to stop her? Sandy can’t even check with Riley’s father to learn who would want to kidnap an eleven-year-old. The same day Riley is kidnapped, Jack and his friend, “Uncle Pete”, break out of prison.
This is the fourth Jersey Girl Legal Mystery. If you’ve read any of the previous ones, the cast of characters is familiar, including Patrick, Sandy’s best friend, Angie, who moved from Jersey to help her friend, and ended up staying to be Patrick’s assistant, and Detective Lieutenant K.C. Trench, who seems to have no sense of humor, but occasionally finds Sandy’s actions funny. Then, there’s Patrick’s ex-girl friend, a realtor who tried to kill Sandy. Now, add a manipulative pre-teen millionaire to that mix.
It always seems as if Sandy is spinning her wheels, but she manages to put all the clues together in another outrageous mystery, And Justice for Mall.
E.J. Copperman’s website is http://www.ejcopperman.com/
And Justice for Mall by E.J. Copperman. Severn House, 2022. ISBN 9780727850775 (hardcover), 240p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley to review for a journal.
