Depraved Indifference (A Jaywalker Mystery)
by Joseph Teller
Published by MIRA Publishing
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Reviewed by Sara Porter
Depraved Indifference is the love child of Dashiell Hammett and John Grisham. It combines the techniques and know-how of the legal drama with the hard-boiled cynicism and psychological pessimism of the detective noir–and does them both tightly and cleverly.
Harrison “JayWalker” Walker is an attorney on suspension for mucking up a previous case. He is called by Amanda Drake, a woman whose husband, Carter, has accidentally ran his Audi into a van full of schoolchildren resulting in nine fatalities. Drake is put on trial for the children’s’ murder with Jay Walker as his somewhat reluctant attorney.
The book takes the reader through the legal process from the agreement between client and attorney, all the way through the verdict in an exciting and helpful manner. Many legal terms are explained such as “depraved indifference” (when a person is charged not with murder, but for inadvertently causing a death and doing nothing to help). The court sessions are told in script form, giving the reader a chance to follow each word, each cross examine, as though they are there.
Besides the legal thriller, the book takes on a cynical view of society, particularly in Jay Walker’s witty narration. After being caught in a compromising position with Amanda, literally, Walker complains that he is in “his least favorite place in the Western world, Page Six of the New York Post.” He has a very sarcastic attitude towards his client, and the prosecutors, and the whole legal system, which doesn’t get any better throughout the book.
Besides being a suspenseful tale, Depraved Indifference ends with some very provocative questions about the American legal system and the ways to get around. Plus it asks what the truth is when evidence isn’t enough? Who is lying and who is really telling the truth in a trial?
Armchair Interviews says: A lot of aspects of the law to keep your interest.