"Since his wife's death three years ago, attorney Michael Ryan's career has gone downhill. His relationship with his son, never good, has deteriorated into total estrangement. When his son is murdered, and his daughter-in-law accused of killing him, Ryan meets with prosecutors to demand that she be prosecuted as vigorously as possible and given no breaks.
Then Jennifer Kneeland Ryan appeals to Michael Ryan to defend her. As she presents her side of the story, his certainty of her guilt is diminished. As he probes into his son's business dealings, he becomes convinced that his failure as a father is complete – Ned Ryan was apparently a crook who cheated customers and partners.
During the course of the trial, Michael Ryan's belief in Jennifer's innocence waxes and wanes. Jennifer, it turns out, has lied to her defense team. The prosecution makes the most of facts the defense did not know existed. Ryan is ready to drop the case several times, and only the reminder from his associate, Kassia Miller, that an attorney has a responsibility to give his client the best defense possible - regardless of his belief in her innocence - keeps him on the job.
The list of possible suspects grows as Ryan finds out more and more about his son's business and personal life.
"
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!
Review Analysis of Reasonable Doubt
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 30%
Murder of certain profession?
- "All in the family" murder
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
- Big focus on forensic evidence
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Legal Thriller
Yes
Legal Plotlets
- finding out whether someone is really guilty
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- lawyer creatures
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
How many deaths?
- 1
A lot of techno jargon?
Yes
Kind of jargon?
- biology/medical
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
