About writer
Gwen Florio is a veteran journalist and the writer of Silent Hearts. She grew up in a 250-year-old-brick-farmhouse in a Delaware wildlife sanctuary. Gwen, the Missoulian's city editor, has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. She earned the High Plains Book Award and the Pinckley Prize for debut crime fiction.
Summary
When Ray Belmar is suspected of murdering a homeless person, the case is handed to public defender Julia Guery, who is handling it for the first time. Although it is common knowledge that Ray has a drinking problem that has landed him in several minor problems over the years, Julia cannot view him as a potential killer.
Also, a liberal state legislator is said to have lost control of his vehicle and been involved in a tragic accident; however, Julia wonders if something less savory was at play and if there is any possible connection to Ray's current problems. Because of her job in the courts, she has a connection to a police officer who she approaches for assistance along with the homeless people. Despite her best efforts to assist Ray, she began to receive threatening notes almost immediately.
The reputation of public defender Julia Geary is growing, and she recently took on her first murder case, which involves defending a local resident, Ray Belmar, in connection with the death of a homeless man. But Julia is facing an increasing number of obstacles in both her professional and personal life. To begin, she is paired with an intern whose haughtiness is completely intolerable.
Then, her widowed mother-in-law, whose home Julia and her son Calvin share, makes the announcement that she intends to remarry, which means that the two of them will need to look for a new place to call home. And to add insult to injury, Julia's superior decides that she can no longer assist with the case because she has "lost perspective," and she is replaced by an attorney who recommends that Ray enter a guilty plea.
Julia is unable to shake the nagging feeling that the murder and the subsequent homicide of a homeless woman are connected in some way to the passing of a state legislator who had been a staunch supporter of efforts to improve the political system. She begins her inquiry with the assistance of the Duck Creek homeless community and her longtime friend, Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Peterson; however, shortly after she begins her probe, she begins to get anonymous threats.
Julia makes an even more damning discovery just as she starts to uncover the shocking ways the system is stacked against those on the margins of society. Someone close to her is keeping a terrible secret that they are doing everything in their power to keep hidden, even if it means putting an end to Julia's voice once and for all.
It is such a well-done mystery that it keeps you turning the pages. You would feel a strong connection to the persona of Julia. She could make more money as a prosecutor, but she believes the poor need the best help they can get. Sometimes the poor's crime is simply that they cannot pay the ticket for a minor infraction. Due to the fact that an IED in Iraq killed her husband, she is now a single mother, and since her mother has recently found love, Julia needs to find a new place to live. She could use the money to make ends meet.
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