The Last Plea Bargan by Randy Singer

Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as an assistant DA, she has never plea-bargained a case and is convinced she never will. However, when her nemesis Caleb Tate, a powerful defense attorney, is indicted for murder, he comes up with a plan to bring down the entire justice system. Suddenly all the prisoners begin rejecting the deals. If they try to plea, then they are mysteriously killed. Prosecutors become helplessly overwhelmed, and criminals start to be let free on mere technicalities. To break the logjam and convict Caleb, Jamie may have to violate every principle that has guided her career. However, it seems she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to a cut a deal with one of his demons.

Randy Singer delivers an absolutely powerful legal thriller in The Last Plea Bargain. The plot line flows quickly and is well thought out. There were several times throughout the novel where I thought I had figured out the perpetrator and those employed by him, but I was constantly stunned by yet another twist. I never figured out the method and the person behind the madness until the very last chapter. The central characters, particularly Jamie Brock and Mace James, were very realistic. Despite being Christian characters, they all had character flaws and sins they had to work through and repent from. The tone of The Last Plea Bargain was also well done. There were instances of melancholy, happiness, forgiveness, etc.

The Last Plea Bargain was a well crafted novel which brought up many important issues to consider about the legal system. The book made me truly consider the role of plea bargains in the legal system and whether they were truly brought justice to the victims and protected the rest of the community when the felons were being released through those plea bargains. The novel also brought up whether it is moral to have a death penalty, especially when the person has repented and may not have been guilty of the crime in the first place.

I truly enjoyed The Last Plea Bargain, and Randy Singer is one of my all time favorite authors. I highly recommend this novel to those who wish to be challenged in the morals of the legal system and who enjoy great legal mysteries.

I received this galley for free from Net Galley and Tyndale Blog Network in exchange for an honest review.