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Matters of Doubt

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Who can you turn to when society spits you out?

Former LA prosecutor Cal Claxton has escaped to the Oregon wine country after his wife's suicide, determined to live a less-harried life. He's gotten a dog for company and takes pleasure in simple things like hiking, fishing, and crafting gourmet meals from the area's bounty, which he enjoys with local wines. He has no career ambitions, other than to sustain a small practice that will allow him to pay his bills. Then he's approached by a homeless street artist from Portland who wants him to take on the cold case investigation of his mother's murder. The young man believes his mother's boyfriend killed her eight years earlier, but the police were never able to solve the case. Cal turns him away. But his conscience won't let him rest...

Cal takes on the case against his better judgment. Soon, however, the street artist is charged with the boyfriend's murder, and Cal has to battle bias from the press, police, and public, along with his own doubts about his client in order to determine who has committed both crimes—and why.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 5, 2013
      Easley’s unremarkable debut introduces Cal Claxton, a former L.A. prosecutor who has moved to Oregon wine country following his wife’s death and is now content to handle small-time cases. But when a tattooed Portland street kid, Danny “Picasso” Baxter, who looks about 20, asks Cal to help solve his mother’s murder, Cal reluctantly agrees to do so. Picasso tells Cal that his mother, Nicole, disappeared mysteriously eight years earlier and that her skeletal remains were recently found in the Deschutes River. Picasso is sure the killer is Mitch Conyers, a sleazy Portland businessman who was once his mother’s boyfriend. Cal digs into Nicole’s life and work—she was a reporter for The Oregonian—and finds unsettling connections to all manner of deceitful dealings involving some of Portland’s most notable citizens. Easley brings alive the world of street kids and the alternative social groups they form, but the mystery, such as it is, lacks punch.

    • Kirkus

      August 1, 2013
      A lawyer turns sleuth to help a homeless youth uncover the story behind his mother's murder. Attorney Cal Claxton moved to Dundee to take it easy after he retired from working for the city of Los Angeles. Though Cal anticipates that he can spend time working on his fly-fishing now that he's deep in Oregon, his plate is soon full of the jobs you'd expect to find in a small town. When a teenager comes to Cal begging for him to investigate a case, Cal tries to explain that investigating's not in his job description. The kid, a rebellious Portland youth who goes by the name Picasso, wants someone to look into his mother's death since he knows the police aren't taking the case seriously. Picasso is convinced his mother's former boyfriend Mitchell Conyers is the one responsible for her death, and he is ready to back up his beliefs with action. Cal tries to soothe Picasso while trying to find out if Mitchell's sleek exterior hides more sinister motives. Meanwhile, Picasso spends his nights with other transients and his days painting a mural of hope on the exterior of a local free health clinic. These days of freedom may be over when he stumbles on a murder for which he is the prime suspect. The motives and murders in Easley's debut fit together like a set of nesting dolls, with each resolution leading to a new case. Cal comes across as an average guy who's just trying to lend a hand.

      COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2013

      Attorney Cal Claxton has relocated from Los Angeles to a small town near Portland, OR, and is adapting to a quieter lifestyle. Or he was, until a young muralist from Portland named Danny Baxter (better known as Picasso) comes to him for help. Turns out Picasso's mother, investigative journalist Nicole Baxter, disappeared when her son was quite young, sending him into a rabbit warren of foster homes and, eventually, life on the street. Now, eight years later, Nicole's body has been recovered from the bottom of a reservoir. As the cold case thaws, Nicole's former boyfriend is murdered, and Picasso is the prime suspect. Cal, ever the Good Samaritan, wades into a complicated story filled with high-profile bad guys and vulnerable innocents. VERDICT Easley's legal thriller debut, the first in a projected three-book series, is perfect for John Grisham fans. Although heavily draped in character stereotypes and social issues, his briskly paced and satisfyingly complex David vs. Goliath story will hold readers rapt from start to finish.

      Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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