Los Angeles criminal law attorney, Sean Fitzpatrick O’Ryan, agrees to represent another attorney whom he has known as a friend and colleague since they were in law school together. His friend is accused of the murder of his wife’s lover, and the evidence supporting the motive of overpowering jealousy is overwhelming when the body of the victim is found in the defendant’s car along with the gun used to kill him.

Notwithstanding the evidence Sean wants to believe in the innocence of his client, but as the evidence unfolds, that belief is challenged substantially as the guilt of the client is seemingly manifested in many ways. The case of first-degree murder goes to trial, and an exceptionally qualified Deputy District Attorney in the Los Angeles Superior Criminal Court opposes Sean.

The many twists and turns in the facts and evidence which point ineluctably to the guilt of Sean’s client are a page turner, leading to an explosive climax in a down and dirty courtroom battle between two "take no prisoners" attorneys fighting for what each perceives to be justice and truth, with death hanging in the balance.

He raised the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol to his head. His hand didn't shake and the muzzle rested strangely quiet against his graying temple. The trigger pull was three pounds, and he knew that when he squeezed, it would barely disturb the alignment of the gun as it resolved every worldly care.

His index finger started the deadly cycle of releasing the hammer, striking the firing pin, and dissolving of life, which would occur before its terrible sound – which he would never hear – filled the room announcing his tragic departure. As the pressure on the trigger slowly increased, he heard a different sound, which made him groan with disgust. His telephone, sitting a few feet away from his final act, rang loudly - more loudly than he wanted.

"F--- it," he said. "Just more bullsh--. More disappointment. No point in answering, he thought as he repositioned the death instrument that he had moved slightly when the phone interrupted his deadly intention. Either someone trying to sell me something, or looking for a solution to their personal problems with no intention of saying thanks after I make them go away. Assuming I could."

As he felt the mouth of the gun once again kissing his head, he heard her voice on the answering machine. "Tim, please pick up if you are there. If not, please call me back as quickly as possible. I need you. I am in desperate trouble. I know I have no right to ask you for help after what we've been through. But please believe me that I am so very sorry for the many differences that caused you so many problems. I don't know anyone else I can trust. Please call me. I'm at home in Playa del Rey. You know the number.

In a long and distinguishing career, Michael Patrick Murray has been a trial attorney, both as a prosecutor and defense counsel, as well as a trial judge and appellate judge. In addition he has enjoyed extensive teaching experience as a law professor at four different law schools, putting his five university degrees and broad legal experience to good use in the academic venues, as well as serving as a United States Marine during the Korean Wars.

When asked what aspect of his experience he enjoys the most, Judge Murray advises, "Added to the genuine pleasure of writing about the law, which is a challenging and highly enjoyable dimension in my long career, it is a close call between studying law, teaching law, and fighting the good fight for truly worthy causes – the most important of which are truth and justice – neither are mutually exclusive, nor can they stand alone from each other in the courtroom.

Judge Murray’s well received, previous novels include O’Ryan’s Law, in which the protagonist Sean Fitzpatrick O’Ryan was introduced, and Murder by Class, which continues Sean O’Ryan’s dedicated defense of those wrongfully accused of crimes, both of which courtroom mystery thrillers are published by 1^stBooks Library.