Proof

McLachlin, former chief justice of the Canadian Supreme Court, delivers an underheated third case for criminal defense attorney Jilly Truitt (after Denial). At the outset, Jilly is taking time off work to tend to her newborn daughter, whose father was murdered while Jilly was pregnant. But when Crown prosecutor Cy Kenge asks Jilly to take the case of Kate Sinclair-Jones, ex-wife of well-known musician Trist Jones, she agrees to head back to the courtroom. Kate has been charged with killing her five-year-old daughter, Tess, who was abducted from Trist’s home on British Columbia’s Bowen Island; a series of grainy photographs appear to show Kate and Tess leaving the island in a small boat. As more circumstantial evidence piles up against Kate, Jilly starts to zero in on some other plausible suspects—but the lead detective is suspiciously reluctant to investigate anything that might shift focus from Kate. McLachlin provides an illuminating window into the gradual process of constructing a defense case. For a legal drama, however, there are surprisingly few courtroom pyrotechnics on offer, and the pacing drags. Readers will be disappointed. Agent: Eric Myers, Myers Literary. (Sept.)