A Dream in the Dark
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
With striking prose and inspired by real wrongful conviction cases, this layered takedown of the criminal justice system follows one woman’s quest for answers as the fate of an innocent man hangs in the balance, perfect for fans of S. A. Cosby.
Denver, 1992. Claudette Cooper and Moses King have been failed by the justice system. Claudette was sexually assaulted and brutally attacked—blinded by the perpetrator, she’s not able to identify him until she has a dream about the attack where she sees the face of Moses King. When Claudette testifies that she’s identified her attacker from her dream, Moses is wrongfully convicted and sent to prison for the crime.
Lawyer Liza Brown has seen firsthand the failings and shortcomings of the justice system—her father also suffered the injustice of a wrongful conviction. As she’s working at a nonprofit to free those who have been wrongfully imprisoned, Moses reaches out to her. Liza sees the obvious cracks in the evidence against Moses, and when he confesses that he knew her father, she’s determined to help. Recruiting her old friend Eli Stone to assist, Liza sets out to prove Moses’s innocence. But Eli is dealing with demons of his own: corrupt cops are targeting Black residents of Denver, and when his nephew is beaten by the police, Eli doubles down on his efforts to expose them.
Frustrated, Liza turns to Moses’s accuser, Claudette, for help. But Claudette is hiding a dark secret, and as tensions in Denver rise, the city erupts in protests and riots. This rich, impactful novel paints a portrait not only of injustice and desperation—but of hope.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Justice's second legal thriller featuring Denver attorney Liza Brown (after They Can't Take Your Name) is a step down from its predecessor. Liza has worked closely with Project Joseph to help exonerate people who've been wrongly convicted of violent crimes ever since her father was executed for a mass murder he didn't commit. In 1992, Moses King, a prisoner who claims he knew Liza's father, reaches out to the organization. He's been convicted of assaulting and blinding a woman named Claudette Cooper, who testified that, while she didn't see her assailant's face, she dreamed it was King. Despite the case not meeting Project Joseph's typical criteria—King is not on death row, nor is he facing a life sentence—Liza believes in his innocence and agrees to represent him. She loops in her friend and former colleague Eli Stone, and together, they inch closer to the truth while Liza's superiors try to pull her attention toward cases that better suit Project Joseph's mission. Meanwhile, Denver erupts into protests over racial discrimination by police. Clumsy prose ("Her tears fell with the ease of a spring thunderstorm upon her cheeks") and thin characterizations keep this from taking flight. It's a disappointment.