Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline

Lawyer Bennie Rosato gets an unexpected call about a murder case. She feels compelled because the client, Jason, is someone she feels she let down once before and she owes it to him. Bennie remembers when she first met sweet, shy Jason as a middle school student thrown into the juvenile system for 90 days because of a brief scuffle with the school bully, Richie, after Richie had insulted Jason's recently deceased mother. Despite her best efforts, Bennie is unable to help Jason. So years later, when he is arrested for the murder of Richie, she immediately takes the case then struggles to come up with a defense.

It's quite the page-turner. You really feel for Jason, whose whole life is sent off on a bad trajectory for simply trying to defend his mother's honor. And you can feel Bennie's frustration. She doesn't think Jason is telling her the whole story but she really doesn't think he is the killer either. Lisa Scottoline is back in top form with Corrupted, (which by the way is partially based on true events).