The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Singer

Reviewed by Dale Lewis

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"Within these pages of The Last Plea Bargain, you’ll find a potpourri of betrayal, abuse of power, mind control manipulation and false accusations."

Assistant district attorney Jamie Brock, who no matter the legal situation refuses to plea bargain, finds herself in troubled waters when the justice system is bogged down. Caleb Tate, a defiant and powerful defense attorney, has been charged in the murder of his wife, Rikki. He has allegedly convinced criminals not to plead out but to go to trial. Any defendant who cuts a deal will be killed the minute he returns to the streets. This revolt overwhelms prosecutors and Jamie’s passionate pursuit of justice.

Complicating her fight against Tate is her mindset as the execution of her mother’s killer, Antoine Marshall, fast approaches. Jaime’s father lays on his death bed from injuries in the same attack. Antoine’s claims to have experienced a religious conversion and his dogmatic claim of innocence fall on deaf ears except for those of his renegade attorney, Mace James who fights to stay the death sentence. Where is the God of justice when tragedy strikes? How much mercy is too much?

Jamie's boss, Bill Masterson, is running for Georgia’s Attorney General. It is soon apparent that his political campaign begins to hamper the case's progress, although he walks beside Jamie each step of her journey.

Within these pages of The Last Plea Bargain, you’ll find a potpourri of betrayal, abuse of power, mind control manipulation and false accusations. The themes of mercy and forgiveness versus revenge can be definitely found in this courtroom and investigative thriller!

From the beginning as we view the Rikki Tate crime scene to the conclusion where all hell breaks loose, Randy Singer’s meticulous detail is superb! The “legalize” vocabulary should be discernible to even the non-legal reader like me. The cast is excellently crafted with easily identifiable and believable characters.

Without preaching hell, fire and damnation, The Last Plea Bargain does a solid job presenting spiritual themes. Eternal, if you asked! Even if you're not a fan of “Law & Order,” “Harry’s Law,” “Fairly Legal” or even lawyers in general, you will not be disappointed in this Singer novel.

This is my first read of a Singer title even though he’s a prolific legal thriller author and veteran trial attorney. I know what you’re thinking . . .”I’m a slacker!” Yet I’m also grateful for grace. I will be perusing used book stores soon to load up on other Singer titles.

Dale Lewis now mans the front desk at the EFCA (The Evangelical Free Church of America) National Office in Minneapolis, MN. He was the graphic designer/pre-press production artist for over twelve years before being asked to step into this new role. Prior to that, he was the publications manager at his alma mater, Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN in the public relations office as well as the adviser to the college’s yearbook. He's a director/actor/writer for the Hope Church (Oakdale, MN) adult drama worship team and was the senior editor of the church newsletter. He's also written two collections of poetry, “Whispers of Assurance” and “On Life: Constant Communion Without Ceasing” as well as a devotional entitled “Eternal Education.” He and his family live in Oakdale, Minnesota.