A good mother : a novel

Title:

Author:

Bazelon, Lara, 1974- author.

Summary:

"When a soldier is found stabbed through the heart at a US Army base, there is no doubt that his wife, Luz, is to blame. But was it an act of self-defense? An attempt to save her infant daughter? Or the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man? Ambitious public defender Abby is determined to win at all costs. As a new mother herself, she wants to keep Luz out of prison and with her daughter. But when the surprises stack up and shocking new evidence emerges, Abby realizes the task proves far more difficult than she suspected and will require a terrible sacrifice. As the trial hurtles toward an outcome no one expects, Abby, Luz and a captivated jury are forced to answer the question that will decide everything--what does it mean to be a good mother?"-- Provided by publisher.

Physical Description:

361 pages ; 21 cm

Genre:

Legal fiction (Literature)

Thrillers (Fiction)

Subject Term:

Women lawyers -- Fiction.

New mothers -- Fiction.

Motherhood -- Fiction.

Soldiers -- Crimes against -- Fiction.

Husbands -- Death -- Fiction.

Trials (Murder) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Hanover Square Press,

Publication Date:

2021

ISBN:

9781335916099

Publication Information:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2021]

Call Number:

BAZELON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003509711	Adult Fiction	BAZELON Lara	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"A high-stakes legal thriller packed with intense courtroom drama." -Alafair Burke

A Library Journal Best Debut Novel of Spring and Summer 2021

A gripping debut thriller about two young mothers, one shocking murder and a court case that puts them both on trial.

When a soldier is found stabbed through the heart at a US Army base, there is no doubt that his wife, Luz, is to blame. But was it an act of self-defense? An attempt to save her infant daughter? Or the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man?

Ambitious public defender Abby is determined to win at all costs. As a new mother herself, she wants to keep Luz out of prison and with her daughter. But when the surprises stack up and shocking new evidence emerges, Abby realizes the task proves far more difficult than she suspected and will require a terrible sacrifice.

As the trial hurtles toward an outcome no one expects, Abby, Luz and a captivated jury are forced to answer the question that will decide everything--what does it mean to be a good mother?

"Lara Bazelon combines a riveting courtroom thriller with a nuanced and thought-provoking examination of gender, race, and justice. Helmed by an intelligent, complex, and flawed protagonist, A Good Mother is a beautifully written debut that kept me turning the pages late into the night." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek

"Sexy, shrewd, and wholly contemporary, A Good Mother takes pitch-perfect characters, a page-whipping plot, and themes about marriage, lust, betrayal, and the juggling of new motherhood plus a hard-driving career and mixes it all into a deeply perceptive legal thriller that made me drop everything else and just READ." --Cathi Hanauer, New York Times bestselling author of Gone, The Bitch in the House and The Bitch Is Back

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Law professor Bazelon debuts with a fast-paced, multilayered legal thriller. In 2006, L.A. attorney Abby Rosenberg, a deputy federal public defender, takes on the high-profile case of 19-year-old Luz Rivera Hollis, who has admitted to stabbing to death her husband, a decorated combat veteran with a history of violence and addiction, at a U.S. Air Force base in Germany. Luz maintains she acted in self-defense to protect herself and her three-day-old daughter. The case will be the first time a trial revolves around a new law that extradites civilians who commit crimes against the military outside the U.S. The trial careens out of control as Abby deals with the manipulative Luz, a cocounsel foisted on her, and a sexist judge. Meanwhile, she risks the relationship with her partner by cutting short her maternity leave. Unlikable but never boring, Abby often skirts the law as her need to win overpowers her ethics and her common sense. This tale of unchecked ambition about one woman's efforts to balance her professional and personal lives will resonate with many. Agent: Emma Patterson, Brandt & Hochman Literary. (May)

Library Journal Review

At a U.S. Army base in Germany, a decorated combat veteran is knifed through the heart by his wife, who may have been acting in self-defense or protecting her infant daughter from abuse. Or maybe she's just a vicious killer. Glad to be back from maternity leave, defense lawyer Abby Rosenberg faces one tough assignment. Bazelon debuts in paperback with a 75,000-copy first printing.