This is a novel about time and place, serendipitous but unfortunately not in a good way, as Charlie picks up two cases that are in the shadow of trials that are making news headlines. Rather than a courtroom drama, this is a story that takes place in lawyers’ offices and police interview rooms. This means the pacing is steady, as befits a case being built up and facts assembled. As Charlie coaches suspect Jerry through police questioning techniques and how to react and play the system, he really wants to believe in his innocence though. Legal partner Sandy is supportive in just the right way, the sounding board for thoughts about the right to the best defence, that lawyer does his best whether the client is guilty or not. As he tells Charlie, defending the innocent can be terrifying. Max Furman, the 85-year-old former PI and alleged inspiration for Philip Marlowe, provides the perfect cameo, as Charlie needs help finding out what the cops might have on Jerry. He is the story’s anchor to the LA of the past, the connection with the DNA of the hardboiled gumshoe navigating the modern world. Max and Sandy may be in their 80s and becoming a little world weary, whilst remaining very astute, they are becoming increasingly bewildered at modern life, something many of us feel as we get older. That Max sends Charlie his findings on a VHS tape and he has to scramble around for a player sums up the feeling to perfection. The dialogue is crisp without relying on wisecracking and the everyday observations made are astute. Some of the best is at Larry Hagman’s barbecue, when the Hollywood stars in attendance try to get Charlie to talk about Jerry’s case. The notion that actors playing a lawyer on screen can have real insight into the profession is nailed as puffed-up nonsense of the deluded. Celebrity media, the insensitive intrusion of the press and the desire to shock are shown as grubby and destined to only get worse.