Good Lookin’: A Joe Turner Mystery

To the best of his knowledge, attorney Joe Turner has never “lost an innocent client to life in prison.” However, he finds his winning streak is close to ending with his latest client, Darnell Moore. Darnell’s car had been seen fleeing the scene seconds after a shooting that claimed a man’s life. Though Darnell claims he’s innocent, Joe finds it tough to believe his client because Darnell is part of the victim’s rival gang and some of his other claims are obvious lies. Is Joe being played by the teenage gang member or is he right to defend him?

Good Lookin’: A Joe Turner Mystery is woven around courtroom drama, the early stages of romance, a special bond between twin siblings, crime, life in prison, and other intriguing themes. T.L. Bequette depicts the reality of violence and crime in the United States with characters in gangs and foster children who have bad role models. The story goes deep into the criminal world, depicting known practices such as prison shanks, the no-snitching culture, gang initiation acts, and more. On the legal battle side of the story, there’s a lot to keep fans engaged: inspecting the video footage, searching for eyewitnesses who are bold enough to testify, digging into the past of the accused, and presenting convincing oral arguments from both sides of the case.

I felt like a defense attorney as I was taken through the intricate process of defending a client, including looking at forensic evidence and the angle the bullet that killed the victim was likely fired from. The book is highly informative. In fact, I learned several things about law cases—things I feel one is not likely to know unless one is actually involved directly with legal cases as a professional. Now I know the two types of evidence and which one is considered weaker in non-legal settings, even though the law treats them the same. Additionally, the humor is brilliant and the realistic, distinct personalities of the characters are depicted excellently well, making the book a complete assortment of attractive elements. This line is a good example of what I mean: “Having been denied sugared cereals growing up, I’d made up for lost time as an adult.”

T.L. Bequette creates a brilliant masterpiece that is easy to love and hard to forget. The expository and mightily engaging narrative should appeal to fans of John Grisham and to readers who love books about investigating crime and defending a suspect in court. In fact, anyone who loves a well-structured novel that keeps readers engaged from start to finish will love it. I’m greatly eager to read the other books in the series.